Why Can’t I Lose My Love Handles?

Fat that accumulates at your waist has many slang names. You might have a muffin top, carry a spare tire, or have love handles. Of course, they are all slightly different, and in this post, we discuss love handles specifically, including what they are, why they are difficult to get rid of, and what you can do about them. 

Dr. Stephen Chen and his staff work to help you meet your goals by providing outstanding care and attention throughout the process. If you’re unhappy with your appearance and have done all you can through good nutrition and exercise, it may be time to consider a procedure such as liposuction. Men and women have benefited from Dr. Chen’s years of experience and skill, and you can, too. 

Why you have love handles

The reason love handles appear is very simple: fat accumulation. However, all kinds of circumstances can play into how much fat your body holds on to. For example, if you have chronic stress, it can make losing fat much more difficult. 

Similarly, a lack of high-quality sleep can hinder your efforts to lose the fat that builds up on your lower back and waist. Having a condition like hypothyroidism can also affect how you lose weight. 

And then, there’s simple genetics. Some people are genetically predisposed to have love handles. Your genes determine to some degree where your body holds fat stores.

Getting rid of love handles

You already know that a healthy diet, rich in vegetables and lean protein, is a key to weight loss. You also know that physical exercise is crucial and that you need to both build muscle through strength training and improve your cardiovascular system with aerobic exercises such as jogging, swimming, or biking. 

However, it’s entirely possible to do all those things — for years — and still have love handles. Short of starving yourself or exercising for hours each day, you cannot do much if your body is designed to store fat along your waist and across your back. That is a frustrating situation!

How Dr. Chen Can Help

When you’ve worked hard for a long time to achieve a particular result, but your efforts aren’t yielding the expected results, you can begin to feel stymied. But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

You can circumvent your genetic code with aesthetic surgery. Dr. Chen specializes in helping people just like you reach their goals. 

Procedures such as liposuction, or perhaps fat transfer if you’d like to decrease the volume of your love handles but increase volume somewhere else, can give the results that show off your efforts. 

Schedule an appointment today to learn how Dr. Chen can help you achieve the shape you’ve been working toward.