How to Lose Love Handles Fast in Just 1 Week

How to Lose Love Handles Fast in 1 Week

Love handles, also known as spare tires or muffin tops, are areas of stubborn fat around the waist that can be difficult to lose. While it may seem impossible to lose love handles quickly, there are strategies you can use to target these problem areas and see results in as little as 1 week.

Why Do We Get Love Handles?

Love handles are common in both men and women and have several causes:

Genetics - Your genetics can predispose you to hold onto fat in your midsection.
Hormones - Hormonal changes associated with stress, menopause, and andropause can encourage fat storage around the midsection.
Poor diet - Eating too many refined carbs and sugary foods leads to fat storage around the midsection.
Inactivity - Not exercising enough causes overall fat gain, including around the midsection.

The Benefits of Losing Love Handles

Losing your love handles provides several important health benefits:

Reduces belly fat - Excess belly fat raises your risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Improves posture - Excess fat around the midsection pulls the hips forward and strains the lower back.
Relieves back pain - Love handles place stress on the spine, contributing to lower back pain.
Boosts confidence - Trimming down love handles can make you feel better about your appearance.

How to Lose Love Handles in 1 Week

While losing fat from any area of the body requires time and consistency, you can take strategic steps to maximize fat loss from your midsection in as little as 1 week:

1. Cut Calories

To lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit, which means you burn more calories than you consume. Cut 500-1000 calories per day from your maintenance level to lose about 1-2 pounds per week. Track your intake with an app and focus on high protein, high fiber foods to help manage hunger.

2. Reduce Bloating

Sodium, processed foods, constipation and other factors can cause bloating that makes your belly look bigger. Avoid sodium, drink plenty of water, eat fiber-rich veggies and address constipation to reduce bloat.

3. Do HIIT Workouts

Perform 2-4 high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts per week. HIIT targets visceral belly fat while also stoking your metabolism to burn more calories each day. Useful HIIT exercises include sprints, bike intervals, battle ropes and rowing intervals.

4. Lift Weights

Weight training boosts your metabolic rate for longer compared to cardio. Focus on multi-joint moves like deadlifts, squats, rows and presses. Train all the major muscle groups 2-3 times per week.

5. Add Cardio

For maximum fat burning, do 150-300 minutes of moderate cardio weekly on top of your weight training. Brisk walking, jogging, cycling and swimming are all effective options.

6. Target Love Handles

Exercises that target the obliques help tone and shape the waistline. Try side planks, Russian twists, bicycle crunches and seated band rotations.

7. Manage Stress

Chronic stress exposure activates hormones like cortisol that encourage belly fat storage. Try stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing and journaling.

8. Get Quality Sleep

Not getting enough sleep alters hunger signaling hormones, leading to increased calorie intake the next day. Aim for 7-9 hours per night to facilitate fat loss.

9. Stay Hydrated

Drink at least 64 ounces of water daily. Being well hydrated keeps you energized for workouts, boosts metabolism slightly and flushes out bloat-causing sodium.

Foods to Eat to Lose Love Handles Fast

Focusing on the right foods makes it easier to lose love handles quickly:

Protein - High protein foods like egg whites, chicken breast, fish, Greek yogurt and protein powder fill you up and require more calories to digest than carbs or fat.
Fiber - Foods high in fiber including vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds improve satiety and support fat loss.
Green tea - Green tea contains EGCG, an antioxidant that boosts metabolism and fat burning.

Foods to Avoid to Lose Love Handles

On the flip side, certain foods encourage fat storage around the midsection:

Added sugars - Foods with added sugars spike insulin levels, driving fat storage.
Refined grains - Refined flour products like bread, pasta and baked goods quickly raise blood sugar.
Alcohol - Drinking alcohol lowers inhibitions around eating, leading to overconsumption of calories.
Trans fats - Found in fried and processed foods, trans fats encourage belly fat.

Other Tips for Losing Love Handles

A few other suggestions to help boost your love handle slim down efforts include:

Drink black coffee - The caffeine provides a metabolism boost.
Eat more spicy foods - Compounds in hot peppers called capsinoids increase calorie burn.
Do moderate steady state cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning
Get enough vitamin C - Vitamin C helps increase fat burning during exercise.
Take probiotics - Probiotics support a healthy gut environment and immunity.

Workouts That Target Love Handles

The most effective workouts for slimming love handles involve a combination of aerobic exercise and targeted strength training.

1. Metabolic Resistance Training

Metabolic resistance training refers to circuits that alternate cardio and strength exercises with minimal rest between moves. This training style blasts calories while keeping metabolism elevated for hours after your workout. Useful circuits for love handles include:

Mountain climbers + dumbbell rows
Jumping jacks + shoulder press
Burpees + squat press
High knees + Romanian deadlift

2. HIIT Cardio

Perform sprint intervals 1-2 times per week for rapid fat burning from love handles. Some top HIIT options are:

30-60s sprints + 60-90s recovery intervals
Stair sprints
Treadmill or bike intervals

3. Strength Training

Use compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and rows along with isolation moves like planks, side bends, and band rotations to target love handles 2-3 times weekly.

Conclusion

While losing fat from any area takes time and consistency, you can take strategic steps to maximize fat burning around your love handles. Combining a moderate calorie deficit with targeted strength training and interval cardio workouts can help you lose love handle fat fast and start seeing results in as little as 1 week. Be patient and stick with your plan for long-term love handle reduction.

FAQs

What exercises burn love handle fat the fastest?

The most effective exercises for burning fat from love handles include HIIT (high intensity interval training), compound strength training moves like deadlifts and squats, and isolation exercises like planks, side bends, and band rotations that target the obliques.

What foods help get rid of love handles?

Foods that help get rid of love handles include high protein foods like egg whites, chicken breast, fish, Greek yogurt and protein powder, fiber-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, and green tea, which contains the fat burning antioxidant EGCG.

How much cardio should I do to lose love handles?

For maximum love handle fat loss, aim for 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity cardio per week. This could include brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, intervals, etc. Combine this with 2-4 HIIT sessions weekly.

How many calories should I cut to lose love handles?

To lose love handles through calorie deficit, cut 500-1000 calories per day from your maintenance level. This equates to about 1-2 pounds of fat loss per week. Use an app to track your calories for best results.

How much water should I drink to lose love handles?

Drink at least 64 ounces (1.9 liters) of water daily to aid fat loss. Being well hydrated keeps you energized for workouts, flushes out bloat and slightly boosts metabolism.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.