Getting rid of love handles is about more than just aesthetics—that excess fat around your hips and waist is a particularly dangerous type of fat and is linked to several concerning health conditions. “Fat deposited around your middle — also called visceral fat — lies inside the abdominal wall, surrounding key organs,” says Holly L. Thacker, MD, FACP, via Speaking of Women’s Health. “This firm fat is different from the fat covering legs and buttocks. Visceral fat is dangerous because it is metabolically active — it directly impacts your body chemistry. In contrast, the fat padding our thighs and behinds is warehoused until our bodies need to burn it for energy.” So how can you get rid of those love handles for good? Here’s what the experts say.
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1. HIIT Training
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HIIT training can help you burn fat and get fit, fast. “For health reasons alone, make sure your gym routine has at least some emphasis on fat loss if you’re carrying a little extra timber around those areas,” ultramarathon runner Ross Edgley tells GQ. “There are hundreds of practical training protocols to use, but one of the easiest and most effective is HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Use a rowing machine as your weapon of choice. Jump on the seat, strap your feet in, warm up for 5 minutes and then work at a fast pace (75 percent+ of your maximum heart rate) for 20 to 40 seconds, followed by a period of low-intensity training or complete rest which lasts 20 to 120 seconds. You then repeat this for a total of 10 to 20 minutes.”
2. Side Crunch
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Fitness instructor Sharon Eaton recommends side crunches to blast belly fat. “Lower yourself onto your side, forming the same straight alignment you used in the side plank. This time, bend your knees forward in front of your body and place both hands behind your head for support. Exhale as you lift your torso off the floor, crunching at the waist. Inhale and lower to start,” she tells Piedmont Healthcare. “Remember: there is no such thing as spot-reduction. To lose love handles completely, you need to decrease your calorie intake with a healthy diet and increase your calorie expenditure through exercise.”
3. Use Weights
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Use weights to burn fat and build muscle. “For love handles, start using your legs, with squats, deadlifts, and big movements in the gym,” trainer Rob Edmond tells GQ. “This releases natural growth hormones, which promote testosterone, which in turn promotes muscle. you have to work your legs. They’re the biggest muscle group in your body and they use the most amount of energy. They’re going to strip fat quicker than any plank. You need to do five sets of squats a day, increasing your weights daily.”
RELATED: 7 Ways to Lose “Unhealthy” Visceral Fat.
4. Walking Every Day
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Brisk walking can help torch the fat. “The good news is that exercise can work wonders in trimming girth,” Dr. Thacker says. “Take a brisk walk just 30 minutes a day, five days a week, to help stop the growth of visceral fat. Increase your exercise by jogging or doing another aerobic activity – with your doctor’s blessing, of course — and you’ll actually see your waistline shrink. Visceral fat is some of the first to go when you start aerobic exercise.”
5. Avoid Sugar
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Excess added sugar should be avoided. “I’ve been telling people this for about ten years,” Edmond says. “Sugar is the worst thing to consistently have because it just goes on as fat. On the other hand, fat can actually be quite good for you. I actually pour fat onto my food, like olive oil – I’m not worried about fat, and I rub it onto my skin too since it’s natural.”