I swim 2x every week and I'm on a diet (not too strict, though - I just eat a healthy breakfast, avoid junk food and sodas and don't eat anything after 8 pm), but I'm not pleased with the results.

How do I get rid of my love handles? I'm starting to think that exercise/diet are not enough. Is liposuction a good option? Is it painful? And how effective is it?

Flavio, I never saw good results with just moderate diet and exercise. You have to put your foot on the gas!!! I've seen first hand how really increasing my water intake from a quart to 4 quarts a day and power walking made a visible difference!! You want to give yourself 60 days of 4 quarts and even a bit more and serious 30 minutes every day of walking, dark, cold, whatever and you'll thank yourself for finally seeing some results. Lipo, by the way, is not a cure-all guaranteed on that. You can get fat again if you don't change what you were doing or not doing before!

Flavio like its752 told liposuction will not be a cure, just a temporary remedy. And also there is no quick fix, if you want to see top results you have to put top effort in it.

You could also consider some weigth training, weight training will increase muscle (definition) and more muscles means an accelerated metabolism, so you will loose more fat.
Also try to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 solid meals. This will also speed up your metabolism. Avoid sugars and keep on drinking water.

Thanks guys! I have nothing against cosmetic surgery, but today's procedures still seem unsafe and inefficient. Maybe in a couple of years, who knows? And you're right, moderate exercise is not enough, I really have to put my heart and soul into it.

Flavio,
from my extensive research i found out that dr. Robert Jones in Canada does lipo and ht procedures very good. so combining those two together you might be eligible for a discount.

ok ok don't get mad now i kid i kid

unless your case is a cause of illness, forget about surgery.

Guys have hair transplants because theres nothing we can actively do to stop the loss (except the meds)

but any man can lose weight. No offense, but get your ass off the couch, read some dieting advice, i very much propose searching for John berrardi from t-nation(lots of other interesting stuff on t-nation).

i've gone from 220 pounds to 180 pounds in 2008 weighttraining, doing cardio, eating super healthy.

I have to disagree with most. I am 37 years old, work out just about every day (cardio/weight training). I weigh 185 and bench 330 just to give you guys some idea of how devoted I am to my training.

I eat right and simply could not get rid of my love handles, and small belly roll. After thinking it was just part of getting old, I decided to go see a plastic surgeon. He said I was the ideal candidate due to my lifestyle and amount of fat to be removed.

I had liposuction done about 3 months ago and simply could not be happier. I agree that it's not a cure all but if you are active and eat right most of the time but just can't get rid of that last little bit - lipo is the way to go.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

From being a long time weightlifter, I have come to the conclusion that lifting will allow you to attain an overall "in good shape" type body (including abs because you employ your abs in any exercise that requires mid section stability). However, with this said, you cannot get "defined" and "shredded" abs or rid of your love handles unless you do fat burning exercises for your core....basically ab cardio. And crunches are not the way to go - crunches only work the top portion of the abs and it is not a long range motion. Therefore not a lot of energy is utilized and thus not much fat is burned. You have to burn through that layer of belly fat before you can see anything....you can have the strongest, most developed abs but not see them if you have that little layer of fat sittin on top of them. I'll post a few links from youtube of my favorite ab workouts.

Leg lifts - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gI2SuaSYDk

Ab roller - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Qvf8LxncA

Core stability (aka Plank) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...2iRusnnc&feature=fvw

Awesome overall workout - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKSSj72rZUQ