If you really want to lose your love handles, you have come to the right place. You will learn some basic techniques that you can use in the privacy of your own home to shed those unattractive love handles and become more confident in your appearance.
Love handles are those nasty fat deposits that accumulate just above the hip bones that make wearing low-rise jeans, mid-cut tops, bikinis, shorts, or any summery or skintight outfit uncomfortable and unattractive. . We have always been told that losing your love handles is very difficult and can only be achieved if you starve yourself and do thousands of sit-ups. Not so!
Here are some basic techniques and if you follow them, you can wear whatever you want and feel comfortable.
1. You should do some type of cardiovascular activity at least 3-5 times a week to increase your heart rate and help burn fat. If you are not currently doing any cardiovascular exercise, you may want to start slowly by walking. You can walk around the block, around the mall, walking on site … no matter where, just walk! Activate your heart rate. To increase your heart rate even more, try holding a can of soup in each hand as you walk. This will also make the upper body work.
2. Work your abs, not just abs and crunches. Try lifting your legs. Sit on the edge of a chair (hold onto the chair at first until you get used to the movement) and, keeping your legs together, slowly raise your legs as high as you can, keeping your abs tight throughout the movement. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
3. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume each day, however, it is very important to eat a well-balanced diet. Don’t starve yourself. Your body needs good foods to keep your metabolism going to burn fat naturally. This is a common mistake that many people make. You should eat 4 to 5 smaller meals a day. The most important thing is that you don’t skip breakfast. As a general rule of thumb for weight loss, the AVERAGE number of calories consumed per day should be as follows: women 1400-1800 and men 2200-2700.
4. Drink lots of fluids … especially water. Not drinking enough can negatively affect your weight loss efforts because dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3% (equivalent to about 45 fewer calories burned per day or about 5 pounds per year). Drinking water throughout the day is more effective than swallowing a gallon at a time. Eliminate soda completely from your diet and you could lose up to 25 pounds in 1 year.
5. Monitor your fat loss progress using the skin fold test (pinch an inch), not your scale. The scale tells you your total weight, it does not distinguish between fat and muscle. The skinfold test will allow you to accurately monitor your fat percentages in the privacy of your home. Check weekly.
6. Lastly, keep a journal of everything you do, drink, and eat (EVERYTHING). You will also want to document the results of the skinfolds. Nothing fancy, a notebook works great. This will come in handy as you may need to modify your routine as you hit the fat loss plateau.
Follow the steps above regularly and it is only a matter of time until those horrible love handles are gone forever and you will turn heads with your new look. Stay positive and don’t give up!