How to Lose Love Handles (For Women)

Lifestyle Changes

Focus on lowering your stress levels. Stress releases the hormone cortisol, which encourages your body to store fat. Try meditation, yoga or changing your schedule to reduce your stress. The place that you store fat, may depend upon genetics; however, studies have shown a correlation between stomach fat and stress.

Get more sleep. People who don't get at least 7 hours of sleep per night are more likely to store fat in their stomach, hips and thighs. Give yourself 1 hour to decompress before you want to start sleeping.

Be more active. Love handles may have appeared slowly, over the course of a decade or more. This slow weight gain can be caused by a sedentary lifestyle, so try the following things to get moving: Buy a pedometer. Make sure you are walking 10,000 steps during the course of your daily routine. Stand up while you talk on the phone, watch television or on the bus. You may think that sitting is unavoidable, but standing for just a few minutes can help with lower body weight loss. Add in a 30 minute walk every day, in addition to exercise. This walk can be done on your lunch break, in the morning or after dinner. Any added exercise will start to give you skinnier hips.

Cardio Exercise

Do cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 days per week. For fast weight loss, you should increase this to 1 hour 5 days per week. Without a proper diet, it will be extremely hard to lose your love handles only by exercising.

Go running. This exercise is the best way to reduce weight in your thighs, because it promotes quick body fat loss.

Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Do 1 to 2 minute periods of sprinting every 5 minutes during your aerobic workout.

Oblique/Hip Exercises

Do planks. Get in a push up position. Hold it for 30 seconds to 2 minutes while breathing deeply.

Do side planks. When you are in a push up position, transfer weight to your left hand and left foot. Turn sideways so your right foot is on top of your left. Make sure your hand is right under your shoulder. Keep your body straight and hold the position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Switch sides. If side planks are hard for you at the moment, try making them with a bent leg.

Do side plank dips. Get into your side plank position. Lower your left hip 2 inches (5cm), then raise it 4 inches (10cm). Do 10 dips on each side.

Do side crunches. Get on your back with your feet straight up in the air. Raise your chest up, off your shoulders, using only your abdominals. Raise your hands in the air. Reach your right arm toward your right foot, by twisting at the waist. It should be a small movement. Repeat 20 times on each side.

Diet

Reduce the number of processed foods you eat. Focus on cutting out sugary foods and processed grains.

Replace soft drinks and alcohol with water and tea. Most sugar-filled drinks are between 150 and 300 calories. These are considered "empty" calories, because they have few nutrients.

Fill your plate half full with produce. The other half should be split between lean protein and whole grains.

Eat a healthy breakfast that is between 300 and 600 calories. It is necessary to keep your metabolism from slowing down and storing more fat in your midsection.

Keep a food diary. Reduce what you eat by between 100 and 500 calories, reducing less on the days when you have a long workout. Most doctors agree that losing weight and keeping it off require small diet changes and reductions that you are committed to, rather than drastic diets.