How To Get Rid of Love Handles

Forget the Infomercials, here are the real keys to getting your abs in shape and how to get rid of love handles.

by Bob Myhal

Remember all those infomercials about the Ab Buster, Blaster, Basher, or whatever it is? You know, the ones with those trim, tight, and flat-stomached models doing a few reps and showing off their mid-sections. The implication, of course, was that these people got their outstanding abs by using whatever machine it was they were hocking.

Forget it.

I’ll tell you straight: the biggest issues in getting your abs in top condition are as always--

• Intelligent training
• Diet
• Supplementation.

Start With Cardio

Get rid of the layer of fat covering your abs first. When you lower your body fat percentage, your abs will appear more chiseled and defined. To get the abs up to shape, you'll want to do about 30 minutes of cardio work 3 or 4 times a week. Some great choices for cardio are:

• Circuit Weight Training
• Tennis
• Brisk Walking
• Bicycling
• Running
• Basketball
• Racquetball
• Even House or Yard Work!

Pick an exercise you actually enjoy doing.

That way you'll stick to it until it becomes a habit you won't want to give up!

Eat Small, Frequent Meals

Be sure to eat small frequent meals every 3 or 4 hours. When you're trying to lose fat you may want to skip meals to reduce your caloric intake, but a better--and easier--way to cut calories is to eat smaller meals more frequently. This keeps your metabolism running high.

Don't wait until you're hungry to eat! This not only leads to overeating, but you end up overeating the wrong kinds of foods.

Do carry meal replacement bars and shakes in your car or at work. They are a great way to get nutrition and fill you up between meals. Our most popular meal replacement shakes and protein bars are low in carbs and come in delicious flavors.

Don't let your mini-meals come from the snack machine. Often these over processed choices are high in fat and calories and have little nutritional value. Opt for whole foods instead.

Do bring small containers of healthy snacks to work. Granola, raw vegetables to crunch on, even hard boiled eggs are some great choices. Try bringing a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with some fresh crisp greens. Most brands of canned and instant soups now come in low sodium varieties, and they fill you up without having a lot of calories.

Supplements for Great Abs

What About Fat Loss Supplements? Remember that effective fat loss supplements are meant to be used with an exercise program and a balanced diet.

There are two different kinds of fat loss supplements: stimulant and non-stimulant.

Stimulant weight loss supplements increase your metabolism so you can burn more calories when used with a sensible weight loss program. There are some great weight loss supplements to choose from: Xenadrine, Reveal or other popular weight loss supplements can help keep up your energy, stay motivated so you can lose those love handles, and reveal your sleek abs. Only you can decide which one is best for your specific needs.

Non-stimulant weight loss supplements are great for those of you who don't want a stimulant, but want that extra edge when trying to drop fat. I’ve always been a big fan of Glutamine for both adding lean muscle and getting leaner. Another one of my favorites in this category is inControl. The feedback on both of these non-stimulant fat loss supplements has been outstanding.  A great stack now available is called The Fat Attack Stack. It combines 2 popular supplements: inControl and Reveal. Check it out here Fat Attack Stack

Stay Focused

The key element in ab training is not how many reps and sets you do, but how hard you contract your abs on each rep. Make sure your focus is on pushing your lower abs into your upper abs and vice-versa.

Contrary to popular belief, during training, your abs should NOT move like a hinge (as in the conventional sit-up). The segments of your abs really should move towards each other more like an accordion. It's this intense squeezing that tightens and shapes your abdominals.

If your abs are not burning, you're not working them.

Check out more of my great ab workouts.