Love handles: the tricks to keep them from being noticed and some tips to get rid of them
Love handles are the excess fat that forms on the hips, just above the hipbone, and we call them that because they are accumulations of fat that are easy to "grasp". Eliminating them requires a combined effort between diet and constant exercise, because unfortunately it is fat that is burned only after the so-called visceral one, that is, the one that is concentrated inside the abdominal cavity, and which can also lead to serious health problems.
If having love handles creates problems on an aesthetic level, you can resort to a series of tricks to disguise them, using the right models and fabrics to conceal their presence.
via edition.cnn.com
Women
Generally, the female body is tighter at the waist than at the hips, so wearing skirts or high-waisted pants avoids exposing that portion of the hips where the handles are. Girdling the body immediately below the handles (at the hipbone) means emphasizing the swelling which then "overflows" at the sides, creating that effect that in English is called "muffin top".
When trying on skirts and trousers, pay attention to those that come to button above the navel or have the belt as high as possible, as well as being cut so as to better surround the back (thus reaching quite high) than the front. Dresses cut in this way minimize the possibility of noticing the bulges of the love handles, and also allow you to wear shirts, t-shirts and shorter sweaters.
In all cases where the skirt or trousers cannot hide the handles well, you will have to make up for with tops: choose empire-style models, taken under the breast and then come down soft and flared downwards, or wide and soft shirts, without cousins that tighten at the waist. Shapes reminiscent of kimonos, ponchos and tunics are all suitable, especially those that drop down to hug the hips.
As for dresses, similar considerations apply: all those that tighten at the waist emphasizing shapes should be avoided, even if a lot also depends on the type of fabric. A quiet choice are again very loose tunics and dresses, perhaps tighter around the shoulders and breasts, and which then go down widening. Otherwise, you can choose models that are even more capable of emphasizing the shape of the body, if they have floral patterns, even showy ones, that conceal any marks left on the body, or if they have fabric panels that are a little draped on the front, in order to camouflage imperfections.
As for fabrics: many knitted dresses, or satin, polyester and elastane tend to adhere to the body, so better to avoid them, unless you also use modeling underwear.
When choosing the colors of garments, it is not necessarily the case that you have to sadden your wardrobe only with solid colors in dark blue and black: even choosing color combinations (or colour block models) be careful that there are darker shades in the to hide and lighter in the others, it could be more than enough to not have to give up more lively clothing.
Often, then, we do not realize the importance of underwear: choosing the wrong one can ruin the effect even of very expensive clothes, and when there is also help to disguise a little, it is important to wear the right clothes. Also in this case, high-waisted models are better, and of the right size, that is, that do not tighten the body too much. Sometimes briefs with thin and tight elastic bands create bulges even when there is no excess of fat!
Help yourself with modeling underwear, designed specifically to sculpt the body by camouflaging the presence of imperfections: under dresses and skirts you can use containment sheaths modeling slips, while for all other cases you can resort to briefs and containment busts.
Care must also be taken with accessories. Belts are a risk: the thin ones almost always mark the hips, those a little higher, instead they can help a little but in any case it is good to choose models that rest softly on the silhouette. Instead scarves left hanging at the hips, cardigans (even shirts) can help us wear even those garments that perhaps marked the hips too much. For sporty or casual outfits, never underestimate the sweatshirt fastened at the waist.
Then choosing flashy necklaces or earrings is a way to distract attention from the points on the body that you don't want to be noticed too much. And if you can't wear them, perhaps at work or in other cases, you can resort to wider necklines that shape the décolleté well.
Men
Many of the same considerations apply to men too, especially as regards trousers, which should never be low-rise in order not to highlight what you want to disguise.
Another important precaution is the way to wear the shirt: it is a necessary garment on many occasions, and which in men's models always falls quite straight. What to do? If you can, don't tuck them into your pants, but let them fall out so you don't notice the bulge above the waistband. In these cases, it must be well-made shirts and perhaps elegant models. When you need to tuck your shirt into your pants, cover your hips with lightweight jackets, cardigans or blazers that fit well. Even a pullover that is a bit loose and above all long enough to camouflage the belt area is an excellent ally.
T-shirts also have a straight cut, so they must always be chosen a little more abundantly, or even these accompanied by an open shirt used as a jacket, a blazer or a cardigan. Tunics and kimono designs for the top of your outfits are other great options.
When the shirt or t-shirt model can't hide that much, then don't attract further attention with very bright colors or flashy patterns. Stripes and plaid prints can also be quite risky.
Just like women, men can also benefit from containment underwear: they are shaping t-shirts or tank tops that help just as happens with the bust or girdles for women. They are therefore worn above all under shirts or in any case where you want to contain excess fat and disguise the love handles.
Exercises for reducing love handles
Any exercise regimen must be paired with an adequate diet, and this changes according to age and various other health parameters of each of us. It should also be taken into account, then, that although there are targeted physical exercises to tone certain parts of the body, when it comes to reducing fat in reality, you cannot target a specific area, but aim to reduce fat in a way uniform and this, if you are constant, even makes love handles disappear in no long time.
Love handles, in particular, do not respond immediately to increased exercise as we would like, and indeed the first store of fat that is consumed by the body when starting a movement-paired diet is visceral fat, which some studies have. listed as more dangerous to our health.
What therefore works is to find a regimen that is not impossible for us to follow in the long term, so that over time we also get to make the handles disappear along with all the rest of the excess fat. And there is no successful regimen that does not also include enjoying sufficient hours of restful sleep at night and plenty of hydration.
A program to try involves alternating high-intensity exercises with others to be done more at rest, increasing the duration of the first ones progressively from week to week: we aim for a regimen of cardio exercises that take up 65-85% of the heart rate to at least 30 minutes.
For example, various types of abdominal exercises can be alternated such as: woodchopper, torso rotations with the medicine ball, medicine ball slams (which consist in lifting the ball above the head and then quickly accompanying it to the ground, squatting to make it "bounce. ”) And the exercises with elastic pulled with the arms above the head, both moving sideways and forward-backward.
Even finding the high intensity "circuit training" program to follow several times a week can help a lot to keep burning the right level of calories, while on the other days you can use the combination of high intensity exercises alternating with more delicate ones. . High-intensity circuit training also involves alternating short sprints of cardiovascular exercises (jumping jacks) with very short rest periods. This is an ideal way to get a lot of results in a short time, perfect for when you have busy days, suitable not only for the gym but also at home.
To focus the action on the oblique muscles, however, some trainers advise against lateral push-ups with weights (when holding a weight while standing and bending on the side of the arm that holds the weight), preferring instead of side plank and bicycle sessions ( the exercise to do lying on the ground, flexing and rotating the legs in the air).
Another philosophy, suitable for those who do not want to engage in fitness exercises such as those described above, is that which involves making sure you walk a lot every day and sleep well at night: 12 thousand steps a day and at least 7 hours of sleep. Considering how gymnastic exercises greatly increase appetite and make it difficult to adhere to a diet, the latter option could be an excellent way to start taking care of yourself.
All these are indications that should be discussed with doctors and professionals, in order to confirm or adapt the optimal conditions to our specific case, but they certainly can give a good idea of what we can do to make love handles disappear!
