If you really want to lose your “love tires”, you’ve come to the right place. She will learn some basic techniques that she can use in the privacy of her own home to get rid of those unattractive love handles and be more confident in her appearance.

Love handles are those unsightly deposits of fat that accumulate just above the hipbones and make wearing low-rise jeans, mid-cut t-shirts, bikinis, shorts, or any summer or skintight clothing uncomfortable and not very attractive. We’ve always been told that losing love handles is very difficult and can only be achieved by starving yourself and doing thousands of crunches. Not so!
Below are some basic techniques and if you follow them, you will be able to wear whatever you want and feel comfortable.

1. You should do some form of cardiovascular activity at least 3-5 times a week to get your heart rate up and help burn fat. If you’re not currently doing any cardio, you may want to start out with slow walking. You can walk around the block, around the mall, walking in a place… it doesn’t matter where, just walk! Activate your heart rate. To get your heart rate up even more, try holding a can of soup in each hand as you walk. This will also get your upper body working.

2. Work your abs, not just crunches and abs. Try doing leg lifts. Sit on the edge of a chair (hold onto the chair at first until you get used to the movement) and keep your legs together, slowly raising them as high as you can, keeping your abs contracted throughout the movement. Do 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

3. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume each day, however, it is very important to eat a well-balanced diet. Don’t starve. Your body needs good foods to keep your metabolism going to burn fat naturally. This is a common mistake that many people make. You should eat about 4 to 5 smaller meals each day. Most importantly, don’t skip breakfast. As a general rule of thumb for weight loss, the AVERAGE amount of calories consumed per day should be as follows: women 1,400 – 1,800 and men 2,200 – 2,700.

4. Drink plenty of fluids…especially water. Not drinking enough can negatively affect your weight loss efforts because dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3% (equivalent to about 45 fewer calories burned per day or about 5 pounds per year). Drinking water throughout the day is more effective than swallowing a gallon in one go. Eliminate soft drinks completely from your diet and you could lose up to 25 pounds in 1 year.

5. Monitor your fat loss progress using the skinfold test (pinch an inch), not your scale. The scale tells you your total weight, it does not distinguish between fat and muscle. The skin fold test will help you accurately monitor your fat percentages in the privacy of your own home. Check weekly.

6. Finally, keep a journal of everything you do, drink and eat (EVERYTHING). You will also want to document the results of your skinfolds. Nothing fancy, a notebook works great. This will be very helpful, as you may need to modify your routine as you reach your fat loss plateau.

Follow the steps above regularly and it’s only a matter of time until those ugly love handles are gone for good and you turn heads with your new look. Stay positive and don’t give up!