Do you have love handles? You know, those rolls of fat that just kind of hang above your hips. If they really are love handles why do we spend so much time, energy and money trying to make them go away? I guess love isnt a good thing if its hanging over the sides of your pants.

Getting rid of those inner tubes wrapped around your waist can almost be more hassle then its worth. With TV ads bombarding you daily with the latest Ab machine or pill that will magically melt the fat away from your midsection its hard to figure out what to do.

And watching all those fit, 6-pack Ab bearing models pedaling those wares just adds to the confusion. Do you really think they got bodies that look that great just by simply using the Ab Blaster Lounge or taking a Magic Fat Away pill? No, they look like that because they exercise and eat right to get their bodies to look like that.

Did you get that? People who are in shape and have great looking bodies get that way by exercising and eating a healthy diet. There is no other way around that. If you want to lose your love handles thats exactly what you are going to have to do.

You can do sit-ups, crunches, and any one of hundreds of other Ab specific exercises but until you start burning the fat you will never lose those love handles. They will just sit there, hiding a firm layer of hard muscle and no one will ever know you have a 6-pack hiding under there. Doing specific exercises for a specific area will not burn the fat from that area. You must exercise all of your muscle groups, particularly your biggest muscles like your legs, back and core muscles, for optimum fat burning.

All the exercise in the world will not make those love handles go away if you do not change your dietary habits. Exercise is great for burning calories, which in turn burns the fat. If you continue to eat more calories then you burn off your body fat will stay the same or even increase, no matter how much exercising you do.

If you truly want to lose your love handles here are the three minimum things you must do.

1. Diet - Your body needs protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals to function properly. A lean healthy diet will allow your body to metabolize its fat stores more efficiently.

2. Core Strengthening Strengthening your core muscle group, abs, obliques, back, will give that firm toned midsection.

3. Cardio Training - The key to having great abs is burning more calories than you take in. Aerobic training combined with the tips above does just that. If you want to get rid of love handles then get up off the couch and go for a walk, take a bike ride, or play some hoops. Find something you like to do and keep doing it.

If you give your body the food and exercise it needs it will respond in kind and the fat will burn away while the muscles become firm and tight, giving you the love handle free body you deserve.