Love handles...
for most people, there is nothing to love about them.
If you're among the millions of people that have been blessed with this unwelcome fat around the waistline, you know how frustrating it can be to try to get rid of them.
Whether you're in your teens, your 80's or anywhere in between, love handles have no boundaries, and can establish residence with any one at any time.
Getting rid of love handles for most is much more difficult than getting them.
Many people try numerous methods, and after months and even years of frustration, there is little to show for their efforts.
Often the reason is the lack of knowledge and myths about effective weight loss techniques and how to use them.
In order to get rid of this extra baggage, often called spare tires or middle-aged spread, it is important to debunk these myths and untruths to set yourself up for long term success.
Below, we will explain some of the more common myths, and what to do about them.
Myth #1:Doing abdominal exercises will get rid of my love handles.
This is probably the most misunderstood belief by far.
Many people believe to get rid of love handles they need to do hours of abdominal crunches, side bends and torso twists.
These exercises are great to strengthen the abdominal and oblique muscles, but will do very little to reduce the fat in that area.
The lesson here is spot reducing is not possible.
Love handles are simply fat, and this layer of fat is completely separate from the underlying muscles.
In order to see those toned muscles, you must lose the fat, which involves an overall complete program of proper nutrition and exercise (both cardiovascular and strength training).
Myth #2:To lose weight, I must go on a diet.
To many people, the thought of dieting can mean anything from cutting out sweets to various methods of starvation including skipping meals.
Though eating less may be crucial to your success, if done the wrong way, it can be counterproductive and even dangerous.
During drastic cases of dieting such as skipping meals, your body starts to think it is going into starvation.
To preserve the resources it has, your body's metabolism slows.
To make matters worse, when you finally do eat again, you may tend to eat an abnormally large meal.
The result is a higher than normal caloric intake than if you had eaten several meals throughout the day.
The solution is to eat several small, healthy meals throughout the day, thus keeping your metabolism high and reducing the likelihood of gorging.
Myth #3:I'm afraid to lift weights because I will bulk up.
Many people, especially women, are afraid of weight training because they feel they will become too muscular.
For most people, bulking up is MUCH harder than they realize.
Huge muscles require extreme dedication and a lot of heavy weights.
For women, it's even more difficult because they don't have enough testosterone in their bodies to easily support large muscles.
With this said, some degree of strength training to build muscle tone is important in both males and females to get rid of love handles.
These benefits include:

1. Muscle burns more calories than fat - though there is not an overall agreed amount by experts, studies have shown that a pound of muscle can burn an extra 6-35 calories.
   
2. Muscle helps strengthen bones and connective tissue - this is especially important for women, who are susceptible to bone loss and osteoporosis as they grow older.
   
3. Increased muscle helps prevent the loss of lean body mass - lean body mass can decrease from improper dieting and/or the natural aging process.
   

Myth #4:Surgery will get rid of my love handles permanently.
With any medical issue, surgery should be considered a last resort due to its inherent risks.
This procedure, known as liposuction, is where fat is sucked out of the targeted area.
This can be a very effective technique where results are instantaneous.
However, it must be understood that this does not mean you should continue living the same lifestyle that caused your love handles to form in the first place.
Maintaining a proper diet and exercise program are critical in preventing these fat deposits from reforming.
In order to get rid of your love handles once and for all, remember, there is no quick fix, magic pill, single exercise or machine that will allow you to reach your goal.
What you must do is combine a healthy, nutritious diet consisting of unprocessed natural foods with a well designed exercise program to maximize your fat loss.
You may see ups and downs during your journey, but if you are patient and stick to your plan, your love handles will be a distant memory.