How to Get Rid of Love Handles: Your 6-Week Workout Plan & Nutrition Guide

Love handles are the fatty deposits that accumulate along the sides of the waist. Because they reflect overall body-fat levels—not just core strength—people of all ages and activity levels can struggle with them.

The good news: a strategic combination of calibrated nutrition, full-body training, and lifestyle management can reduce this stubborn fat while improving overall health.

This guide explains how to get rid of love handles through a practical, 6-week program based on the latest research. You’ll learn:

• Why love handles hang on (hint: cortisol is involved).
• Exactly how big a calorie deficit you need—without crash dieting.
• The best exercises for carving a leaner waist—from body-weight moves you can do anywhere to gym-based progressions as you advance.
• Lifestyle tweaks that enhance results while preserving sanity.
• How a BodySpec DEXA scan tracks fat loss with medical-grade precision.

Disclaimer: Always consult with your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new diet or exercise program, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

---

Why Love Handles Hang On

1. They’re Mostly Subcutaneous Fat—But Visceral Fat Adds to the Bulge

Love handles sit just under the skin (subcutaneous fat). Yet deeper visceral fat can also push the midsection outward. Visceral fat is metabolically active and linked to elevated cardiometabolic risk—another reason to shrink your waist (study on visceral fat and cardiometabolic risk – PubMed). For an in-depth comparison, see Subcutaneous vs Visceral Fat: What’s the Difference?.

2. Hormones Play Gatekeeper

Chronic stress elevates cortisol, a hormone that preferentially drives fat storage around the abdomen (study on cortisol’s role in abdominal fat – NIH). Sleep deprivation, excess alcohol, and ultra-processed carbs can spike cortisol or insulin, making love handles even stickier.

3. Genetics & Sex Hormones Tilt the Scales

Men tend to store more abdominal fat than pre-menopausal women, while estrogen decline after menopause shifts storage toward the midsection. You can’t rewrite genes, but you can outsmart them with the three pillars below.

---

The 3-Pillar Strategy for Love-Handle Loss

1. Nutrition: Eat in a moderate calorie deficit with protein- and fiber-rich whole foods.
2. Training: Combine full-body resistance training, oblique-focused moves, and cardio (HIIT + walking).
3. Lifestyle: Optimize sleep, stress management, and daily movement (NEAT).

Work all three consistently for six weeks and you’ll make tangible progress—often faster than you expect.

---

Pillar 1 – Dial In Your Nutrition

How Big Should Your Calorie Deficit Be?

An easy starting point is body weight (lbs) × 15 = estimated maintenance calories for moderately active adults—a heuristic explained in Harvard’s guidance on calorie counting. From there, aim for 250–500 calories below maintenance—enough to encourage steady, sustainable fat loss without jeopardizing muscle. Individual needs vary based on age, muscle mass, and activity, so adjust based on weekly progress or plug your stats into a TDEE calculator for greater precision.

*Maintenance = body weight (lbs) × 15. Estimate only; adjust as needed.

Macro Priorities

• Protein: 0.8–1 g per pound of goal body weight (muscle preservation).
• Healthy Fats: 25–35 % of total calories—think avocado, olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish (Harvard’s guide to dietary fats and cholesterol).
• Complex Carbs & Fiber: veggies, oats, beans, berries; aim for 25–35 g fiber daily to boost satiety.

One-Day Sample Menu (≈ 1,800 Calories, 35 %C / 31 % P / 34 % F)

Building Your 6-Week Nutrition Framework

Follow this flexible weekly template instead of 42 separate menus:

Need more meal ideas? Check out Meal Prepping: Strategies for Success.

Love-Handle Grocery List

✔️ Leafy greens, cruciferous veggies
✔️ Berries & high-fiber fruits
✔️ Lean poultry, fish, eggs, tofu
✔️ Beans & lentils
✔️ Whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice)
✔️ Nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil
✔️ Sparkling water, herbal tea

---

Pillar 2 – Train Smart, Not Just Hard

Why Spot Reduction Fails

Working one muscle group can strengthen it, but fat cells shrink system-wide. A six-week randomized trial in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found no significant abdominal fat loss from isolated ab exercises alone (trial on isolated ab exercises – PubMed). The fix: pair oblique moves with calorie-burning compound work.

6-Week Strength Training Blueprint

Start with A/B full-body circuits for the first four weeks, then advance to an Upper/Lower split for weeks five and six. Minimal equipment (dumbbells or kettlebells) covers the early phase; gym-based options are noted with body-weight substitutes where possible.

Full-Body Circuit A (Weeks 1–2)

Repeat this circuit three times, resting 60–75 seconds between each exercise.

Full-Body Circuit B (Weeks 3–4)

Rest 45–60 s between exercises; repeat the circuit three times.

Upper/Lower Split (Weeks 5–6)

Lower-Body Day

Upper-Body Day

Alternate Lower and Upper days (e.g., Mon = Lower, Wed = Upper, Fri = Lower). Increase weight when you can complete all reps with solid form.

Cardio & NEAT

• Weeks 1–2: 20-min brisk walk × 2 sessions
• Weeks 3–4: 15-min HIIT (30 s sprint / 60 s walk) × 2
• Weeks 5–6: 25-min HIIT, steady-state cycling, or rower × 2
Aim for a high daily step count (e.g., 7,000–10,000+ steps) to keep movement high.

Core Programming Explained

The “core circuit” is designed to be performed after your main workout.

How to Build Your Core Circuit

1. Choose 3 moves from the library below—ideally one plank, one rotation, and one dynamic move.
2. Perform them back-to-back for the prescribed reps.
3. Rest 60 s, then repeat according to your current training week: 2 sets for Weeks 1–2, and 3 sets for Weeks 3–6.

Core & Oblique Exercise Library

Need visual cues? Choose videos led by certified professionals—look for credentials such as ACE CPT, NASM CPT, or NSCA CSCS. Reliable sources include the official ACE Fitness exercise library, ExRx.net, or the NASM exercise library.

Need more cardio ideas? See HIIT vs LISS: Which Cardio Is Best for Fat Loss?.

---

Pillar 3 – Lifestyle Upgrades That Accelerate Fat Loss

Sleep 7–9 Hours

A 2014 meta-analysis of more than 138,000 adults found that sleeping fewer than six hours was associated with a significantly higher risk of central obesity compared with sleeping 7–8 hours (sleep duration and obesity risk – PubMed).

Stress Less, Lose More

Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been shown to lower perceived stress and cortisol levels in adults with obesity, which may indirectly support healthier body-fat distribution (systematic review – PubMed).

Limit Alcohol

A Danish cohort study of 46,000 adults reported that heavy drinkers (≥35 drinks/week for men, ≥21 for women) had significantly greater increases in waist circumference over 10 years compared with light drinkers (Tolstrup et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2008). Opt for sparkling water with lime.

Move Between Workouts

Every additional 1,000 steps per day is associated with a 0.07-inch smaller waist (research in JAMA Internal Medicine). Stand, stroll, or stretch every hour.

---

Track Your Progress With DEXA Precision

Bathroom scales can’t tell where the weight came from. A BodySpec DEXA scan breaks down changes in:

• Regional fat
• Lean mass vs. fat mass
• Visceral fat risk score

Suggested Scan Timeline

1. Week 0: Baseline measurements + goal-setting
2. Week 6: Post-program scan to quantify progress

Pro Tip: Bring your workout log to your second scan. Our specialists can help you analyze trends and review how different aspects of your plan may have contributed to your results.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you spot-reduce love handles?

No. You can strengthen oblique muscles locally, but fat loss occurs throughout the body. Combining diet, full-body training, and stress management is the proven approach.

What’s the single best exercise for love handles?

There isn’t one, but side-plank variations consistently activate the internal and external obliques.

How soon will I see results?

Many people notice measurable waist reductions and improved DEXA metrics within six to eight weeks when they maintain a consistent calorie deficit and follow the workout plan.

Are cosmetic procedures necessary?

Lifestyle changes are the first line of defense, but stubborn love handles sometimes remain. In those cases, people may explore non-invasive or surgical body-contouring options:

• Cryolipolysis (CoolSculpting): Freezes and gradually eliminates fat cells through the lymphatic system.
• Radiofrequency or Laser Lipolysis: Uses heat to destroy fat cells and tighten skin.
• Injection Lipolysis (e.g., Kybella): Injects deoxycholic acid to break down small pockets of fat.
• Liposuction: A surgical procedure that physically removes fat cells for more dramatic, immediate contouring.

These methods are intended for localized fat reduction—not primary weight loss—and each carries potential costs, downtime, and risks. Consult a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon to discuss suitability, expected outcomes, and side effects.

For stubborn cases, also review Metabolic Adaptation: Why Your Weight Loss May Plateau before considering procedural routes.

---

Key Takeaways

• Love handles are a combination of subcutaneous and sometimes visceral fat.
• A moderate calorie deficit, high-protein/high-fiber diet, and full-body resistance + cardio program form the core solution.
• Sleep, stress management, and NEAT further accelerate results.
• DEXA scans objectively track fat loss and motivate adherence.

Start tomorrow—your future jeans will thank you.

---

Ready to Measure Real Change?

Want step-by-step booking instructions? Learn how to schedule your BodySpec DEXA scan.