Why do they call it love handles?
Sarah Smith
Published Jan 07, 2026
The name “love handles” comes because an individual's partner or loved one will often embrace them around the hips, which is where these excess fat and skin pockets occur.
What does the term love handles mean?
“Love handles” are areas of skin that extend outward from the hips. When combined with tight clothing, love handles can become more pronounced, but they aren't caused by tight clothes alone. They indicate excess fat accumulation around the hips and abdominal area.
What is the actual name for love handles?
Love handles are another name for the excess fat that sits at the sides of the waist and hangs over the top of pants. Also known as a muffin top, this fat can be a challenge to lose.
Is love handles an offensive term?
It's just a jokey colloquialism, a humorous term or light hearted euphemism for that roll of fat round the upper hips. It's not the sort of thing one has to learn, hears often or normally needs to use. This fat vaguely resembles the handles on objects except of course that they have no function on the human body.
Are hip dips love handles?
"Love handles," also known as "muffin top," refers to excess fat that accumulates on the sides of one's abdomen. They differ from hip dips in that they are located much higher on the body, settling around a person's waistline.
21 related questions foundAre love handles and muffin tops the same?
Love handle definition
It refers to any weight that may have accumulated around the sides of an individual's waist. This weight may also be visible extending over the edge of their pants or skirt. “Muffin top” is another term people may use to describe body fat that extends above the edge of their waistline.
What is a muffin top on a woman?
A muffin top (also muffin-top) is a slang term typically used to describe a person's body fat that extends horizontally over the edges of the waistline of tightly fitting pants or skirts, visible when there is a gap between the upper and lower garment.
Is a muffin top fat?
While the term muffin top may sound appealing to your taste buds, in reality, it's the stubborn belly fat that doesn't seem to want to disappear. It's the lower-belly fat that hangs over your waistband and is often only invisible in a pair of high-waisted jeans.
Are love handles genetic?
Are love handles genetic? Partially. As with most things related to your body, there's a blend of your genetic predisposition to certain fat-storage sites, as well as your lifestyle decisions around what you eat, how much you exercise and your stress levels.
How do you target love handles?
In addition to a healthy diet, the right exercises can help target the back, abs, and hip regions to help reduce the appearance of love handles. Combining cardiovascular exercises with weight-lifting exercises can target the fat around the abdomen and help you lose weight.
Are love handles attractive?
While an extensive amount of belly fat such as a beer belly that is as large as a keg is not appealing. The physical attribute known as love handles or a little bit of gut is quite okay to most women. While Hollywood distorts the male physique as much as it does the female physique.
Do love handles go away when you lose weight?
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.
Does alcohol cause love handles?
Reduce Alcohol Intake
Determining how to get rid of love handles is simple when you look at where your calories are coming from. Many studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption causes feelings of hunger, which results in eating when you wouldn't normally do so.
Why are my love handles so hard to lose?
“For men, love handles are hard to lose because most of their fat cells are located in this area,” explains personal trainer and nutritionist, Jim White, RD. Women's bodies like to deposit fat into the hip and thigh area, too, which creates the illusion of love handles, says Leah Kaufman, MS, RD, CDN.
How long does it take to lose love handles?
The length of time to get rid of your love handles will depend on how much fat you have to lose, what lifestyle changes you make, and how well you commit to them. It can take about four weeks of consistency to form new, healthy habits, and up to 10 weeks before they become automatic.
How do I get rid of my stomach pooch?
It's impossible to spot-treat fat and lose it from just one area of your body. Losing weight overall is the only way to lose belly fat in a healthy way. Toning and tightening your ab muscles with floor exercises, changing your diet, and pursuing healthy habits will all contribute to trimming your waistline.
How do I get rid of my FUPA?
Lifestyle changes for weight loss
- Drink plenty of water.
- Add more walking into your routine.
- Practice mindful eating, and try to eat slower. Taking your time when you eat can help keep you from overeating.
- Quit smoking before you try any kind of calorie restriction plan. ...
- Get a good night's sleep whenever possible.
Why do I gain fat on my hips?
When you eat a diet filled with processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugary drinks, it results in stubborn fat on your abdomen, hips, and buttocks. These types of foods lead to insulin resistance, which leads to increased fat storage, ending in fat that's hard to lose.
Why am I skinny with a muffin top?
There are a few reasons that you may experience this condition: You're committed to cardio workouts, but don't do resistance training. You have a poor diet, despite your amazing metabolism that keeps you skinny. Everyone's favorite reason – genetics.
What muscle is under love handles?
Love handles lie on top of the obliques, which are a very specific group of abdominal muscles.
Does running eliminate love handles?
Running Can Help Get Rid Of Belly Fat, And Love Handles
Running is recognised as one of the best ways to target and reduce belly fat and fat accumulated at the waist (love handles). Most experts recommend working up to running 30 - 60 minutes a day, 4 - 5 days a week for optimal results.
What's the best exercise to get rid of love handles?
To lose your love handles, you need to lose fat all over the body. The best exercise regimen for fat loss includes both aerobic and strength exercises (resistance training).
How do you hide love handles?
Ways To Hide Love Handles in a Tight Dress:
- Invest in a Good Shapewear: ...
- Wear Dark/Slimming Colours: ...
- Wear Moderately Thick Fabrics: ...
- Wear Dresses With Vertical Stripes: ...
- Wear Dresses With Detailed Designs: ...
- Wear A Statement Necklace: ...
- Wrap A Bright/Patterned Scarf: ...
- Wear Flashy Earrings:
How can I lose my love handles in two weeks?
A healthy, calorie-controlled diet and a regular regimen of cardio and strength-training exercise will whittle away lower back fat and love handles, and in two weeks' time, you may start to see a difference.
Can I lose love handles by walking?
Like fat anywhere on your body, the extra jiggle at your midsection can only be lost through proper diet and exercise. Although walking provides an excellent, low-impact form of activity, you'll need to rack up the minutes and boost your intensity to whittle away those love handles.