The underlying cause of love handles is fat retention. Generally speaking, fat cells accumulate when your body takes in too many calories or you don't burn as many calories as you're consuming. Over time, these fat cells can become noticeable as they accumulate in certain areas, such as around your waist and hips.
Your hips have a “shelf” appearance and you are prone to gaining weight in your tummy and have a tendency towards love-handles. While you may gain weight in your upper thighs and upper arms, your lower legs and arms are shapely and your best assets.”
Are love handles genetic? Although genetics can play a role in your susceptibility to develop love handles, it isn't the main cause. Most love handles are not genetic, instead they are linked to weight gain or hormonal changes.
Pear Shape
People with this shape have extra fat in the hip and thigh area. It's more common among women, and it may be part of the reason they often live longer than men. That could be because belly fat, more common in men, is linked to more health problems than lower-body fat.
In fact, it's kind of the opposite. Women who have hourglass figures sans the hip dip, usually have a HIGHER fat deposit in that concave area, helping to fill it out. So, this isn't even a weight loss thing. It's a very strange nit-picky thing that has everything to do with your NATURAL ANATOMY!
Like the way a pear is shaped, a pear body type is slender on top, and wider in the hips and legs. This can be determined with the use of your full-length mirror or with measurements. If your shoulders and bust measurements are significantly smaller than the width of your hips, you are probably a pear-shaped body type.
BODY FAT PERCENTAGE: 16-19%
At this range, depending on the guy you may start to see some love handles. There is some muscle definition in some areas, but it's far less present than in the lower ranges. No vascularity will be noticeable.
Avoid alcohol and sugary foods: Consuming sugary food and alcohol may lead to weight gain and love handles. Individuals should instead try to eat a moderate and balanced diet. This may involve consuming lean proteins, beans, and leafy vegetables to increase protein and fiber intake.
“Love handles” are areas of excess skin and fat that extend outward from the abdomen, at the hips. Love handles can be more visible when wearing tight clothing, when they may spill out over the top of a waistband. This excess fat can be stubborn and difficult to eliminate with diet and regular exercise.
Love handles are a colloquial term for hip and abdomen fat. The body stores this fat, leading to bulges above the hips and around the waists. Poor diet, lack of sleep, and low physical activity are some of the main reasons for fat storage.
Yes, it is possible.
The typical pear shape is lauded for having a very narrow waist, but that's not true across the board. If you have a short torso, that extreme waist taper isn't possible, and you may have a very straight waist. But, because of the proportions from torso to hips, you will still look like you have some waist.
Love handles are areas of skin and excess fat around the hips and abdominal area. While the issue is mostly cosmetic — as in, you might not love the way they look — love handles can also indicate underlying risk factors for illnesses like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Love handles, like many target zones, are tough to treat by themselves, Aaptiv trainer Jaime McFaden says. “Simply put, [love handles] are just one area that the body likes to store fat. Hormone imbalances, inactivity and eating high-fatty foods can make this area more susceptible to excess fat retention.”
Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.
Increased activity and healthier eating can contribute to shrinking love handles as part of overall fat loss, but it's important to remember that this can also take some time. Stick with your plan for a healthier lifestyle, and you'll eventually reap both the aesthetic and underlying health benefits.
Your initial goals will be weight loss and trimming down the fat. Once you've done that — or at least made significant headway — you can start to tone the muscles underneath your love handles. As you burn fat and increase your metabolism through building muscle, that extra padding will eventually go away.
Build Yourself Up While Slimming Down
Build up your pecs, lats, deltoids, and traps to create the illusion of smaller love handles. "Most guys don't have enough muscle to focus on just losing weight," Ballantyne said, "so every guy must build some muscle in these areas."
15% body fat: This percentage of body fat usually fits into the “lean and fit” category. Outlines of muscle can be seen, but there is not really a clear separation between them. Muscles and veins can slightly be seen, but are covered by a thin layer of fat. However, the overall body shape is present and can be noticed.
Restricting calories but making those you do eat come from refined carbs, sugars and saturated fats can cause your body to not get all the nutrients it needs, especially protein, to support lean tissue. As a result, you may be losing weight in the form of lean muscle, not fat, so your love handles stick around.
You probably have a genetic predisposition for storing fat in your love handles area. I know its not fair, but not all people store fat or build muscle equaly. I, for example also have a six pack, but still a little bit of fat on my lower abs and love handles.
Top hourglass body shape
Considered to be the most attractive body shape, this is very similar to hourglass body shape, except that in this case the curves are more defined.
The hourglass shape is defined by a woman's body measurements- the circumference of the bust, waist and hips. Hourglass body shapes have a wide bust, a narrow waist, and wide hips with a similar measurement to that of the bust.
Rectangle Body Type
This body type is the most common and is typically considered the healthiest. Rectangle-shaped people are less likely to develop obesity, heart disease, or diabetes. A rectangle body shape is typically thin and has a proportional waist, hips, and shoulders.