For men and women, these small fat deposits around the hips distort the silhouette. The good news is there are several ways of reducing and even eliminating them with or without surgery.
What are love handles?
Behind this rather cute moniker hides two bulges around the hips that we could do without. And for once, these localized fat deposits concern men and women equally.
Some people tolerate these love handles, others not so much. They can cause complexes when it comes to clothes, for example. Indeed, they can distort the silhouette resulting in contours that lack harmony. Love handles are easy to recognize: they generally hang over low-rise trousers or bulge out over underwear that is a little too tight. Out with tight-fitting clothes!
Why do we store fat on the hips?
The human body tends to store fat in some areas more than others, it is genetic.
There are generally two distinct types of love handles that can equally be found together:
- either excess weight and therefore superficial fat, relatively easy to lose through a change in diet and physical activity (you will lose everywhere not just in this area);
- or steatomery, stubborn, deep fat resistant to diets and/or exercise. You can be very slim and have love handles. They are simply genetic, just like saddlebags;
- They can also appear due to hormonal changes.
Diet rebalancing for a slimmer figure
This is the first thing to do. Good nutrition, with plenty of vegetables, fibre, lean protein (fish even oily, white meat) and fruit (between meals) is essential!
You should avoid ready meals and ultra-processed foods as they always contain too much fat, sugar, and salt, as well as additives that are bad for your health and completely superfluous.
Prefer food that does not cause bloating and remember to drink enough water to eliminate.
Lose your love handles with sport
Of course, regular exercise contributes to our good health, maintaining a stable weight and, therefore, a slimmer, tonic figure.
There is a wide choice of exercises to get rid of love handles:
- Burpees: improve cardio and work the abdominals, thighs, buttocks, arms and chest, in addition to the abdominal belt;
- Lateral and superwoman core muscle building;
- Abdominal exercises: bicycle crunch, V ups that work the obliques, the Russian Twist (but be careful if you have back problems!);
- Lateral leg raises.
Unfortunately, quite often these exercises are not enough to get rid of stubborn fat despite a balanced diet and regular physical exercise.
« Coolsculpting » to eliminate love handles without surgery
Thanks to innovations in aesthetic medicine and science-based technology, it is now possible to reshape your body without surgery.
And to eliminate excess fat around the hips, cyrolipolysis is THE ideal non-invasive treatment.
The principle is simple: the fat cells are subjected to continuous, extreme cold (-12 degrees), which causes some of the fat cell walls to crystallize and then self-destruct (approximately 20 to 30%, or even 40% in some cases).
The session is not painful and there is no social or professional downtime.
During the consultation, once I have eliminated any potential contraindications to the treatment, I will conduct a physical examination and take measurements and photos.
The procedure is simple: a cryolipolysis appliance – or « Coolsculpting » – is precisely configured then we use an applicator specifically designed to treat the hip area. Once the skin has been protected by a cloth coated with a cryoprotectant, the handpiece sucks out the bulge and then cools it.
As mentioned previously, it is not painful. Once finished, the area is massaged for a few minutes to stimulate circulation and revive the tissues, and a nourishing, soothing cream is then applied to the hips.The skin is pink/red if you have pale skin, and a little sensitive or desensitized in the days following the procedure.
The results are not instantaneous, you need to leave your body time to flush out the dead cells. The results are visible after 6 to 8 weeks, that is nearly 2 months later, and continue to change up to 6 months after the treatment.
The radical solution: liposuction
If cryolipolysis offers visible results, it is recommended for minor to moderate fat deposits.
To totally and radically eliminate love handles and recover a slimmer, well-balanced waist, another solution – requiring a general anesthetic – is liposuction.
Numerous men have resorted to it, but also women who wish to harmonize their silhouette.
The love handles are an area that brings great patient satisfaction. As the elasticity of the skin is good, it is an excellent area for this type of procedure. The skin redrapes and tightens well, unless it is severely damaged, which is rare. In this case, an additional skin tightening treatment will be carried out after the liposuction.
The procedure is rapid, approximately 1 hour, and the anaesthetic is usually general. However, a local anaesthetic is possible depending on the complexity of the procedure.
The instruments used to suck out the fat are extremely fine and leave hardly any scar: 3 mm long per hole. The cannula enters through this tiny gap that, once healed, generally leaves no mark.
Recovery after liposuction of love handles is straightforward, you will have to wear a compression garment for at least one month, ideally two.
You can start to see the results once the edema has resolved, approximately one month after the procedure, and the desired result is stable between 3 and 6 months after liposuction.
A personalized consultation will help determine the most suitable protocol to eliminate your love handles.