If you’re looking for information on how to get rid of a muffin top, you’re not alone.
Also referred to as love handles, this roll of excess fat covering the obliques (the muscles on the sides of the waistline) impacts many of us, and it can be challenging to shift.
Not only is it unsightly, but it is unhealthy, with excess fat in this area increasing the risk of getting diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
Dieticians advise that losing weight is the best way to get rid of love handles.
Some fitness experts say you can get rid of your love handles by doing specific exercises.
So which is more important: diet or exercise? The reality is that both are, and a few other factors also come into play.
This article will cover everything you need to know to get rid of a muffin top. I will also outline some of my favorite muffin top exercises,
Table of Contents
Tips to Get Rid of a Muffin Top
If your waist is flabby, but you’re otherwise slim, muffin top exercises could be all you need to reduce your belly fat and eliminate your love handles.
On the other hand, toning exercises alone will not be enough if you have love handles and you’re overweight.
You will also need to eat less and undertake cardio activity regularly to burn calories and lower your body fat percentage.
A recent study compared the success rate of three groups whose aim was to get rid of a muffin top and love handles.
Group 1 eliminated their carbohydrate consumption.
Group 2 reduced their carb intake.
The best result came from group 3, who restricted carbs and did strength training plus regular cardio workouts.
Too many late nights, a high level of stress, and our hormones can also cause midsection weight gain.
The Part Diet Plays:
If you are overweight, the first thing you will need to do to get rid of your love handles is modify your diet.
The calories we consume provide the energy our bodies need to perform essential daily tasks such as breathing, digesting food, and moving.
If you consume fewer calories than you burn or burn more calories than you consume, your body will use its fat stores to function, and you will lose weight.
In theory, if you cut enough calories, you will shed pounds, regardless of what you eat.
However, getting your calories from junk food would not be healthy.
Avoid processed foods and those high in refined sugar and saturated fats for the best result.
Along with having a high caloric count, these foods digest quickly, so they won’t keep you feeling satisfied for long. They also provide little nutritional benefit.
Center your diet around lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, low-fat dairy products, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
These are nutritious, and they take longer to digest.
Eating foods that digest slowly will keep you feeling full for longer, so you will find it easier to eat less.
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Doing so will help take the edge off your appetite and hydrate you for your workouts.
If you are looking healthy low calorie recipes to try, check out Run Fast, Eat Slow: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes. While written with professional runners in mind, anyone can benefit from the recipes and it’s a very engaging read.
The Part Cardio Exercise Plays:
While cutting your portion size will go a long way towards helping you get rid of a muffin top, dieting alone will not enable you to achieve your weight goal as quickly as you will if you also exercise.
Any exercise that elevates your heart rate and keeps it elevated will burn body fat.
Combining HIIT and weight training can give you an excellent result quickly.
HIIT workouts are 
shorter than most cardio workouts, and they burn a lot of calories.
Weight training also burns calories, and it will enable you to maintain the muscle you already have and build on it.
With a higher muscle-to-fat ratio, you will burn more calories, even when inactive.
The Part Toning Exercises Plays:
When you lose weight, you will lose it all over, but you may still have love handles. This is where toning exercises can really help if you do the right ones.
The best muffin top exercises work the upper, middle, and lower abs and involve lateral movement.
One of the most effective is the Three-Way-Rollout, which you can do using ab equipment such as the Ab Dolly Plus or the Ab Carver Pro.
If you are a new exerciser or have mobility issues, the Wonder Core Smart with Twister Seat may suit you better. (Click on any of the previous links to read a review of the relevant product.)
If you don’t want to buy equipment, below are two short workouts containing some of the best muffin top exercises you can do.
The first workout comprises six exercises, while the second one has four.
Quick Muffin Top Workout
Planks
Planks target the transverse abs (the internal abdominals) to strengthen your core and nip in your 
waistline.
Method:
1. Get on the floor in a Push-Up position, then bend your elbows so that your forearms are on the floor supporting your weight. (Your body should be in a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.)
2. Tighten your abs, holding the contraction, and position for 30 seconds.
To increase the challenge, as your strength improves, maintain the position for 45 seconds, then 60 seconds, building up to 3 minutes.
Side Planks
Side Planks target the core, hips, and back muscles, helping to get rid of a muffin top.
Method:
1. To do a Side Plank, lie on your left side with your legs straight and your feet stacked, one on top of the other.
2. Supporting your upper body on your left elbow and left forearm, lift your hips off the floor until your body is in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
As you do this, bend your elbow, and place your right hand on your right hip, or lift it straight up, pointing towards the ceiling.
3. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
As your strength improves, maintain the position for 45 seconds, then 60 seconds, building up to 3 minutes.
Scissor Kicks
Scissor Kicks work the obliques.
Method:
1. To do Scissor Kicks, lie on your back, hands by your sides, legs straight out in front of you.
2. Contracting your abs so as not to arch your back, lift your feet approximately 6 inches off the floor.
3. Kick one foot and then the other towards the ceiling. This counts as one rep. Do 15 reps.
To increase the challenge, do the exercise while wearing ankle weights.
Vacuum Exercise
Another one that targets the transverse abdominals, Vacuum Exercise, is easy to do and will flatten your belly fast.
Method:
1. Get down on the floor on your hands and knees.
2. Keeping your back relaxed, inhale deeply, then exhale, pulling your navel towards your spine. Maintain this position for 12 seconds, then release the hold. Do 15 reps.
Opposite Arm and Leg Raises
Opposite Arm and Leg Raises are great for strengthening the core and lower back and slimming the waistline.
Method:
1. Starting on the floor on your hands and knees, simultaneously lift your left arm straight out to the front and your right leg straight out behind you, making a straight line from your fingertips to your heel.
2. Hold this position for approximately 3 seconds before returning to your starting position. Repeat, working your right arm and your left leg. This counts as one repetition. Do 20 reps.
Bicycle Crunches
Bicycle Crunches target the rectus abdominus, which are the muscles that hold us upright.
Method:
1. Start by lying on your back on the floor with your hands behind your head.
2. Lift your knees towards your chest, so your hips and knees have about a 90-degree bend.
3. Curl your head and shoulders off the floor as you twist your torso to the left.
As you do this, lift your left knee towards your right elbow and extend your right leg so it’s at about a 45-degree angle to the floor. Repeat, working your other side. This counts as one repetition. Do 15 reps.
8-MInute Standing Workout to get Rid of a Muffin Top
Next, we will look at factors often ignored when trying to get rid of a muffin top.
The Part Hormones Play:
Aging –
Our hormones significantly impact our weight, especially as we age.
From our forties and onward, our level of growth, thyroid, and sex hormones decline, and we experience a reduction in muscle mass.
Furthermore, we tend to become less active around this time, exacerbating the problem.
Even if our activity level remains the same, with less muscle mass, we burn fewer calories. This means that if you don’t eat less and exercise more, you will gain weight.
While this impacts both genders, as the female hormone estrogen decreases, women who once stored any excess weight in their chest, hips, and buttocks often find that weight gain shifts to their midsection.
Those who could once eat dessert every night and snack on cookies and potato chips without putting on weight can suddenly find themselves not just having to avoid these but also needing to cut the size of their meals to prevent weight gain.
Research has documented that around 40 percent of adult females have an undiagnosed underactive thyroid.
If you’re always tired, crave sugar, and retain weight around your middle, and nothing you’ve done has shifted it, the reason could be your thyroid.
The thyroid plays a significant role in the number of calories we burn and how fast or slow our metabolism is.
You could cut calories to the bare minimum and exercise for hours every day, and if your thyroid is out of sync, you will still be unable to eliminate your love handles.
Treatment for this condition will balance your thyroid function, enabling you to reduce your belly fat and feel better in yourself quickly.
For more insight into how hormones affect our weight as we age, check out Suzanne Somers Sexy Forever: How to Fight Fat Over 40.
Lack of Sleep –
When looking at ways to get rid of a muffin top, a poor sleep pattern is frequently overlooked.
Research has shown that people who are often sleep-deprived tend to weigh more than those who 
regularly get seven hours or more of shut-eye each night.
A lack of sleep impairs our fat cells’ ability to respond to insulin, a hormone that regulates energy storage and use.
Over time, this disruption can result in a bigger waist measurement.
Leptin and ghrelin are other hormones that can be compromised when we don’t get enough sleep.
Ghrelin tells us when we are hungry, while leptin signals the brain when we’ve eaten enough.
When sleep-deprived, your leptin level will drop, and your ghrelin level will rise.
When this occurs, you will feel hungry and tend to eat more without feeling satisfied.
This will make it difficult for you to stick to an eating plan that will help you eliminate your love handles.
Stress –
Stress impacts our weight by elevating cortisol levels. With a too high level of cortisol comes an increase in waist fat and a decrease in muscle mass.
To help manage stress, learn some simple relaxation techniques and practice them often. Switch off your computer and mobile phone and listen to calming music.
Lose yourself in a book, or watch a funny movie. Commune with nature, take a walk along a quiet beach or in the forest, and the stress will melt away.
Yoga is excellent for promoting relaxation, particularly if you do poses that focus on slow, mindful breathing and gentle stretches.
Along with promoting weight loss, another good reason to do regular cardio workouts is to help alleviate stress.
Final Thoughts on How to Get Rid of a Muffin Top
Our motivation for getting rid of a muffin top is most often a desire to improve our physical appearance.
But the bigger problem is the fat you can’t see that lies beneath the love handles. Known as visceral fat, this pads the internal organs, increasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes.
It takes dedication to get rid of a muffin top because it involves making lifestyle changes.
You will need to cut calories and do cardio regularly, along with exercises targeting the abs and obliques.
You will also need to get sufficient sleep and manage your stress levels.
Do these five things, and you can lose weight, reduce your belly fat, get rid of your love handles, and improve your health prospects.
It won’t happen overnight, but you will achieve your goal if you’re consistent.
You may also like to read this review of Run Fast Eat Slow Nourishing Recipes for Athletes.
