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Does Running Burn Belly Fat And Love Handles? (5 Easy Tips)
Are you thinking about how running can shape your body, especially by reducing belly fat and love handles? This common fitness concern often leads to the question: Does running burn belly fat and love handles?
Running is one of the best ways to burn calories and can contribute to reducing belly fat and love handles. It’s most efficient when combined with an adequate diet and other exercises. Its ability to increase metabolism and act as a natural appetite suppressant enhances its benefits.
In this concise guide, we will look into the truth behind running and its impact on your belly fat and love handles. Stay tuned
5 Easy Tips To Burn Belly Fat And Love Handles
My team, consisting of experts from the fields of nutrition, dietetics, and fitness, has conducted research. We have studied over 120 research articles to shortlist 5 ways that running helps to reduce belly fat and love handles.
1. The Role Of Running In Burning Belly Fat And Love Handles
It’s time to answer your question in detail, “Does running burn belly fat and love handles?” Running is a powerful exercise for burning calories and can help reduce your belly and love handles. But, it’s important to note that running alone might not be the most efficient method for targeting these specific areas.
A systematic review encompassing 149 studies found that exercise leads to significant weight loss, fat loss, and particularly visceral fat loss, which is the fat stored around the abdominal organs.
Importantly, the study has shown no significant difference in fat, visceral, and weight loss between aerobic exercises like running and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), as long as the energy expenditure was comparable.
A Harvard study found that running burns calories similar to ice hockey and swimming. This is because running works for various muscle groups simultaneously. It targets especially those ones around the abdomen area, giving you a flatter stomach over time.
You may ask, how fast does running burn belly fat and love handles? Well, the good news is that running does burn a large number of calories rapidly. However, the number depends on factors like body weight, pace, and terrain.
For instance, a 150-pound person jogging at 5 mph can burn around 590 calories in 60 minutes. And yes, running boosts your metabolism which means your excess fat burning goes on 24/7.
However, it’s worth noting that weight training, while not burning as many calories as running during the workout, can increase your metabolic rate in the long term. This is because muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat. So, building muscle via weight training can help you lose more calories around the clock, even when you’re not exercising.
Are you curious, about how to lose love handles fast in 1 week? We recommend a combination of both cardio (like running) and strength training for optimal fat loss and overall health benefits. This technique maximizes the calorie burn during workouts. It also builds muscle, which can lead to increased calorie burn at rest.
Related Article: “Will Running Lose Or build Muscle? (11 Ways To Prevent It!)“
2. Dietary Changes For Reducing Belly Fat And Love Handles
Another way to reduce belly fat and love handle is to make some dietary changes. Implementing a lower-calorie diet that focuses on whole, natural foods is a key strategy.
For example, avoiding sugary drinks like soda and alcohol can greatly reduce the number of unnecessary calories consumed. Opting for healthier drink choices like water or low-calorie substitutes can make a considerable difference.
Portion control or going for a calorie deficit diet is another important aspect. Eating off smaller plates can help regulate portion sizes. It makes it easier to reduce overall calorie intake without feeling deprived.
Prioritizing vegetables in your diet, especially before meals, can also help. Vegetables are high in fiber, which can fill you up with fewer calories, thus aiding in weight management.
Also, considering intermittent fasting can be beneficial. This eating pattern typically involves fasting for 16 hours a day followed by eating within an 8-hour window. Intermittent fasting can help reduce love handles and lose weight by limiting eating time and calorie intake.
You should also monitor food quality. Choose lean proteins, fibrous vegetables, and a small portion of whole grains or starchy vegetables. It can contribute to a nutritious and healthy diet that promotes fat loss.
| Vegetables That Burn Belly Fat | Fruits That Burn Belly Fat | Food That Causes Love Handles |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | Green Apples | Soda (soft drinks) |
| Kale | Watermelon | French fries |
| Spinach | Berries (Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries) | Potato chips |
| Swiss Chard | Avocado | Donuts, Candy, Chocolates, Ice cream |
| Cauliflower | Mangoes | Sweetened salad dressings |
| Brussels Sprouts | Pineapple | Beer |
| Beans | Citrus Fruits (Grapefruit, Oranges) | Cheeseburgers |
| Cabbage | Pitted Fruits (like Peaches) | White bread |
3. How Strength Training Could Reduce Your Belly Fat
Incorporating strength training into your exercise routine can be key to losing belly fat, including stubborn areas like love handles. A Harvard School of Public Health research revealed that weight training for 20 minutes per day prevents age-induced fat around the abdomen.
A study highlighted by the University of New South Wales found that strength training can effectively reduce body fat percentage. Although the study did not delve into specific variables like exercise duration or intensity, it underscored the importance of resistance training in fat loss. This is particularly relevant as resistance training offers benefits that aerobic exercises may not. This includes improving bone mineral density and muscle quality.
Resistance training can achieve the same results as running in terms of losing fat around the belly and love handles. Strength training is crucial for sustainable and increasing lean muscles.
Also, strength training can help manage chronic conditions and strengthen bone density. You ask, does running burn belly fat and love handles in man? Well, for comprehensive fitness, I recommend you include strength/weight training along with a running routine.
This combined approach of strength training and running can lead to more effective and sustainable fat loss, especially in the abdominal area. Now here are some of the best strength training exercises you should do to burn belly fat and love handles:
a. Side Plank from Knees: Support your body with one arm and your knees, keeping your body straight. It strengthens your core.
b. Side Plank Twist: Start in a side plank and twist your torso, engaging your side muscles and improving your rotational strength.
c. Side Plank Crunches: Combine a side plank with crunching by bringing your top elbow and knee together. It works your side muscles with a crunching motion.
d. Side Plank Beginner: A basic side plank where you support your body with one arm and your feet to improve core stability.
e. Mountain Climbers Cross: Get into a plank position and bring your knees towards the opposite elbow, like running in place. It engages your core and adds a twist.
4. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) To Burn Belly Fat
HIIT is an efficient way to get rid of love handles and belly fat through running. In this training method, you just need to do an intense workout in intervals of rest. HIIT is especially beneficial for those targeting abdominal fat.
Related Article: “5 Amusing Facts For Runners Being So Skinny (Expert’s Opinion)”
Studies suggest that HIIT can be as effective as moderate-intensity training for fat loss but in a more time-efficient manner. This makes HIIT a practical option for those with busy schedules. Furthermore, HIIT stimulates a higher rate of fat oxidation. This is a sign of reducing stubborn visceral fat, the type that accumulates around the abdominal organs.
An analysis comprising 39 studies have shown that HIIT reduces fat more quickly than normal workouts. Now you may ask, does running burn belly fat and love handles in woman? Indeed, this study indicated that running-based HIIT is better than cycling.
HIIT reduces body fat and low-intensity exercise targets belly fat, as per the analysis. This suggests that running, if combined with HIIT, can drastically reduce belly fat and love handles.
A key benefit of HIIT is its ability to maintain muscle mass while stimulating fat loss. It is significant for improving body composition and metabolic health. Regular HIIT sessions can lead to significant reductions in waistline, making it a powerful tool for reshaping the midsection.
5. Lifestyle Changes To Burn Belly Fat And Love Handles
Lifestyle changes are key for reducing belly fat and love handles. Research from Johns Hopkins Medicine emphasizes the importance of lifestyle adjustments in reducing belly fat. The study revealed that a low carbohydrate diet can help in reducing belly fat fast.
As discussed above, physical activity for about 30 minutes a day, especially a combination of aerobic and strength training, is crucial. It helps burn abdominal fat by reducing insulin levels and utilizing fatty acids, particularly in the visceral fat deposits.
Running reduces belly fat and love handles by combining dietary changes and regular physical activity.
Here are the key changes you should include in your lifestyle:
a. Reducing Carbohydrate Intake: Opting for a low-carb diet over a low-fat diet can cause drastic weight loss.
b. Maintaining an Active Lifestyle: Engaging in physical activities helps burn abdominal fat.
c. Reading Food Labels: Being aware of nutritional content helps in making healthier food It helps in avoiding foods high in sodium, trans fats and added sugar.
d. Skipping Processed Yet Junk Foods: This type of food is often prepared with unhealthy ingredients which hinders weight loss efforts.
e. Monitoring Clothing Fit Rather Than Scale: As muscle mass increases and fat decreases, your clothes might fit better even if the scale doesn’t show a significant change.
f. Social Influence: Surrounding yourself with health-focused friends can positively impact your eating and exercise habits.
Conclusion
Running helps burn belly fat and love handles as part of an overall weight management approach. It is effective form of exercise due to its calorie-burning potential. But it’s most efficient when combined with a balanced diet, strength training, and other exercises like HIIT.
Lifestyle adjustments, including reduced carb intake and avoiding processed foods, are the best ways that running helps to reduce belly fat and love handles. If you’re interested in learning more about it, you can read the book, Running: Lose Weight, Burn Fat & Increase Metabolism: Weight Loss Motivation. This book has helped me achieve my weight loss goals
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A combination of regular running or HIIT is a powerful tool to reduce belly fat and love handles. These exercises, along with dietary changes like reducing carbohydrate intake and avoiding processed foods, play a crucial role in achieving weight loss goals.
Running contributes to overall weight loss, which includes reducing side belly fat. It doesn’t target fat loss in specific areas. However, the calorie burning effect of running can help decrease belly fat as part of a comprehensive fitness routine.
The running duration needed to lose love handles varies for each individual. It also depends on diet and overall fitness routine. Generally, consistent running, combined with strength training and dietary changes, over some time contributes effectively to reducing love handles.
Flattening your stomach and love handles involves a combination of regular exercise, such as running and strength training. Also make dietary changes like reducing carbohydrate intake and processed foods
Time varies depending on dieting, exercise, or metabolism. Typically, consistent exercise and healthy eating over several weeks to months contribute to noticeable changes.
