Love/Hate Handles

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Love/Hate Handles
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Love Handles, or as I prefer to call them, Hate Handles. Afterall, I don't know anyone who likes having excess fat bulging out of their waist. Who likes their excess 'bits' being grabbed on to and seeing their excess bulging out of thier clothes. Not Me! and neither did the person who emailed me for some advice on how to gir rid of her excess baggage. So I thought it would be a good topic to discuss.

But first let's chew the fat..on fat! Women have more fat cells than men. Whereas the average man has 26 billion fat cells, or adipocytes, in his body, the average female has 35 billion.
Fat comprises 27% of an average woman's total body-weight but for a man comprises only 15%. Nature ordains that women have more fat on their bodies than men. Fat is essential for reproduction and therefore fat stores are maintained on the female body in case of pregnancy. However, while 17% of men suffer from obesity, the obesity figure for women is 20%.

How are love handles formed?

Those statistics are rather frightening aren't they? and it seems most of the 35 billion fat cells that we have seem to congregate around the lower side of the external oblique abdominal muscles - which is where most of us would love to lose the fat. The excess storage of fat in this area is often referred to as "love handles", and is caused mainly through the build up of excess fat. The size may also be exasperated as gravity pulls fat from the sides down to create a more bulging area. The bulge can often
be visible even when light clothes are worn. This can give rise to the illusion that there is much more fat around that specific area than there actually is.

The same process occurs at the front, lower region of the stomach, there should generally be an even spread of stored fat over the front abs however, as fat builds up from gaining weight gravity pulls most of it down to form a bulge or the common "beer belly". To illustrate this point, how many times have you lay on the floor and the fat disperses back to its natural position with the effect of a slimmer stomach?

What exercises help lose love handles
No excessive amounts of ab exercises is going to get rid of your love handles.
So get rid of your 'ab king', 'ab lounge' or any other gimmick you've been suckered into buying. Fat stored around the love handles or stomach area can only be lost through a combination of 3 things: balanced diet, aerobic exercises and weight training (including doing ab exercises).