Getting Rid of Love Handles

"Works great for getting rid of love handles!" So clearly I should buy that crazy contraption on TV, right?

I am a bit of an insomniac. Believe it or not, I usually write these emails after midnight. This one is no different.

As I was sifting through the questions, looking for one to answer, an infomercial came on the TV advertising some torture device guaranteed to get you abs in like 2 minutes or something. Complete piece of junk.

Just about the time the pitch man said “use it for getting rid of love handles,” I read this question...

Kamal, thanks for the compliment. And thanks for reading. As I said above, it seemed like fate that I answer this question, so here it goes…

Let’s talk for just a minute about what love handles are so everyone is on the same page here.

Love handles are that area of fat that is right around your midsection, just above the belt line. It’s usually most visible on the sides when you look in the mirror. (This are of fat is sometimes called a spare tire or muffin top, for everyone who wrote in with a similar question).

So, on to getting rid of love handles. Let’s start with the commercial (and those like it) that I was watching...

There are so many claims out there that if you use machine x or do exercise y, that you can burn fat around your midsection and get ripped abs. This includes getting rid of your love handles.

And to be quite honest with you about it, it makes me angry.

Listen, and listen carefully... you cannot spot reduce fat. You cannot do a million crunches, or side bends, or leg lifts and expect to specifically burn belly fat.

First, ab exercises are a bad way to burn fat. You just won’t burn enough calories before your muscles give out to shed any significant amount of fat. Yeah, they left that out of the commercial, didn’t they? I wonder what else they left out...

Oh yeah! You burn fat all over, and generally in a specific order, that is determined by the way people have evolved over time.

You see, you store fat around your midsection, butt and thighs because that is where your body has decided it is easiest to carry it.

Because of this, it is the first place we put fat on, and the last place we take it off. That is why it is so hard to lose belly fat and eliminate love handles.

So, with that mini-rant out of the way, how would I go about getting rid of love handles?

Diet and exercise. But you knew that. Here is what they won't tell you anywhere else...

It also takes commitment.

You see, as you get less and less fat, it gets harder and harder to shed that next pound. Remember when you first start a fat burning routine, the weight comes off pretty easily at first. That is not the case when you are wrestling with those last ten pounds.

I like to call them the “show” pounds, because you burn that fat, you are ready to show off those abs.

But because those love handles are so hard to get rid of, many people just give up.

Don’t be one of those people. I am going to point you to a good fat loss interval program and a diet outline to help you.

If you hit your calories numbers, and follow roughly this outline, you should have good success. But test and tweak. Your body may react better to lower carbs or lower fat.

If nothing else, though, don’t give up. Getting rid of love handles isn’t easy. If it were, nobody would have them.

You took a good first step by asking the question. Now follow through and take focused action.

My Favorite Interval Program to Burn Fat

My Six Pack Abs Diet Outline



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