How to handle love handles??

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imgone324
imgone324 Posts: 84
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I'm losing weight and noticing my mid-section slimming down, but these damn "love" handles won't go away. I'm looking for any suggestions on cardio/yoga/weight training that I can do to help focus on this area.

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  • river88island
    river88island Posts: 15
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    Hula Hoops :o) x
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    You can't work on specific area; it has to be an all over fat reduction. The more you work out with cardio/weights and eat the proper foods (heavy heavy heavy veggies and fruit, very limited processed food) the faster it will go down and those handles will become smaller and smaller. ooo and water. :) Drinks lotsa water.
  • k8edge
    k8edge Posts: 380
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    Probably start working your core...

    Different abdominal exercises will help. I have an app on my android that had different ab exercises each day. It is a good way to mix it up. Also P90X ab video... Is awesome if you can get your hands on it.

    If a person wants to be toned then they have to do the work. Just loosing the weight will not miraculously give someone ripped abs or toned arms.
  • twistygirl
    twistygirl Posts: 517 Member
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    (Bump) but I do agree with HoopFire5602 but still hoping for a miracle:(
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    Hula Hoops :o) x

    You would have to do it for 8 hours+ a week. I am a hoop dancer and it hasn't really done much for my mid section, and I used to practice 4 hrs a day. Getting rid of the fat there with HIIT and weights is what had the best results.
  • AKAMrsR
    AKAMrsR Posts: 45 Member
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    I don't know about your situation, but my husband lost over 100 pounds several years ago, and slimmed down even more last year. He has "love handles" still, but I think a lot of it is excess skin that didn't bounce back because of how quickly he lost weight. Not sure how to get rid of them, but it's just a thought!
  • dakoerber
    dakoerber Posts: 308 Member
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    Side planks are great for that. Also standing up hold a dumb bell in one hand and bend to other side. Works all along your side. But keep up the cardio. You can't spot reduce but you can build up the muscle while you continue to loss fat.

    I hit my goal doing cardio kickboxing. That works everything!
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Love handles are the first things to appear. So naturally they will be the last thing you lose.
  • Operachk19
    Operachk19 Posts: 6 Member
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    Yeah, I've also noticed this. Before I started losing weight I never had them, but since I've been losing, I've noticed the love handles have stayed, while I've lost weight in my midsection and my hips. Very strange that I would get love handles after I start losing weight, but it's only because I've lost weight elsewhere - I guess I've always had them, but they were obscured by my other fat! I guess I'll just keep up the cardio, but I would be interested to hear what other have to say on this issue.
  • Sarahr73
    Sarahr73 Posts: 454 Member
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    You can't work on specific area; it has to be an all over fat reduction. The more you work out with cardio/weights and eat the proper foods (heavy heavy heavy veggies and fruit, very limited processed food) the faster it will go down and those handles will become smaller and smaller. ooo and water. :) Drinks lotsa water.

    Exactly. You cannot expect to see results in just one area. When you are working out and eating right your body will lose the fat all over. And from what I have heard from other people, the mid section is the hardest place for a lot of people to lose weight. I still have my love handles and a small chunk of stomach but everything else is pretty trimmed down. It's just something you have to keep working for.
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    You can't work on specific area; it has to be an all over fat reduction. The more you work out with cardio/weights and eat the proper foods (heavy heavy heavy veggies and fruit, very limited processed food) the faster it will go down and those handles will become smaller and smaller. ooo and water. :) Drinks lotsa water.

    Exactly. You cannot expect to see results in just one area. When you are working out and eating right your body will lose the fat all over. And from what I have heard from other people, the mid section is the hardest place for a lot of people to lose weight. I still have my love handles and a small chunk of stomach but everything else is pretty trimmed down. It's just something you have to keep working for.

    I think it may be the hardest because people don't realize how much diet plays into the adominals. it is very difficult to cut out a lot of the normal food we eat and eat tons of veggies and fruit. Doing that has worked the best for me. I can actually see a 4 pack now. Since I eat so much veggies and fruit now, I hardly ever want fast food because I feel really horrible and sick after I eat it, because it's all crap. There is no nutrition in it at all.
  • THISisTARRAN
    THISisTARRAN Posts: 487 Member
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    I feel you. I am the opposite. Since having my daughter i lose off my sides, but not off my front belly.:(
  • crystaltide44
    crystaltide44 Posts: 5 Member
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    This is my trouble spot, too, but I have to agree with the others: First to appear, last to disappear, and only an overall weight loss/cardio program will help. I have to think that ab exercises would help with that, though, particularly exercises for the obliques.
  • Dskwon
    Dskwon Posts: 17
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    You can't work on specific area; it has to be an all over fat reduction. The more you work out with cardio/weights and eat the proper foods (heavy heavy heavy veggies and fruit, very limited processed food) the faster it will go down and those handles will become smaller and smaller. ooo and water. :) Drinks lotsa water.

    Exactly. You cannot expect to see results in just one area. When you are working out and eating right your body will lose the fat all over. And from what I have heard from other people, the mid section is the hardest place for a lot of people to lose weight. I still have my love handles and a small chunk of stomach but everything else is pretty trimmed down. It's just something you have to keep working for.

    I think it may be the hardest because people don't realize how much diet plays into the adominals. it is very difficult to cut out a lot of the normal food we eat and eat tons of veggies and fruit. Doing that has worked the best for me. I can actually see a 4 pack now. Since I eat so much veggies and fruit now, I hardly ever want fast food because I feel really horrible and sick after I eat it, because it's all crap. There is no nutrition in it at all.

    Like the two other people said, it's impossible to lose fat in any specific area. You can only lose fat proportionally over your entire body.

    Your abdominal conditioning regime has absolutely nothing to do with 'love handles'. No amount of core training, crunches or any of that will have any impact whatsoever. Love handles are pure fat and only reducing body fat has an impact on it.

    To make sure I'm explaining properly: Love handles are pure fat. The muscle underneath makes no difference to the fat sitting on top of it.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    Unfortunately body composition changes (dropping bodyfat, eliminating love handles, etc) all really stems from diet. You have to get rid of the fat tissue to see those reductions. Keep following a healthy calorie deficit and see how it goes. Midsection improvement can especially be difficult and you may actually consider a low carb diet plan like the Anabolic Diet to more efficiently go after body fat.

    Aside from that, there is a link to a good Ab / Core training routine in my signature and it's very good. :bigsmile:

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