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How do I get rid of love handles after 40?
Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated
The short answer
Nikkiey says love handles after 40 are a hormone problem more than an exercise problem, so the fix is nutrition first and training second. Eat enough protein and calories, lift with compound movements, add anti-rotation core work, and stop relying on side bends, Russian twists and endless cardio, which can raise cortisol.
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Nikkiey sums up the fix: nutrition first, training second, and what to stop doing
Plays from 20:33 · Video: How to Get Rid of Love Handles After 40 Without Side Bends
Why long, moderate cardio can raise cortisol and work against your love handles
Plays from 6:38 · Video: How to Get Rid of Love Handles After 40 Without Side Bends
How compound lifts, anti-rotation work and nutrition address all three drivers
Plays from 19:31 · Video: How to Get Rid of Love Handles After 40 Without Side Bends
Why side bends can make your waist look thicker instead of smaller
Plays from 5:57 · Video: How to Get Rid of Love Handles After 40 Without Side Bends
The full answer
Nikkiey explains that three things drive love handles after 40. As estrogen drops, fat storage shifts from the hips and thighs to the midsection. Rising cortisol directs fat to the belly and sides. And muscle loss slows your resting metabolism, so what worked at 30 stops working at 45. If your sides changed while your effort didn't, that isn't a willpower failure. You were given the wrong tools for a body that changed the rules.
She is blunt about what to stop. Side bends and Russian twists build the oblique muscle under the fat without removing the fat on top, which can make your waist look thicker, and isolated core work burns very little. She also warns about excessive, prolonged moderate-intensity cardio, the 45 minutes on the elliptical five days a week, especially when you're not eating enough. She cites a review in the Journal of the Endocrine Society linking that kind of chronic cardio to elevated cortisol, which is the hormone she says parks fat on your sides. Her observation: the women doing the most ab work and cardio often have the most stubborn love handles.
What she recommends instead:
- Protein at 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of goal body weight, about 100 to 140 grams a day for a 140-pound goal, from real food like eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, salmon and Greek yogurt
- Enough calories and sleep, without chronic under-eating
- Compound lifts like Romanian deadlifts and sumo squats to rebuild muscle and create metabolic demand
- Anti-rotation core work like the Pallof press to train the deep stabilizers that pull your midsection in
In her words, nutrition is the engine and training is the accelerator. You can't control your estrogen, she says, but you can control the metabolic environment your body operates in. If you have questions about your hormones specifically, that's a conversation to have with your doctor.
From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.
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24 minHow to Get Rid of Love Handles After 40 Without Side Bends
Video · Sep 18, 2026