Love handles. Everyone hates them, and they’re reeeally hard to get rid of.

Even women who are in excellent shape can store fat around their midsection. No matter how hard you work out, they are an especially difficult area to target.

The secret to defeating love handles isn’t an insane amount of exercise or starving yourself. The trick is to work with what you have, eat and exercise sensibly, and dress for your figure. In this way, you’ll be accentuating your curves in the right places and tucking love handles away out of sight.

Here are all of our best tips for getting love handles under control once and for all.

Waist Training Effectively

Waist training is a sure-fire way to fight love handles. It can be a part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle routine, and it hides love handles whenever you’re wearing your garment.

To get the most out of waist training, we recommend wearing a waist trainer daily. Start out for just a couple of hours a day and then work your way up to eight hours or more. Over time your body will become accustomed to the way it feels, you’ll be motivated to stay on track with your fitness, and if you stick with it you’ll be able to size down!

For the best results, wear a workout band during workouts and an everyday waist trainer or steel-boned corset for the other times of day, in order to get your full day of waist training in daily. Also, be sure to maintain a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Diet Tips for Waist Training

We recommend the slow and steady, sensible approach to eating healthy while waist training (rather than trying fad diets). Stick to whole foods taken in small portions, while avoiding refined sugars and carbs. Drink a lot of water and avoid sweet drinks and alcohol. And be mindful when you eat—helpful tools include calorie-tracking apps and meditative practices.

Eating healthy is the most effective weapon you have for losing weight, because it’s what you consume that adds pounds. If you have trouble staying motivated, wearing a waist trainer can remind you what your goals are so you can stay on track.

Exercises for Targeting Love Handles

In combination with a nutritious diet and regular waist training, you’ll want to follow an exercise program that burns fat and builds muscle. Combine regular cardio (especially HIIT) with strength training. Moves that target large muscle groups like squats and deadlifts are most effective because they require core strength and burn a lot of calories.

You can also do more targeted core-intensive training, but don’t do core moves exclusively if you want fat-burning results. Remember that your body is a whole unit. Check out some of our workout suggestions.

The Best Waist Trainers and Shapewear for Love Handles

Want more ideas for shapewear that solves love handles? Here are the top slimming garments our customers recommend and what they say about them:

Workout Waist Trainer by Ann Chery:

This maximum compression workout waist trainer is a customer favorite for good reason. It's perfect for slimming your waist instantly and providing the firm compression you need for effective daily waist training. Wear this garment at the gym or under your everyday attire. 

"THIS WAIST TRAINER IS THE BOMB!!! I Purchased this Ann Chery waist trainer from Hourglass Angel and let me just say combined with my diet and exercise program in a little over three weeks I have lost 6 inches off my waist, lost most of my love handles and even melted most of my back rolls.

Whoever said waist training does not work is a lie! True enough it may not work for you if you wear it and do not follow a diet or exercise program. This is not some magic shaper that gets rid of belly fat alone. YOU MUST DO THE WORK! I am very satisfied started at a size 42 and now I am going to purchase a 36! I am both happy and excited to see what more results I yield. I am hopeful for a flat belly by this summer and make it to 28.

This waist shaper has also helped along with exercise to lift my booty! I will definitely be buying another soon! Only negative side is it causes skin irritation on my belly and a rash. It itches like crazy. I have to apply tons of lotion and A and D ointment on the daily. This minor mishap will not stop me from using but maybe somehow they can work on a better design to prevent the skin from getting a rash and discoloration. " –Tazaiyah

Note from the Hourglass Angel team: to prevent skin irritation you can wear a tank underneath.

Best Waist Trainer by Hourglass Angel HA102:

Customers told us they wanted a better waist trainer for their unique curves, so we created this amazing plus size waist trainer. This cincher takes up to 3 inches off your waist measurements instantly. 

"LOVE IT! This is amazing. It is like my love handles just disappeared, very comfortable, the quality is excellent, true to size. It is a little difficult to put on, but once you got it, it will be worth the sweat, haha :)" –Jonathan G.

Cheap Waist Trainer by PureShape PS102:

If you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger on a high-end waist trainer, you can get started using our most affordable workout band. It’s a great quality starter piece and it works! 

"Amazing!!! I absolutely love my waist trainer. I'm a woman with a short torso and love handles. This waist trainer actually reduced my entire mid-section without looking lumpy from the back. It's comfortable and invisible under clothing. I wish I could post a picture. "

Squeem Waist Cincher 26PW:

This classic garment provides maximum slimming power for all shapes and sizes, from XS–5XL.

"Amazing for postpartum stretched ab muscles! I bought this item after miscarrying my twins at 20 weeks from TTTS. My abs were separated from my uterus growing so fast with two growing babies and all of the extra fluid. This waist cincher works great to suck your abs back in together. It creates smooth waste lines eliminating any love handles! I'm currently 5 weeks postpartum and my ab muscles look like they have completely closed back up. It also helps with low back pain! I'm 5'2" and 110 lbs pre-pregnancy and 120 lbs postpartum and the size small is working great for me. I plan to use the size XS once I lose the extra lbs. I highly recommend this waist cincher!" –Rebecca

Best Body Shaper by Vedette 104:

This body shaper provides moderate compression throughout the torso and creates a slim, comfortable hold, for a beautiful figure from the bust to mid-thigh.

"Although I sweat...This item is amazing!!!! It's like my love handles just disappeared it's such a trick. It's genius." –Emski