Skinny Love Handles: Causes, Risks, and How To Get Rid of Them

Love handles are excess side fat that extend outward from the hips. They are also known as muffin tops, as the region around your hips looks like a protruding muffin when wearing tight clothing. 

Love handles indicate excess fat accumulation around the hips and are generally seen in overweight people. However, you might also notice love handles on skinny folks. 

What are Skinny Love Handles?

Although skinny love handles might sound like an oxymoron, this problem is as real as it gets. 

Let’s talk about being skinny first. According to Collins Dictionary, ‘skinny’ is generally used for an unattractively thin individual. Skinny folks are usually boney, thin-limbed, and might have a slouching posture.

However, some skinny people develop love handles, which are otherwise generally associated with overweight folks. 

Furthermore, men are predisposed to develop love handles as most of their fat cells are located in this area, making losing the muffin top an uphill battle. 

On the other hand, women too don’t fare too well. Their bodies tend to deposit fat into the hip and thigh area, which creates the illusion of love handles. 

While overweight people know they need to shed excess weight to lose the spare tire, love handles usually leave skinny individuals in a dilemma. 

Many skinny people with thin arms and narrow shoulders want to gain weight and muscle mass. However, love handles put them in a quandary. Adding calories might help them move toward their dream physique, but it might also accentuate their love handle problem. 

So, skinny people tread a tightrope when dealing with love handles. A step in the wrong direction can send all their progress crashing. 

This article elaborates on the causes, risks, and ways to fix skinny love handles for good.

Causes for Skinny Love Handles

Contrary to what most people think, you could develop a muffin top for reasons besides remaining in a caloric surplus for an extended period. They can be a telltale sign of something much more serious. Here are the factors that could lead to subcutaneous fat buildup on your hips:

1. Genetics 

As always, genetics can play a role in gaining skinny love handles. Your genetics determine where your body deposits fat. Plus, most people see a pattern in their fat loss. Some folks might lose fat first from their face and last from their hips. People who lose the fat off their hips the last will have a hard time getting rid of their love handles.

2. Stress

Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream. Although a spike in cortisol levels can work on your side in a fight-or-flight situation by creating an energy surge, staying stressed for prolonged periods can increase your appetite. Elevated cortisol levels can cause cravings for sweet, fatty, and salty foods. So, stressing about skinny love handles isn’t going to solve a thing. Instead, it can make matters worse.

3. Age

Belly fat accumulation is a common occurrence as you get older. The metabolic rate declines with age, which is a leading cause of fat pile-up in the elderly.

4. Hormones 

This is a continuation of the last point. Natural and artificial hormonal changes can lead to the development of skinny love handles. As you grow older, your testosterone levels drop while the estrogen levels rise, which can result in excess fat accumulation. 

On the other hand, folks who depend on prescribed steroids or strength athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) might also notice a fat buildup due to their drug use. 

5. Inactivity

If you stay sedentary for the majority of the day, you are at a greater risk of developing love handles. Ensure you stay active throughout the day to minimize the risk of developing love handles and other health problems, especially if you have a desk job. 

6. Sleep Deprivation 

A lack of sleep is one of the most underplayed causes of love handle buildup. Your body recovers and recuperates during deep sleep. Interrupted or insufficient sleep can cause weight gain. 

Sleep at least seven to eight hours every night to ensure optimal recovery. 

7. Ineffective Training Regimen

Many people cannot shed their skinny love handles even after training regularly. The problem here is an inadequate training regimen. You need to follow a personalized training regimen with the right balance of HIIT cardio and strength exercises for optimal fat loss. 

8. Alcohol

Is alcohol a vice? That’s for you to decide. As far as love handles are concerned, alcohol consumption can add to the problem. Alcohol contains empty calories, meaning they have no nutritional value. Plus, your body shuts down your metabolism to burn these calories as soon as you take a sip of your favorite margarita. Did you know two glasses of wine can add 1,500 calories to your weekly calorie intake? Remember this the next time you go out on a date. 

Check Out: How To Drink Alcohol Without Losing Muscle and Gaining Fat

9. Diet

Diet plays a vital role in your body composition. Not eating enough and eating too much can lead to love handle build-up. Plus, consuming processed foods can add to the problem. 

Depending on your current and goal body weight, cook a diet plan that helps you meet your daily caloric goals using a balanced macronutrient breakup.

10. Medical Issues

Undiagnosed or untreated conditions like hypothyroidism can slow down your metabolism, which can cause love handle development. You should visit your doctor if you experience abnormal weight or fat gain. 

Risks of Love Handles

Although love handles are usually the result and not the cause of underlying health conditions, they might indicate underlying risk factors for chronic illnesses like:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Stroke
• High cholesterol
• Liver disease
• Heart disease
• Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis
• Cancer

Lifestyle Changes For Skinny Love Handles

Working on the causes mentioned above can aid in getting rid of your spare tire. Furthermore, implementing the following lifestyle changes can help prevent and fix love handles:

1. Body Recomposition Diet

Not everyone needs to cut calories to lose weight and body fat. If you are barely meeting your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calories in a day but are struggling with love handles, you should restructure your macros instead of cutting calories.

Use our convenient TDEE calculator to check your goal daily calorie requirement and ideal macronutrient targets. 

2. Monitor Your Sodium Intake

Sodium is often overlooked in your diet. Sodium overconsumption can not only lead to hypertension, but it can also cause your muscles to hold water, which can make give your bigger muffin tops. Per the FDA, you should keep your daily sodium intake to under 2,300 milligrams.

3. Make Exercise a Part of Your Daily Routine

Although not necessary, exercise can speed up your fat loss progress. People with skinny love handles should incorporate a 15-20 minute HIIT cardio routine into their routine. Plus, a 30-minute strength training session can help tone your abdomen. 

4. Fix Your Wardrobe

We are all for body positivity and being comfortable in your skin. However, sometimes you do not have enough time to work on your love handles but want to look slim for an occasion like a life event or an unplanned vacation to a tropical location. 

In these dire times, changing how you dress can help cover your love handles. Wearing high-waist straight-fit pants or shirts with vertical stripes can help camouflage your abdomen fat. 

Spot Reduction

Before we dive into the exercises for skinny love handles, let’s address the elephant in the room — spot reduction.

You cannot burn fat exclusively from your hips. If you enter a calorie deficit, you’ll burn fat (and a little muscle mass) throughout your body. Products like sauna belts are a waste of money. 

However, training your sides can help tone and firm up your abdomen. Hence, you should combine a calorie deficit or body recomposition diet with side-focused exercises to get the best bang for your buck. 

8 Exercises To Fix Skinny Love Handles

Here are eight effective exercises to fix skinny love handles:

1. Side Plank

Side plank is a great isometric exercise to maintain tension on your sides. Keep your core contracted throughout the duration to get the best bang for your buck. 

Steps:

1. Start by laying on your side with your elbow under your shoulder on the floor.
2. Place one foot on top of the other.
3. Lift your hips until your body is in a straight line.
4. Now hold this position for as long as possible.
5. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: 

1. Keeps your core contracted throughout the exercise. 
2. Improves oblique definition and separation.

Check out our detailed side plank guide here!

2. Russian Twist

The Russian twist is one of the most popular and effective oblique exercises. It trains your abs through the transverse plane and can help build core strength. 

Steps:

1. Sit on an exercise mat with your feet flat on the floor and your back on a 45-degree angle with the floor. 
2. Grab a kettlebell or weight plate and extend your arms straight so your wrists are above your knees. 
3. Turn to your left side while exhaling sharply. 
4. Contract your abs at the top. 
5. Slowly return to the starting position while breathing in.
6. Repeat on your right. 
7. Return to the starting position. This is one rep.
8. Repeat for recommended reps.

Benefits: 

1. Strengthens your core, obliques, and spine.
2. Helps build balance and stability. 

Check out our detailed Russian twist guide here!

3. Sit-Up to Twist

This sit-up variation can help engage and tone your skinny love handles. Twist as far as possible to get the best bang for your buck while performing this exercise. 

Steps:

1. Lie supine on an exercise mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Place your hands behind your head, engage your core and do a full sit-up. 
3. Twist your torso to your side as you lift your upper body towards the ceiling.
4. Bring your right elbow to your left knee and twist your body toward that side.
5. Slowly return to the starting position.
6. Repeat on the other side.
7. Alternate between sides for recommended reps.

Benefits: 

1. Engages the obliques better than the conventional sit-up.
2. Targets the external and internal obliques and strengthens the side ab wall.

Check out our detailed decline twisting sit-up guide here!

4. Spiderman

Spiderman is a great exercise to work your abdomen through the full range of motion. It allows you to achieve an optimal oblique contraction at the top.

Steps:

1. Start in a high plank, arms extended, and your hands under your shoulders.
2. Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise.
3. Lift your left foot off the floor and bring your left knee to your left elbow. Twist your torso at the top and contract your abs.
4. Slowly return to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the other side. 
6. Alternate between sides for recommended reps.

Benefits: 

1. Works the obliques. 
2. Since you’ll be in a high plank position, you’ll work your chest, shoulders, arms, back, and butt apart from your core. 

Check out our detailed Spiderman push-up guide here!

5. Mountain Climber with Twist

This mountain climber variation looks similar to the Spiderman exercise. However, the inward rotation of the leg works your obliques from a different angle than the exercise mentioned above. 

Steps:

1. Start in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders. 
2. Your body should be in a straight line at the starting position. 
3. Lift your left foot off the floor and bring your left knee towards your right elbow. 
4. Twist your torso at the top and exhale sharply. 
5. Return to the starting position. 
6. Repeat on the other side. 
7. Alternate between reps.

Benefits: 

1. Works your chest, shoulders, arms, back, and butt apart from your core. 
2. Allows optimal oblique contraction. 

6. Bicycle Crunch

The bicycle crunch is a great exercise to keep constant tension on your abs. Make sure you perform this exercise with a full range of motion. 

Steps:

1. Lay supine in a relaxed position with your arms behind your head and legs straight.
2. Exhale as you raise one knee towards your face while driving the opposite elbow to the knee.
3. Slowly return to the starting position. 
4. Repeat on the opposite side.
5. Alternate between sides for recommended repetitions.

Benefits: 

1. One of the best ab exercises to keep the target muscles under constant tension. 
2.  Improve stability, flexibility, and coordination.

Check out our detailed bicycle crunch guide here!

7. Wood Chopper

The wood chopper keeps your trunk activated in a rotational movement pattern, as well as multiple abdominal and back muscles for stability. 

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold a dumbbell in both hands.
3. Hold the weight in front of your left leg with your arms extended and knees bent slightly.
4. Rotate slightly off your left foot as you twist your body and swing the weight across your body up and to the right, keeping your arms straight the entire time.
5. Bring the weight back to starting position.
6. Do 8 to 15 reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.

Benefits: 

1. Works your legs and arms, which provide stability and mobility.
2. Helps build explosive strength.

Check out our detailed cable wood chopper guide here!

8. Wall Ball

The wall ball is a great exercise to engage your obliques and build explosive strength. It is one of the best transverse plane exercises. 

Steps:

1. Stand with your left side facing a wall and your knees slightly bent. 
2. With straight arms, hold a soft medicine ball on the right side of your body. 
3. Rotate off your right foot and use power from your hips to throw the ball into the wall.
4. Catch the ball, bending the knees to absorb the catch.
5. Repeat for recommended reps on one side before switching sides.

Benefits: 

1. Helps build explosive strength. 
2. A functional exercise that works multiple muscle groups. 

Cardio Routine To Lose Skinny Love Handles

Many people spend countless hours on cardio machines in hopes of losing their skinny love handles. However, this approach might do more harm than good. 

While performing cardiovascular exercises for extended periods can help shed the muffin top, it can also cause muscle atrophy as your body will burn muscle to use as fuel. 

Experts recommend performing a 15-20 minute high-intensity cardio session to burn the excess stored fat without causing muscle loss. High-intensity training is a form of anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is any activity that breaks down glucose for energy without using oxygen. Generally, these activities are of short length with high intensity.

Related: HIIT vs. LISS Cardio: Which One Is Best for Fitness and Fat Loss?

Workout To Shed Skinny Love Handles

You should begin a HIIT workout routine with a 5-10 minute dynamic stretching routine to warm up your muscles and reduce your chances of injury during training.

Circuit: 3 Rounds

1. Side Plank: 30 seconds (each side) [30-second rest]
2. Russian Twist: 30 seconds [30-second rest]
3. Sit-up to Twist: 30 seconds [30-second rest]
4. Spiderman: 30 seconds [30-second rest]
5. Mountain Climber with Twist: 30 seconds [30-second rest]
6. Bicycle Crunch: 30 seconds [30-second rest]
7. Wood Chopper: 30 seconds (each side) [30-second rest]
8. Wall Ball: 30 seconds (each side) [2-minute rest]

You are only allowed a 30-second rest between exercises and a two-minute result between circuits. Resting for longer can hamper your training intensity — and results. 

Medical Procedures for Skinny Love Handles

Plastic surgery procedures like liposuction can help reduce fat retention by reducing the number of fat cells in specific areas of your body. Although lipo is a permanent fat loss solution, it has serious risks and possible complications, so it’s important to talk to your doctor before considering it.

Other procedures to support weight loss include gastric bands or gastric bypass surgery. Remember: You should only consider these options after multiple fat-loss diets and training programs have proven ineffective. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have love handles if I’m skinny?

Fat deposits on your sides can be a result of your genetics, and other factors like stress, alcohol consumption, inadequate sleep, poor diet, and hormonal changes. 

How can a skinny guy lose love handles?

Switching to a recomposition diet and training program is one of the most effective ways of losing love handles. 

Can I lose love handles without losing muscle mass?

People who develop love handles due to staying in a bulking phase for a prolonged period might experience muscle loss when they switch to a calorie deficit diet. 

Wrapping Up

Both overweight and skinny people can develop love handles. However, while overweight people develop a muffin top due to staying in a calorie surplus for an extended period, skinny folks usually build up excess body fat due to genetics, underlying health conditions, and poor lifestyle choices. 

Making lifestyle amendments and following the workout mentioned in this article can help shed excess body fat. Remember: Go down the surgical path only after you’ve exhausted all other options. Best of luck!

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