DrRingDing

i've been working out regularly and intensively for almost two months now. my body has stiffened up and i'm looking good, except the fat that is my love handles refuses to go away. my diet is fairly good, with only a moderate amount of sugar and very little fat.

i imagine it's just a case of maintaining my regimen and eventually i'll start eating away at that long term fat. but my body looks a little ridiculous now because i don't think i have any fat BUT the love handles...

so, is there any way to speed the process up? or will it just be diligence?
-di doctor-

Jazzbutcher

you can't spot reduce. The handles will go away as you continue to reduce your body fat %. I'm in the same boat as you, so I know how frustrating it is. Don't give up!

Mopower

See the street? Start running.

digitalfreaknyc

Being a DR of Ring Dings doesn't help.

They are damn delicious though.

Hiro11

This is the last area to go for me as well. Not much you can do about it unless you really concentrate on your diet, though.

enrage

if your diet is low in fat, look into increasing your good fat intake. Start taking 2-3 tablespoons of flax oil every day. that should help.

SoSpacey

fat doesnt melt off your body. you cna lose weight and shrink fat cells but rumor has it that it takes about 5 years to actually lose fat cells.

shrink them for now.

DrRingDing

right, so how do i shrink 'em faster?!
-di doctor-

digitalfreaknyc

Liposuction

DrRingDing

but of course! how stupid of me to forget!

Bronkster

Get a dog. Walk said dog at least 2 miles every day.

SpaceBoy

I have this problem, and also with losing weight in my face. I'm looking better, but I still got a fat head ha. Any ideas for this one, or it the same story, just keep it up and sooner or later it will pay off.

DrRingDing

dude, it's just the love handles! two miles of walking ain't gonna cut it. i'm already losing at least 1000 additional calories 4 times a week at the gym plus a few more at yoga on the off days. when the ultimate frisbee season gets into full swing and before my business is up and running, i'll be losing a lot of calories. the question is whether or not they'll take the weight off my hips!

(wow, there were some very effeminite things in that post... i'm definitely a metrosexual... *sigh*)
-di doctor-

dick_grayson

don't drink alcohol. eat a lot of fiber and go running. if you still have love handles, then you're stuck with them.

Mopower

Dude, cardio is the only way it's going to happen. So start RUNNING. Or you can ignore this post like you did my first one.

DrRingDing

heh. you can't lose 1000 calories per trip to the gym unless you are doing cardio! (or lifting a shitload of weights for a LLLONG time) my knee's been tweaking lately, but to compensate, i've been doing an hour on stationary bikes at a medium or high or alternating level. when it's back fully functional, which should be soon, i'll get back on the stairmaster and the elliptical.

running outside is not an option due to 1) prague's roads and pollution levels are not exactly conducive to jogging/running, 2) prague's weather at this time of year is shit - lots of ice, slush and/or snow and/or rain, and 3) the forementioned tweaking knee.

so, yes, i do do cardio!
-di doctor-

DrRingDing

oh, and of course, ultimate frisbee is extremely cardio-intensive! at least, when you play at the level that i play. and it's also why my knee is not so hot. years of ultimate can do some bad voodoo to one's knees. but it's addicting, so i ain't gonna quit... for now.

das Monkey

Cardio is great, but it also burns muscle, so you don't want to overdo it. I don't know what your workout regimen is, but muscles are always hungry, and you have lots of muscle in the legs. A workout that gives some strong focus to those leg muscles will help you burn more calories at rest. Also, studies show that interval training burns more fat than cardio, which is your goal here. You're likely to have more success with an intense 20-minute interval session than 45-60 minutes of static cardio. (Ultimate should be great for this, since it's essentially interval running) Don't judge success by the "calories burned" readout on your equipment. You want your body at a point where it's burning calories (preferably fat) all day long and while you sleep, not necessarily getting a high number at the gym.

Saying all that, the love handles will just take time and diligence, and depending on your age and body chemistry, you may never be completely rid of them.

das

grrrah

most people misuse the term "cardio"vascular excersice which is around the 85% of max heart rate. That will burn muscle like you said.

Pick a "cardio" machine with a heart monitor on it, and do excercises that will keep you in the 65% max heart rate range. Jogging will do this. running prolonged sprints will jump you into the "cardio" range. slight interval training is good too like you said.

oh, and this type is the best way to burn fat, along with the correct diet. Now can you please help me lose my handles in the next 6 days before my vacation?

al_bundy

stop eating corn, most potatoes, drinking soda pop, don't put sugar into tea or coffee, don't eat white rice, no white bread.

Also are you making your own food from raw ingredients or eating food from the box you bought with a coupon? Most pre-packaged food will have all kinds of high carb additives like high fructose corn syrup. Look into cooking your own meals from raw food.

DrRingDing

i try to eat as many raw fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. as possible. it's a little more difficult to do here (in the Czech Republic) than stateside. i stopped with adding sugar to anything awhile ago. i've started buying juices with either low or no sugar added. i usually eat meals at restaurants because it's cheap and eating out of a box is not an option here, since the box meals (outside of frozen pizzas, blech) are extremely limited and not terribly appealing.

i also try to avoid pizza and pasta.

corn is not really available in europe. potatoes are a large part of the czech diet, but i don't eat a czech diet. (a majority of the czech diet is pork and beef and potatoes, only one of which i'll actually eat - potatoes).

as to interval training, that's what i do when my knee isn't tweaked. as the case is, it's easier for me to just get on the bike for an hour. but when my knee is better, i'll go back to my regimen of 20 to 30 mins on various machines which change on a workout by workout basis.

my typical regimen:

10 min: warm-up
7 to 10: stretch
15 to 20: lift weights/ab work
25 to 30: cardio 1 (maybe stair master, maybe elliptical, maybe stationary bike, maybe seated stationary bike, maybe treadmill - but probably not, due to my knee)
15 to 30: lifting/ab work
20 to 30: cardio 2
15: lifting/ab work
10: warm-down
10: stretch.

all in all, it's a fairly intense workout and it's designed to prepare me for ultimate. once that starts, i'll probably be down to 2 or 3 times a week in the gym.
-di doctor-

al_bundy

try to break up your workout into weights/abs and cardio on different days

do the weight work first, than abs. Then the next day do the cardio.

also check out www.gilad.tv. He has some good exercises that target different parts of the abs.

bigsoos

try doing laps in a pool if you have one available to you
how about Spin classes?