Hip fat, commonly called love handles, typically accumulates on the sides of your hips and bottom. While not as dangerous as other types of fats such as visceral fats which surround your internal organs and contribute to heart disease and diabetes, too much hip fat is not only unattractive aesthetically but can be a drag on your overall health.
Table of Contents
9 Ways To Reduce Hip Fat Effectively
1. Exercises
The best way to lose hip fat is by incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Choose exercises that target the areas you want to slim down.
Squats
Targeting your hips to get rid of fat in this area is easy since you can target it while doing squats. Squats are effective at reducing overall body fat while giving you the butt shape that most people want. Squats are not just for your thighs; they also target your hips, bottom, and hamstrings.
Twist Squat
The twist squat works on the outer thighs, legs and buttocks while targeting your oblique muscles too. To do the twist squat, start by standing up straight with hands on your hips. Lift one leg so that it’s pointing downwards to the floor, place the other foot at the back of your toes and twist to one side then the other.
Hip Stretch
You can stretch the hip area using a yoga mat. Lie face down on a mat and lift one leg so that it’s straight in line with your torso. Then reach the knee of the lifted leg behind you then reach the ankle to your foot, stretching from your thighs to ankles.
High-intensity interval training
HIIT is a type of training that involves high-intensity exercises followed by intervals of rest and is the best way to lose hip fat fast. You can engage in a HIIT session by doing sprints and then having a rest period where you move at a slow pace. Another way to do HIIT is by alternating between high-intensity exercise such as running and high-impact exercises such as jumping over boxes, leading to more fat loss than low-intensity cardio exercise such as running or rowing for 30 minutes
2. Caloric Intake
The most important step in losing hip fat is controlling your caloric intake. This means that you must monitor how many calories you’re eating and at what time of the day. There’s no way for you to lose belly fat while eating a lot and exercising less than your body requires for survival.
Here are some tips:
Eat more: Increase the number of calories you consume every day, also eat meals with more protein and fats. Eat 2-3 smaller meals a day without snacking between them.
Make healthier choices: Avoid eating high-carbohydrate foods such as potato, pasta and bread.
3. Lower Your Body Fat
Fat storage is directly proportional to body fat percentage so if you can lower your body fat, you can also reduce the amount of hip fat you have. To do this, focus on your diet which should be low in calories and rich in protein and nutrients that keep your energy levels high throughout the day.
4. Eat more thermogenic foods
Certain foods contain nutrients that can help reduce fat storage and boost metabolism while building muscle. Some of these foods include butternut squash, egg yolks, avocadoes and salmon.
5. Increase your daily water intake
When your body does not get enough water it becomes dehydrated and this increases the production of cortisol that will promote pain and other conditions such as joint diseases. Drinking approximately 2 cups of water every day should ensure that you get the required amount of hydration to keep your body healthy and your fat from forming in places such as hips and lower back.
6. Reduce stress
One of the causes of fat storage is stress, especially if you are undergoing a lot at your workplace. You can easily reduce the amount of stress that your body is experiencing by doing yoga or meditation. The services of a professional can also help you manage your stress levels.
7. Improve Sleep Habits
If this has been a problem for you to sleep well, try to make it a habit by creating an environment that will make it easy for you to sleep soundly throughout the night. Sleeping for more than seven hours will not only prevent your body from burning fats but also increase belly fat around the waist.
8. Avoid sitting for long hours
Sitting is the worst position to be in since it promotes fat storage. You can limit your time sitting by doing exercises or standing throughout your day. If you are at the office, take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you are at home, walk around even if it’s just fifteen minutes a day.
9. Increase your metabolism
Metabolism refers to the amount of energy and heat that your body uses during physical activities. To increase your metabolism, you can start exercising for at least three hours a week. You can also take weight loss supplements such as Green Coffee Bean extract to increase your metabolism.
What Causes Hip Fat?
Eating the Wrong Foods
Eating the wrong foods can cause lipo fat. A diet that lacks calories can prevent your body from burning fat stores and the excess accumulation of the unhealthy fats found in your hip area.
Carbohydrates are responsible for increasing fat storage in your hip area. You can have a big meal of starch-rich foods like pasta and rice, but if you don’t take in the right amount of calories, your body won’t be able to burn the excess carbs as energy or store it as muscle. Instead, it will be transformed into fats which are more likely to accumulate around your hips.
Lack of Physical Activity
Another contributing factor to obesity is lack of physical activity. While some people may not need to exercise as much as others, a consistent exercise routine will keep your body from storing toxic fats in your hips.
In addition to burning fat from your hips, working out has been shown to increase your metabolism so that you’ll burn more calories throughout the day.
Exercising too much or too little
People who exercise too much tend to store most of the calories from their food as fat cells. This is why some people who try to lose weight end up gaining it back again.
One good way to prevent this from happening is by maintaining a healthy balance of working out consistently without overdoing it.
On the other hand, people who are dieters or athletes may be prone to hip fat accumulation because they skimp on calories which can slow the metabolism and increase the number of calories stored as fats.
Improper Thyroid Functioning
Inadequate thyroid functioning can cause you to store hip fat even if you’re eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. If your thyroid is not functioning properly, your body produces more cortisol which stimulates the production of belly fat while reducing the number of fats in your hips and bottom.
Menopause
During menopause, estrogen levels drop causing women to lose all their body hair, put on weight around the waist and hips especially if they’re eating right and exercising regularly.
Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when she stops producing estrogen, which causes her ovaries to stop releasing eggs. This can lead to severe symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats and vaginal dryness etc.
This drop-in estrogen levels can also cause fat storage around the waist and hips, especially if she’s eating right and exercising regularly.
Hormone Imbalance
If your hormones are out of balance, you’ll store more fat in places like your bottom or hip area. This is why it’s important to stay in good hormonal health. Hormone tests help you do that. They help you understand if your body is producing an excess amount of estrogen or cortisol which can lead to weight gain around hip areas.
The thyroid gland regulates the production of hormones in your body, which are critical for keeping your metabolism functioning properly and keeping you healthy. For your metabolism to run smoothly, the hormones produced by the thyroid have to be balanced correctly.
Lack of Sleep
Sleep deprivation can cause you to store more fat on your hips. Sleeping for more than seven hours a night is not only unhealthy but also prevents your body from burning calories.
A study showed that people who sleep for eight hours each night tend to be healthier than those who sleep for five hours or less.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body will not produce leptin which is a hormone that regulates your metabolism and makes you feel full. Lack of leptin production will make you crave food and therefore overeat which in turn, can cause fat storage around the hips and belly area.
Medical Ailments
Certain medical conditions can prevent your body from regulating the production of hormones that are responsible for fat storage. This makes it difficult for you to lose weight but also, if you are suffering from diabetes or another illness that requires daily medication, increasing height can contribute to hip fat formation.
Sedentary Work
Workers who sit on their butt for too long without moving tend to accumulate fats on their hips especially if they don’t exercise after work. People who sit for more than 8 hours a day tend to be more prone to obesity than those who sit for less than 4 hours.
Decreased intake of water or dehydration
Not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration and this explains why athletes have bigger butts than non-athletes. Dehydration can also cause you to store more fat in your hips because less water means less fat being released from the adipose cells.
Low iron levels
Iron is a vital nutrient that helps convert protein into energy. If you have low levels of iron, your body cannot keep yourself from storing fat around your hips. You can get enough iron from a balanced diet and also use a supplement.
Aging
The loss of estrogen in women is one of the reasons why older women tend to store fat on their hips, thighs and belly area. They don’t look like they’re aging; they look like they’re pregnant. This is because the fertility hormone, estrogen, has started to decrease in older women. When estrogen levels go down, fat is stored around the waist and hips instead of in the buttocks area.
Summary
1/The main cause of fat around the hips is hormones, this can be controlled by consuming foods that help boost your body’s metabolism levels.
2/ Choosing leg exercises that target your waist is best at removing fat from your hips.
3/Carry out exercises that are not just for the legs but also the butt which are the main areas affected by fat.
4/ Avoid eating high carbohydrate foods since they make you store more body fat around your waist area.
5/ Don’t forget to drink enough water every day since hydration is one of the most important factors in losing hip fat conveniently.
6/ Avoid sitting for long hours since it encourages more body fat around hips and thighs leading to a stouter appearance.
FAQ
Is it possible to get rid of my flabby hip or thighs?
Yes it is possible, you can easily lose flabby hips and thighs through doing exercises that target your buttocks.
How do I reduce cellulite?
Avoid sitting for long hours, make sure you sleep enough and consume foods with antioxidants like berries since they fight cellulite.
Is there any other way to get rid of fat around the hips without having to exercise?
Yes there are other ways such as reducing stress levels by taking up yoga, avoiding food high in carbohydrates and drinking enough water every day. All of these are possible with the right planning and effort. Don’t forget to check out our article on how to lose stubborn belly fat. To get rid of hip fat, you have to control your weight since excess weight around hips is relative more relative compared to the waist area.
Does it help if I eat less?
Definitely yes; reduce your caloric intake by eating smaller meals every day and choose foods that are rich in nutrients that boost your metabolism levels. It is also recommended that you consume foods that contain more calories but similar macronutrients like eggs, fish and fatty meat.
How can I lose hip fat quickly?
Losing hip fat is not fast but it’s not easy either. However, there are ways to speed up the process like following the guidelines presented in this article. Remember that you can always consult your doctor for advice.
How to get rid of hip fat using supplements?
As much as it may be tempting assuming that supplements are the answer to all your problems, you should still check with your doctor before taking any supplements. There are plenty of products out there but be sure to do your research before getting started on any program especially if it claims to get rid of stubborn hips and thighs.