We're just going to come right out and say it — the pandemic changed a lot of our eating and exercise habits, sometimes not for the better.
We stayed home more, ate more processed foods (or whatever was available on the shelves at the time) and moved our bodies less.
There's no shame in the Netflix game, but if there's extra padding showing up in places it wasn't previously, you're not alone. In this article, we'll explore ways to target and reduce body fat (particularly those pesky love handles) in healthy ways.
What are love handles?
Sound delightful in theory, but in practice... not so much. Love handles is a cutesy way to describe the excess fat that gathers around the hips and middle of the torso.
Also affectionately known as the 'spare tire' or 'muffin top', love handles are known to be stubborn (which makes the pet names even more surprising) [1].
If we're getting technical though, love handles are actually made up of subcutaneous and visceral fat in the abdomen [2]. Subcutaneous fat is the stuff that's just underneath the skin, that you can poke/pinch and it feels soft.
Visceral fat, though, is hidden — it's typically stored around your internal organs and behind the abdominal wall [3].
Though some level of visceral fat is needed to protect your organs, too much of it can cause a bunch of health complications [3]. So, what causes love handles to creep up on us? And what can we do about it?
What causes love handles in men?
Previously, love handles and excess weight around the middle have usually only been associated with women going through menopause. But bad news, fellas: men can get love handles too!
You might have heard reference to a 'beer belly', 'dad bod', or 'pot belly'. Whatever you choose to call it, the moral of the story is: love handles can affect anyone.
There are a number of different factors that can influence whether or not you develop excess fat around the belly. These include:
- Genetics
- Age
- Birth weight (babies born smaller or prematurely tend to gain more belly fat in later life) [3]
- Hormones
- Diet
- Alcohol consumption
- Smoking
- Exercise routine
- Lack of sleep
- Some medications/health conditions
One of the biggest causes of excess body fat is eating more food than needed for the amount of physical activity we're doing. The body holds on to the excess energy and converts it into body fat [4].
Until pretty recently, it was thought that having extra body fat only really affected cholesterol levels and fatty acids getting into your bloodstream.
Researchers now know, however, that visceral fat can lead to a pretty concerning list of diseases and health conditions [4].
What are the health risks associated with love handles?
If your body is storing excess visceral fat, you might be more at risk of developing health conditions like high cholesterol, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure, asthma, and more [3].
How can a few love handles cause all this drama? Turns out that fat cells release chemicals and hormones that can run amok all throughout your body.
It's not just a matter of whether your jeans are a bit tight or not, maintaining a healthy weight is a form of disease prevention [5].
Can you target love handles with exercise?
You can definitely target love handles with exercise — exercising regularly isn't just important for losing weight, but also for looking after your overall physical and mental health. However, it's important to know that exercise alone may not lose your love handles for you [6].
Even if you've upped your fitness routine but haven't noticed yourself losing body fat yet, you can still be losing visceral fat and gaining muscle mass [3].
These are important parts of staying healthy, even if they don't show up in the mirror as easily.
Some of the ab exercises recommended by health professionals to target love handles include:
Interval training
Exercising at a moderate intensity with intermittent rest periods can help burn calories and target visceral fat [3].
Doctors recommend about 30 minutes of exercise per day on most days, but make sure to chat to your GP or physio before going all out — if you're planning to try high-intensity interval training, it's best to be guided by a professional [4].
Studies have shown that when you combine this kind of workout with strength training, it has the best chance of keeping visceral fat at bay [3].
Planks, lifts, and crunches
If you want to get rid of love handles for good, we do know one thing: sit-ups, push-ups and other spot exercises won't cut it. Plain old abdominal exercises might tighten things up, but they won't help with the underlying fat loss [5].
Experts suggest looking at things like resistance training, weight training, and focusing on your core muscles can all help with reducing body fat.
If you build muscle mass you might gain weight (as muscles weigh more than fat), but your body will be learning how to burn the visceral fat underneath. Gaining and toning muscle elsewhere can reduce the appearance of your love handles [4].
Try adding in a side plank position to your next workout if you're up to it — this is one that most researchers recommend to burn fat [7].
More of a crunch kind of guy? The oblique crunch seems to be a winner. This is the one where you lie on your right side with your knees bent and off the floor. Place your left hand behind your head. Bend both your knees, raise your upper body and try to touch your left knee with your left elbow.
There are even variations you can do with a medicine ball, if that's your thing [7].
We also recommend diagrams, or Youtube videos... and whatever you do, don't go 0-100 on your first day. As with all new exercise regimes, ease into it and get some advice if you need to.
Other ways to get rid of love handles
As we mentioned earlier, exercise alone probably won't give you the results you're looking for. There are other things to look out for if you want to lose weight and say bye to the spare tyre for good.
Diet
It's probably a little obvious, but being mindful of your diet can really help with weight loss. This doesn't mean being punitive or extreme — in fact, our body still needs healthy fats to function.
Avoiding processed foods, sweetened beverages, foods with added sugar, alcohol, fried foods, and refined grains will all help maintain a healthy body weight.
Small changes to start off with — like switching to olive oil or whole grains, or watching portion sizes — can make a big difference [4].
If you want to take some of the guesswork out of the equation, you can check out our Weight Reset Shakes. Developed with dietitians, these meal replacement shakes are grounded in the science of weight loss. No fads, no bad stuff.
Sleep
Not too little, not too much. Sleep can have a massive impact on your overall health, including your weight.
Not sleeping enough can make you feel more hungry, and ramp up your stress hormones — both of which can increase weight gain.
Doctors usually recommend between 7-9 hours of sleep a night, so if you're having trouble sleeping make sure you get it seen to [4].
Stress
As if feeling stressed isn't bad enough, it seems particularly rude that it can affect your weight. But it's the truth. Stress hormones directly increase visceral fat, but can also lead to emotional eating.
It sounds simple enough to say 'stress less!' — we know it isn't that easy. But if you find yourself with racing thoughts a lot of the time, unable to wind down, or that stress is impacting your daily life, it might be time to chat to someone about it [4].
Exploring distraction techniques and making time in your day for things you enjoy/want to do (not things you should or have to), can really help reduce stress levels too. Do we dare mention meditation? (Seriously though, it can really help).
How long does it take males to get rid of love handles?
Everyone's body is different, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer for how long it will take to get rid of love handles. It might happen really quickly for some, for others it'll take a bit more time.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, or have no idea where to begin, we can help.
Pilot’s Metabolic Reset Program is designed as a one-stop shop to support you and your weight loss goals. The program is based on the latest medical research, and backed by our team of dietitians and coaches. You'll get to know your body more and make sustainable, healthy changes.
And if you're reading this, you've already taken the first step! Now, back to those crunch and plank diagrams...
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