How To Get Rid Of Side Fat
Weight in your sides, also known as love handles, are frustrating to remove. This fat sits on either side of the waist on top of the hips.
The side fat always seems to overstay its welcome, with even the dictated fitness enthusiasts struggling to shed those extra pounds around the sides.
Most people dislike love handles and look to get rid of them to increase muscle definition on their belly and sides. However, they use the wrong approach to remove the fat because they believe they can directly target the fat on their side.
Spot fat reduction doesn’t work. If you want to burn side fat and accent your natural curves, focus on losing your overall weight. This article looks at how you can get rid of side fat.
The article explores the exercises, diet, and lifestyle changes you can take to minimize the appearance of love handles.
Why Do Fats Accumulate at the Sides?
Side fat refers to the excess flab along the sides of your waist that occurs because of fat retention. This fat accumulates when your body takes in too many calories, and you don’t burn as many calories as you’re consuming.
Over time, the fat cells can become noticeable as they accumulate in certain areas, such as around your waist and hips. Many people struggle to lose fat that lies atop the obliques and get frustrated when it bulges over their waistband.
This fat accumulates when you eat more calories than your body burns.
While fat can accumulate anywhere in the body, certain factors increase the likelihood of retaining fat in the abdominal areas. The reasons can include hormones, gender, and genetics.
For example, untreated medical conditions such as hypothyroidism can increase the likelihood of weight gain and love handle development. However, the major factors that affect visceral fat levels are diets, weight, and activity levels.
Lack of physical activity is one cause for side fat accumulation. If you don’t burn more calories than you consume through physical activity or regular exercise, you may accumulate body fat.
Apart from a lack of physical activity, a high fat, sugar, and high-calorie foods diet can also contribute to excess fat.
Sleep deprivation also causes side fat accumulation.
Dangers of Side Fats
Love handles are not dangerous but may show underlying risk factors for chronic illnesses.
For example, they can signal obesity, leading to a higher risk of certain conditions. Studies have shown that carrying visceral fat around the sides and abdomen increases the risk of serious health complications.
For example, having excess side fat can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. You may experience type 2 diabetes, hypertension, breathing issues, and liver diseases.
This type of fat is deeper within your body, close to your organs and can cause heart diseases. Since the love handles don’t appear overnight, you can’t expect to lose them immediately. Therefore, preventing love handles can help boost your overall health.
Getting Rid of Side Fat
There are several ways you can use to get rid of side fat.
However, you can’t achieve fat reduction with spot exercises alone. Instead, minimize love handles through regular exercises and maintaining a moderate weight.
Caloric deficit
If you want to lose your love handles, you need to consume fewer calories. The caloric deficit you create can determine how many sides you can lose.
Since you cannot spot-reduce the side fat, you will lose weight from all over your body and eventually, some of that fat will come off your midsection.
Start by creating a caloric deficit, meaning you take in fewer calories than you burn each day. By creating a caloric deficit, your body will turn to your fat stores for energy, and the weight will come off.
Committing to lowering your caloric intake is the first step to getting rid of side fat. One of the easiest ways to consume fewer calories is to reduce your portion sizes. Also, consider eating spinach, broccoli, or any other non-starchy vegetables to replace higher-calorie foods.
Eat adequate amounts of wholesome food and cut down on added sugar foods because they have a high-calorie count that doesn’t provide many other nutrients.
A large amount of sugar in our diet comes from drinks with fruit juices and smoothies containing high sugar levels.
When looking to cut calories, don’t reduce your intake too quickly. Excessive dieting can affect your hormones and interfere with your metabolism.
If you don’t eat enough food, you can affect your energy levels and sleep quality since the hormones are not balanced.
It’s important to lose weight slowly to avoid the side effects of rapid weight loss. Restricting your caloric intake can prevent you from taking in another food to get the essential nutrients for your body.
Creating a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day can help you lose a pound a week. This calorie deficit can help reduce fat around the sides and all around the body. However, don’t reduce your caloric intake below 1200 a day.
Back exercises
A combination of cardio exercises and weight lifting can help reduce side fat.
You can also incorporate exercises that target specific body areas, such as the abdomen. These exercises will remove fat and improve muscle tone, thus contributing to weight loss.
Perform cardio exercises five times a week, aiming for at least 30 minutes of cardio per session. Incorporate high-intensity interval training into your cardio and strength training into your exercise routine.
Doing strengthening exercises can boost your metabolism and burn massaged more efficiently. Here are some back exercises to get rid of side fat.
- Side plank: This exercise is a killer move for reducing side fat. They target your oblique muscles, love handles, and lower belly pooch. Side planks involve lying on one side using one arm to prop yourself up then placing one leg on top of the other to form a straight line. Raise your hips off the ground, hold the position for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side.
- Bicycle crunches: These exercises involved lying flat on your back with legs lifted and knees bent. You contract your abdominal muscles and twist the right elbow towards the left knee while fully extending the right leg. Repeat this on the opposite side at least 15 to 30 times.
- Mountain climbers: This exercise starts in a plank position before bringing your right knee up towards your chest while keeping your left leg extended. Hold the position briefly, then switch legs in a swift movement so that the left knee is now up by your chest. Ensure you disperse weight on both legs and not shift all your weight to one foot.
- Russian twists: Start this exercise by sitting with your knees bent. Then twist your torso toward the left side and hold the position. After that, turn your torso towards the right and hold, then repeat this exercise for 30 repetitions. Add some weight to the exercise to increase the difficulty level.
These exercises can help you tone your sides. Most of these exercises are simple and easy to perform to help quickly get rid of side fat. You will reduce side fat while building a slimmer waist in a matter of weeks.
However, don’t over-exercise. Mix strength training and cardio for greater weight loss. Note that building muscles in your core won’t help you lose side fat, though it will tone the area and reduce the fat appearance.
Lifestyle adjustments
Exercises are never enough for getting rid of side fat. Instead, combine workouts with other lifestyle adjustments. Start by eating a well-balanced diet rich in nutrients to improve your overall well-being.
This entails eating various healthy options such as fruits and vegetables, proteins, fats, dairy products, and starchy foods. For example, eating protein-rich foods can help you on your weight loss journey.
Drink enough water as it helps prevent dehydration and achieve fluid retention. Make sure you consume the recommended amount of water every day. Reduce your stress levels as one of the lifestyle adjustments and get enough rest.
Some people also minimize the side fat appearance by wearing flattery clothing that doesn’t pinch the weight.
Also, avoid alcohol and sugary food as a lifestyle change to get rid of love handles. Consuming alcohol and sugary foods can lead to weight gain and love handles.
Hence, try to eat a moderate and balanced diet, including lean proteins and leafy vegetables, to increase protein and fibre intake. This can help you feel fuller quickly and longer, thus avoiding excess calorie consumption.
Conclusion
You can shake off unwanted side fat by working towards a healthy weight and an active lifestyle.
Maintaining a healthy weight is the best way to look after your health. Instead of using spot reduction exercise, you need to lose weight overall to get rid of side fat.
Losing excess weight can help eliminate the side fat with ease. However, there are some exercises you can do to lose weight quickly and tone your muscles.
Most of these exercises target the abs and obliques. Combining these exercises with a healthy diet can help get rid of side fat.
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