Love handles can come when we least expect them and creep up as tiny little pockets of fat around the waistline. Your favorite pair of pants may suddenly become your least favorite, as you watch your muffin top spill over the sides.
Unfortunately, as much as we might want to snap our fingers and get rid of love handles over night, love handles have often been creeping up on us for a while and we don’t even realize it. It was a slow and gradual process to develop them, and as such it will also be a slow and gradual process to get rid of them.
Understanding why love handles happen can help you target them and hopefully avoid developing them again in the future. If you’re not sure where these pesky love handles come from, then here are some possible causes.
Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common reasons why people start to gain weight. This usually is the result of our jobs. Not everyone has a job unloading heavy freight, or landscaping gardens.
Many people sit behind a desk and as such have very little physical movement throughout the day. On top of this, they probably get very little physical exercise in their free time, and as such the body fat starts to accumulate over the years.
While you may not necessarily be up for switching careers, the next best thing is setting a time to work out every day. Even a 20-minute moderately paced walk can burn calories and trim down your love handles.
Excess Calories
Even though a few extra snacks here and there may seem harmless, the truth is that added up over the course of the week, these seemingly innocent bites and snacks can add up to a significant amount of calories.
Try to avoid eating between meals, and opt for healthy choices instead of processed ones whenever possible. Whole foods are just as filling, however, they often contain fewer calories and harmful substances. Increase your protein and fiber intake, and try to get your fats and sugars from natural sources rather than fast food or processed products from the grocery store.
Hormones
Sometimes we may be eating sensibly, and moving plenty throughout the day, and we still manage to develop a muffin top. This can be infuriating since you’re doing all of the right things without getting the right results!
Unfortunately, stress and hormones may be at play. Stress can lead to hormonal imbalances that encourage fat storage, particularly in our tummy area. Cortisol which is a chemical released when we are stressed has been linked in many studies to increased belly fat.
While you may not be able to eliminate stress entirely from your life, you can reduce it. Get more sleep, live a more balanced lifestyle, and when you’re starting to feel stressed, carry out stress-reducing activities like deep breathing or meditation.
