Terrible, Terrible Love Handles...

npbaby92

I am 13 months Post Partum with my 2nd son and am still 20+ lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight. I was around 120-125 when I got pregnant and am currently around 145ish.

My body type is odd now; I'd definitely say I'm pear shaped. If I take a selfie from the waist up, I look normal, but my thighs and hips are HUGE. Not just huge, but my love handles are lumpy. Like, they naturally hang over my pants and bulge out, not because my pants are too small or tight, but because my love handles/hips literally are wider than the lower portion of my body. It's like my body is confused about what parts should be skinny and which parts should have fat.

Anyways, this is really hurting my confidence in my appearance. I am ready to look and feel good again. I know that you can't spot train a particular part of the body, and that the middle fat is usually the most stubborn and last to go. But have any of you who have had terrible lumpy love handles effectively gotten rid of them? How long did it take, were there any particular exercises that helped you get rid of them? Any advice is appreciated! Also, does anyone have any tips on how to tighten lose skin?

npbaby92

Also, I'm having a hard time sticking to a work out routine. I am home all day with my kids and do full time college online, so my lifestyle is pretty sedentary. My living room is pretty small, so it's hard to do some of the workout beachbody programs, and my husband works so much, I never have time to hit the gym. Any tips on how I can get some good exercise in would be awesome, too!

wizzybeth

Squats don't require much room. Also crunches. Maybe invest in a fitness ball and much the coffee table out of the way. My living room is small too. Walk away the pounds, if I recall correctly is MOSTLY walking in place. That may work.

jemhh

Losing fat is the way to get rid of what you are talking about. Every physical exercise burns calories so every physical exercise can help create a caloric deficit, which is what you need in order to lose the fat. There are no spot exercises that are going to specifically make you lose fat in that area.

As for tightening loose skin, time and genetics, as well as how long you were overweight, how big you were, etc. will determine how that goes. It can take a couple of years after you finish losing weight for your skin to rebound to the point where it is going to be for the long term. My advice at this point is to focus on losing the fat and to be patient.

MsMaeFlowers

You might be able to find a gym with free childcare as well. I know my old gym had that.

KANGOOJUMPS

I took my kids with me and walked all over the place.

Christine_72

pop your kids in the pram and do some power walking.
you could also look into those exercise bands. All you need is a door frame.

bubble_wrap0428

Well first no excuses. Don't take this the wrong way but the living room being too small or having to watch your kids is no reason you can't burn those babies away!!! I would start with lowering your calorie intake. That is the quickest way to reduce body fat. Figure out your TDEE, and eat 500 under that or create a deficit comfortable for you. As for exercise you could do leg raises ( like laying down on your side and raising your leg), or side crunches. I found that running has helped me with love handles. It was like once I started running it slimmed my stomach area. That could be different for you but I suggest you do the basics, eat a deficit, strength train and cardio.

kshama2001

@npbaby92 - another vote for a gym with daycare or taking them with you for walks. How old is the oldest?

tacticalhippie

I had pretty decent results after my second kiddo with a kettlebell.