Behind the charming name of love handles lies a reality that many find far less endearing: stubborn rolls of fat sitting just above the hips, which can become a real source of self-consciousness. So where do they come from? First, we look at the main causes: diet, a lack of physical activity and changes that come with age. Then we cover the ways to reduce love handles by adopting a healthier lifestyle: cardio and targeted exercises, a balanced diet, treatments and massage, shapewear and sleep. Here are our tips to help you say goodbye to those unwanted bulges.
What are love handles?
Love handles result from an accumulation of subcutaneous fat that settles around the hips and in the abdominal area. These small pockets of fat can develop after months of a sedentary lifestyle, an unbalanced diet, or poor daily habits. Love handles affect both men and women, though they tend to be more common in women. While they may be aesthetically bothersome, they are not harmful to your health.
Where are love handles on the body?
Love handles, sometimes simply called side fat, sit on the sides of the body, just above the hips. They can extend towards the abdominal area and the lower belly. They are often more noticeable when you wear trousers or a skirt that fits snugly at the waist, as this draws attention to the area. How they look varies from one person to another, depending on body shape, age and lifestyle.
What causes love handles to appear?
You consume more than you burn
If you take in more calories than you burn over time, the surplus is stored as fat. When your muscles also remain idle for an extended period, this fat storage becomes visible in certain areas of the body, particularly the belly and hips, leading to the appearance of love handles.
Your diet is unbalanced
Today, our diets are heavily influenced by processed foods. Ready meals, fizzy drinks, and other products such as cold meats, sweets and pastries are often high in added sugars and lower-quality fats. Eaten regularly, they make it easy to exceed your calorie needs, which promotes weight gain and the formation of rolls above the hips and on the lower abdomen, especially when combined with a lack of physical activity. But nothing is set in stone. New habits, both at mealtimes and in everyday life, can help you tackle love handles.
You don’t get enough physical activity
A lack of physical activity plays a major role in the development of love handles. Regular endurance exercise helps you burn calories. In turn, it helps limit fat storage and, therefore, the appearance of love handles.
Your body changes with age
The causes can also be hereditary or age-related. Love handles may appear following a change in body shape during adolescence or at the time of the menopause. Around the menopause, the drop in oestrogen levels changes how fat is distributed, and it tends to settle more around the belly and the hips.
How to reduce love handles?
Cardio and targeted exercises
Exercising regularly can help you tackle your love handles. Several types of activity are particularly beneficial, including cardio sports. Cycling and running, for example, help you burn energy while toning your muscles.
HIIT is also worth considering for working on love handles, while improving your stamina and building muscle mass.
You can also incorporate targeted exercises such as planks, which strengthen the core muscles.
In your everyday life, make the most of small opportunities to move. Take the stairs instead of the lift, or walk to work if it’s not too far.
Diet
It’s equally important to limit certain eating habits, such as snacking, which often involves reaching for sugary foods. This habit can often be driven by stress or fatigue. When we are stressed for long periods, cortisol — the stress hormone — stays high, and cravings for sugary foods often increase.
Building new habits starts with rethinking what you eat. Make plenty of room for fruit and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, and low in calories. They let you fill your plate generously without making the meal too heavy.
For protein, lean meats such as chicken breast or turkey contain little fat. Your body also needs healthy fats: oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel provide omega-3, as does rapeseed oil, while olive oil is mainly rich in monounsaturated fatty acids.
Whole grains are another great addition to your diet. They provide complex carbohydrates and minerals, and contain more fibre than refined grains. They pair beautifully with legumes such as chickpeas, lentils or dried beans, which are good sources of plant protein.
By choosing a varied, balanced diet, you give your body the nutrients it needs while cutting back on excess calories.
Finally, cut back on overly sugary or fatty foods and sugary drinks, particularly ready meals, fizzy drinks and alcohol. Make water your go-to drink.
Targeted treatments for love handles
To complement your exercise and diet routine, it can be helpful to add targeted slimming treatments. The Programme Poignées d’Amour Cellublue has been specially designed to care for the waist and smooth the skin, over 21 days.
This complete programme is built on a combination of products to apply to the skin and massage techniques, to help with the look of rolls and orange-peel skin around the waist.
The routine:
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The Caviar Minceur Zones Rebelles is applied every morning to the targeted areas, particularly the belly and hips.
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The Soin Nuit Ventre, enriched with Slimsize®, is applied in the evening to help firm the look of the skin.
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The body massage tool completes the routine with a massage that helps smooth the skin.
- The programme also includes a 21-day coaching guide featuring slimming menus, recipes and targeted workout sessions to support your routine.
Lipomassage
If you’re struggling to reduce your love handles, you may also want to explore lipomassage. This massage technique targets the areas where fat cells tend to settle. At Cellublue, we have developed a Slimming Massage Device that lets you perform tailored lipomassage sessions at home.
How does it work?
The massager produces high-speed rotations and vibrations to massage the targeted areas. Incredibly convenient, it can be used on the thighs, buttocks, love handles, belly, hips and arms for 15 minutes a day.
The cordless massager: 2 900 rotations per minute to stimulate your skin
- A deep mechanical massage: rotations and vibrations, up to 2 900 turns per minute, knead the skin on your thighs, stomach, arms and bottom
- 2 complementary heads: the ball head kneads deep down, then the wave head smooths and tones the surface
- 5 intensity levels on a touchscreen, a blue light, cordless and quiet
Slimming garments
Certain accessories, such as slimming garments, can also support you throughout the day, helping to sculpt your figure. Shaping shorts, shapewear and body shapers help visually smooth rolls around the belly and love handles. You can wear them during the day as well as during your workout sessions.
To smooth the look of your waistline, try the Sculpting Shaper, which targets the abdominal area thanks to its firm-hold fabric, making love handles less visible under your clothes.
Liposuction
Liposuction is a surgical procedure that involves suctioning excess fat from targeted areas of the body. Like any surgery, it carries risks and requires a recovery period. It is generally considered when a balanced diet combined with regular physical activity is not enough to reduce love handles. If you have any questions about this procedure, ask a doctor for advice.
Getting enough sleep
Finally, quality sleep is essential. It is recommended to get at least seven hours of sleep per night. When you don’t sleep enough, your tired body produces more cortisol — the stress hormone — and the urge to snack increases, which makes managing your weight more difficult.
Adjusting your eating habits and exercising regularly will help you work on your love handles over time. In some cases, targeted body treatments may be useful to help you care for your figure and restore a harmonious, balanced silhouette.
Frequently asked questions
How do you lose love handles?
The key is to look at your lifestyle as a whole: do regular cardio such as cycling or running, add core exercises like planks, and cut back on ready meals, fizzy drinks and snacking. Getting enough sleep matters too.
How can I get rid of love handles?
A varied diet and regular physical activity remain the foundations. You can complement them with targeted body treatments, lipomassage at home or shapewear. Liposuction is an operation considered when these changes are not enough: in that case, ask a doctor for advice.
Which exercises help reduce love handles?
Cardio such as cycling or running is a good place to start, as is HIIT, which also works on your stamina and muscle mass. Planks strengthen the core muscles. In everyday life, take the stairs and walk whenever you can.
Are love handles bad for your health?
Love handles are mainly an aesthetic concern. If you have any questions about your health or weight, ask a doctor or healthcare professional for advice.
Related articles
- How to slim your hips: causes and possible solutions
- Flat stomach: daily habits to adopt
- Men: cryolipolysis for love handles?
Useful categories: Lose Love Handles.
