The curse of the love handles

The Curse of the love handles

There is nothing worse than wearing a tight shirt that looks good but then also shows your love handles.

Its most mens worst nightmare to get rid of, and no matter how hard some of us train to get rid of the infamous blubbery fat, it continues to stay in one place like a stubborn mule. Not to mention some of the names people call it..”muffin top “ being one of the worst, and describing it perfectly too.

What we do wish for however is the perfect V that shows once these love handles have disappeared.

But there are some very good methods of getting rid of the ‘ Muffin top” that actually has little to do with how hard you train....its called Dieting, yup that’s right dieting, most men immediately hear this word and shudder at the thought of cancelling out some of their favourite meals and yes..cutting down on the beers will help.

The mind set of a few men is that we can drink hard and eat rubbish and then just try and train really hard during the week, and that is actually counter productive. You are actually fuelling your love handles with more excuse to stay where they are.

But everything in moderation is still ok, meaning that having a one or two beers on a weekend wont really harm your war against the fold over flub that is now a cover for your belt, and eating “clean” on weekends too will help with the progress of eliminating this last bit fat.

EATING IN MODERATION

As you will read further about the good carbs, it doesn’t mean that you must now shovel a whole bag of rice because you not going to get another chance later, instead space them out equally throughout the day, and remember moderation is the key to success here, eating to little carbs is bad, but also eating to much carbs whether it be good or bad will mean total destruction on your goals of removing the waist handle. Try going for about 2.2grams carbs to body weight. For example if you weigh 80kg you should aim for around about 176grams carbs daily so lets round that off to 180 grams daily, and placing these carbs at the right time is also very important, so if i am consuming 180grams carbs a day i should place at least  50 grams at breakfast another 40 grams at my mid morning snack another 40 grams at lunch time and 50 grams for post workout. Placing your carbohydrates throughout the day will also keep your blood sugar levels stable.

EATING CLEAN

While training we forget that our diet plays a very large role in our training regime, the foods that we guzzle down determine how much fat storage there will be and how much will be burnt away, and that is where eating “clean” comes into the picture, and no it doesn’t mean cleaning your food before you eat it.

It means incorporating the right amount of good carbs, and consuming these nutrients at the right time, along with the hard training that you already are or should be doing. For now we will concentrate on good Carbohydrates.

 TIPS

1.       Try to consume fewer carbs after 3 and if you really want to be extreme try consuming fewer carbs after midday. At dinner you can pour as much vegetables down your throat as you want, but the right vegetables.

2.       Most of your carbs should be placed before a workout and definitely after a workout or training with recovery in mind.

3.       Try consuming carbs that are LOW GI, for example:

-          Oats

-          Apples

-          Whole wheat bread and pastas

-          Beans

-          Green vegetables ( broccoli, spinach )

-          Brown rice

-          Skimmed milk ( although can also be labelled as a source of protein )

Try to keep your grocery cupboard Low Gi friendly, and when buying groceries, stay clear of the crisp and chocolate aisles.

A LITTLE SECRET

The painful chore that most men try to forget about as they head for the gym exit like an escaped convict..YES...CARDIO...I can almost see a lot of us going why, it sucks, it doesn’t build my biceps or chest...thats true, but it can display them better if cardio is done correctly, and lose the handles that most of us want to, and make your abs pop out like a greek warrior from 300.

Cardio tips

1.       Interval training – try getting on a bicycle and cycle life your life depended on it for 30 seconds, then slow it down to a comfortable pace for a minute, try doing this for 5 minutes to start off with and as you feel that 5 minutes isn’t doing the job any more increase to another 2 minutes.

2.       Outdoor activities – and no this doesn’t mean lounging by the pool with a beer, simply stating get out there and get a life, start mountain biking, trail running, or even just hiking, take up a sport or hobby that will have you sweating and panting within in minutes, try kayaking, or take up a martial art like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

 

 

Why should cardio be boring sitting on a bike in a gym and glaring at the big screen like a mummy and going through the motions, when you can enjoy it with friends and family.

Try performing these exercise at least 2 – 3 times a week and you will start to notice not just a reduction in body fat but also an improved lifestyle, and you will get to meet new people....all in a days work.

 SUPPLEMENTS

Woohoo another pill to add to my already growing supplement shelve....but it is also pointless having these pills and powders if you are not eating ‘’CLEAN’’ and training like a man possessed. Unfortunately a pill hasn’t been discovered yet that will transform our bodies into lean mean fighting machines while sitting on the couch beer in one hand and crisps in the other watching sport, wouldn’t that just be the dream, but reality check it aint out there guys...not yet. So we still need to put in the effort..and a lot of it, not just with training but also with dieting.

Here are just few supplements if you are on a budget that will work in the fight against the free loader that comsumes our lower backs.

1.       CLA – uses stored fat for energy and also has also been proven to lower chlorestrol – brilliant a two for one.

2.       WHEY PROTEIN – helps build muscles and helps with recovery after training, but has also been proven to help irridicate unwanted fat – another two for one.

3.       NATURAL TESTSTOSTERONES – and try to stick to natural ones, which will help increase your body’s natural Teststosterone levels, and as we know high levels of this muscle building fat burning hormone can also increase libido.

 

I hope this will help with all of those men out there trying to get rid of the love handles. So go out there and discover the you without the extra baggage.

Look out for my next postings on Proteins..the good, and the useless. And healthy fats..to graze or not to graze