How to get rid of my saddlebags? Ironically I'm skinny.
ItalianChick90
Posts: 34 Member
Re-post because I'm new here and probably should've posted it in this section the first time since I really need advice. Anyways hello I'm 5'6 and there are two things that are bothering me which I'm looking for motivation and advice from others especially who can relate or had success etc.
One- I have a long waist but short legs
Two- I have saddlebags
I'm wondering if #2 is caused by #1. Sadly I'm the shortest one in my family (my own grandmother is 6 foot)! And I'm the only one with saddlebags! I've seen my female family members in swim suits. They are taller have long legs and no saddlebags. Ironically a couple are overweight (their gut area). I'm not even overweight. I used to be but now I'm a healthy weight (in the mid 120's) yet I still have saddlebags. Though they are a bit smaller, but I still have them. I don't know if this is just a thing that shorter women suffer with or women with long waists-short legs etc. I need advice on how to get rid of my saddlebags. I have a flat stomach, a decent sized chest, slim arms and legs except for where my bum begins. I have a flat bum. My measurements are 34-25-38(the saddlebag area). My goal is to achieve an hourglass figure but I need these things completely gone. Losing more weight is out of the question (too risky). What to do?
One- I have a long waist but short legs
Two- I have saddlebags
I'm wondering if #2 is caused by #1. Sadly I'm the shortest one in my family (my own grandmother is 6 foot)! And I'm the only one with saddlebags! I've seen my female family members in swim suits. They are taller have long legs and no saddlebags. Ironically a couple are overweight (their gut area). I'm not even overweight. I used to be but now I'm a healthy weight (in the mid 120's) yet I still have saddlebags. Though they are a bit smaller, but I still have them. I don't know if this is just a thing that shorter women suffer with or women with long waists-short legs etc. I need advice on how to get rid of my saddlebags. I have a flat stomach, a decent sized chest, slim arms and legs except for where my bum begins. I have a flat bum. My measurements are 34-25-38(the saddlebag area). My goal is to achieve an hourglass figure but I need these things completely gone. Losing more weight is out of the question (too risky). What to do?
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Everyone carries weight differently,I carry it around my belly, you carry it around your legs... Unfortunately we can't just choose an area that we want to make smaller (I wish we could!) I guess all you can do is up your exercise, have you tried lifting weights? Weighted exercises use might improve the shape of your legs, not to mention it's a great calorie burner and improves your strength. X0
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ItalianChick90 wrote: »Re-post because I'm new here and probably should've posted it in this section the first time since I really need advice. Anyways hello I'm 5'6 and there are two things that are bothering me which I'm looking for motivation and advice from others especially who can relate or had success etc.
One- I have a long waist but short legs
Two- I have saddlebags
I'm wondering if #2 is caused by #1. Sadly I'm the shortest one in my family (my own grandmother is 6 foot)! And I'm the only one with saddlebags! I've seen my female family members in swim suits. They are taller have long legs and no saddlebags. Ironically a couple are overweight (their gut area). I'm not even overweight. I used to be but now I'm a healthy weight (in the mid 120's) yet I still have saddlebags. Though they are a bit smaller, but I still have them. I don't know if this is just a thing that shorter women suffer with or women with long waists-short legs etc. I need advice on how to get rid of my saddlebags. I have a flat stomach, a decent sized chest, slim arms and legs except for where my bum begins. I have a flat bum. My measurements are 34-25-38(the saddlebag area). My goal is to achieve an hourglass figure but I need these things completely gone. Losing more weight is out of the question (too risky). What to do?
The only way to reduce them is to lose more fat...0 -
125 lb.mralexjones wrote: »What is your weight?
And how do I lose more fat without losing more weight? My ribs are slightly beginning to show. So is my pelvic bone. I'm hesitant about anymore weight loss.
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ItalianChick90 wrote: »
125 lb.mralexjones wrote: »What is your weight?
And how do I lose more fat without losing more weight? My ribs are slightly beginning to show. So is my pelvic bone. I'm hesitant about anymore weight loss.
You can't.
You can do recomp, to add some muscle as you lose fat, but you can't tell where the fat will come off so you'll probably get more bony anyway even if the scales don't move.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »ItalianChick90 wrote: »
125 lb.mralexjones wrote: »What is your weight?
And how do I lose more fat without losing more weight? My ribs are slightly beginning to show. So is my pelvic bone. I'm hesitant about anymore weight loss.
You can't.
You can do recomp, to add some muscle as you lose fat, but you can't tell where the fat will come off so you'll probably get more bony anyway even if the scales don't move.
So I'm stuck with these?
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ok thanks. I'm aware that I'm skinny. I just want the side pouches gone. That's all. Thanks for the advice.mralexjones wrote: »Your BMI is 20.5, the normal range is 18.5–24.9, so you really are in the lower normal range, but a normal BMI doesn't equate to looking aesthetic as you possibly can. 114.5 at 5'6 (a BMI of 18.5) is the lowest you can go and still maintain a normal BMI. BMI is a pretty contentious subject in the fitness world anyways.
To keep you muscle mass instead of eating it away through dieting, you can weight lift, eat 0.68-1g of protein per pound of your bodyweight (for you that would be 85 to 125 grams of protein per day requirement), get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, and do only a 500 caloric deficit from your maintenance calories.
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mralexjones wrote: »Your BMI is 20.5, the normal range is 18.5–24.9, so you really are in the lower normal range, but a normal BMI doesn't equate to looking aesthetic as you possibly can. 114.5 at 5'6 (a BMI of 18.5) is the lowest you can go and still maintain a normal BMI. BMI is a pretty contentious subject in the fitness world anyways.
To keep you muscle mass instead of eating it away through dieting, you can weight lift, eat 0.68-1g of protein per pound of your bodyweight (for you that would be 85 to 125 grams of protein per day requirement), get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, and do only a 500 caloric deficit from your maintenance calories.
OP doesn't need a deficit large enough to lose a pound a week!0 -
If you want to lose FAT, so you have to lift weights! PERIOD.
Start lifting now.. You will be amazed at how you can transform your body..0 -
Strength train. Heavy as you can manage with good form.
I was about 125 lbs at 5'5 and 27 years old in the pink bikini pics. They were taken when I first started dating my husband. I didn't exercise at all then. I took great pride in my slothful ways. That caught up with me when I got a desk job and the boyfriend became a husband and I discovered Ranch dressing.
In the 2012 photos, I was about 135 and 40 years old, after about a year of strength training. Part of it is having a little less fat on my hips, part of it is having more muscle on my shoulders and back to balance out my hips.
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Strength training! You can totally pick which area you want to focus on. Try focusing on leg exercises, such as squats, lunges, back kicks, side kicks, and dead lifts. You CAN lose fat while not losing weight, and even gaining weight, because muscle is much more dense, therefore, weighs more than fat.0
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Your results look GREAT! Does it generally take that long though?Timorous_Beastie wrote: »Strength train. Heavy as you can manage with good form.
I was about 125 lbs at 5'5 and 27 years old in the pink bikini pics. They were taken when I first started dating my husband. I didn't exercise at all then. I took great pride in my slothful ways. That caught up with me when I got a desk job and the boyfriend became a husband and I discovered Ranch dressing.
In the 2012 photos, I was about 135 and 40 years old, after about a year of strength training. Part of it is having a little less fat on my hips, part of it is having more muscle on my shoulders and back to balance out my hips.
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Strength training! You can totally pick which area you want to focus on. Try focusing on leg exercises, such as squats, lunges, back kicks, side kicks, and dead lifts. You CAN lose fat while not losing weight, and even gaining weight, because muscle is much more dense, therefore, weighs more than fat.
But if you recomp and lower your body fat percentage, won't you lose fat everywhere (even places you don't want to lose anymore fat)? This is something I've been wondering about.0 -
Build up your butt. I'm short with muscular legs and really, the butt does wonders for the shape.0
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ItalianChick90 wrote: »
Your results look GREAT! Does it generally take that long though?Timorous_Beastie wrote: »Strength train. Heavy as you can manage with good form.
I was about 125 lbs at 5'5 and 27 years old in the pink bikini pics. They were taken when I first started dating my husband. I didn't exercise at all then. I took great pride in my slothful ways. That caught up with me when I got a desk job and the boyfriend became a husband and I discovered Ranch dressing.
In the 2012 photos, I was about 135 and 40 years old, after about a year of strength training. Part of it is having a little less fat on my hips, part of it is having more muscle on my shoulders and back to balance out my hips.
no...
if you want to "reshape" your legs, butt, arms, stomach, etc..... again start lifting weights. Being a newbie to weight lifting and assume you will have your nutrition in check you will notice a transformation starting after a few weeks..
THIS does not happen overnight or in a couple of weeks. You have to make a goal, pick the right program and get your nutrition straight and this takes patience, diligence and commitment..
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Strength training! You can totally pick which area you want to focus on. Try focusing on leg exercises, such as squats, lunges, back kicks, side kicks, and dead lifts. You CAN lose fat while not losing weight, and even gaining weight, because muscle is much more dense, therefore, weighs more than fat.
But if you recomp and lower your body fat percentage, won't you lose fat everywhere (even places you don't want to lose anymore fat)? This is something I've been wondering about.
You may lose a little, but not much. That's why you target specific areas with the weights. Cardio will melt fat all over, but you don't burn many calories lifting. The areas that have more muscle will burn more fat, so if you have bigger thigh muscles, you'll burn more fat from them. And squats will build your booty muscles, which will actually give you a booty.0 -
If you have saddlebags and are at a lean weight, then it's genetics. Some people can do everything right and still have fat in places that just don't reduce the same way the rest of the body does.
Try some recomp, but it's not a guarantee to reduce them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Strength training! You can totally pick which area you want to focus on. Try focusing on leg exercises, such as squats, lunges, back kicks, side kicks, and dead lifts. You CAN lose fat while not losing weight, and even gaining weight, because muscle is much more dense, therefore, weighs more than fat.
But if you recomp and lower your body fat percentage, won't you lose fat everywhere (even places you don't want to lose anymore fat)? This is something I've been wondering about.
You may lose a little, but not much. That's why you target specific areas with the weights. Cardio will melt fat all over, but you don't burn many calories lifting. The areas that have more muscle will burn more fat, so if you have bigger thigh muscles, you'll burn more fat from them. And squats will build your booty muscles, which will actually give you a booty.
I was given to understand that you can't spot reduce fat. So, while you can spot certain muscles, and lose fat, it seems like the fat would come off all over (or wherever it does). I'm no expert, though, I'm kind of confused about recomp.
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ItalianChick90 wrote: »
Your results look GREAT! Does it generally take that long though?Timorous_Beastie wrote: »Strength train. Heavy as you can manage with good form.
I was about 125 lbs at 5'5 and 27 years old in the pink bikini pics. They were taken when I first started dating my husband. I didn't exercise at all then. I took great pride in my slothful ways. That caught up with me when I got a desk job and the boyfriend became a husband and I discovered Ranch dressing.
In the 2012 photos, I was about 135 and 40 years old, after about a year of strength training. Part of it is having a little less fat on my hips, part of it is having more muscle on my shoulders and back to balance out my hips.
Well, it didn't take 13 years. I spent about a year putzing around on machines at the gym after I lost weight, then switched to free weights. That's when I noticed the biggest change. This is a post from my old account, showing what two months of free weight did: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/744311/free-weights-vs-machines-holy-crap/p1 0 -
You can't get an hourglass shape by wishing for it
You sound like a beautiful pear
maybe you should embrace it whilst strength training to body recomp0 -
You can lose more weight if you want to, especially if you focus on strength training. Right now your BMI is 20.2. My BMI is 20.5 right now. I'm planning on dropping to BMI 19.4 and then trying to put on more muscle.0
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That is also a problem area for me. Some exercises that are helping:
Hip ABductor weight machine- so you start with your knees together and move your legs outward against the resistance created by the machine. You should feel a burn in the outside of your leg.
Stairclimber machine at intervals- REALLY work hard for 1 minute, then walk slower for a minute, REALLY work hard for 1 minute, the slower (repeat for 10-20 minutes). Targets glutes and hamstrings (which are bigger muscles and will help target the fat in that area)
I am a soccer player and we do a lot of side-shuffling movement (literally, like galloping sideways. Butt back, crouched low). I have just started doing this up and down the road outside my house now that the weather is nicer and I was surprised at how well it targeted my saddlebags! I do 10 shuffles on each side and then jog backwards a bit before jogging forward at a slow pace and repeating. It is hard on the knees, so make sure you don't injure yourself!
Good luck! They are a $%@#$^#$% in the booty to get rid of!
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ItalianChick90 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »ItalianChick90 wrote: »
125 lb.mralexjones wrote: »What is your weight?
And how do I lose more fat without losing more weight? My ribs are slightly beginning to show. So is my pelvic bone. I'm hesitant about anymore weight loss.
You can't.
You can do recomp, to add some muscle as you lose fat, but you can't tell where the fat will come off so you'll probably get more bony anyway even if the scales don't move.
So I'm stuck with these?
I have them too; I'm around 121-123lb, and I carry some weight below my waist on my thighs. Additionally, I have the whole rib/pelvic bone jutting out problem too, since all my weight loss happened mostly in my inner thighs and waist/stomach area. Sometimes you just gotta learn to appreciate them.
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I'm pretty much the same height and weight as you. Granted, I'd like to get down to 120.. but my biggest trouble spot is the same as yours. I lift 3 days a week and have noticed that they have improved, granted they aren't gone but I'm going to get pushing the weights to see what I can manage to do about them.0
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Hit the weights as everyone is saying. I'm a lot heavier than you but started doing body weight and free weight exercises in January and can definitely see a difference. I also suffer from saddlebags but even my husband has noticed how much tighter my butt and thighs are. This is almost more exciting than losing weight. And now that I've started seeing results I don't want to quit.0
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It sounds like this is your body shape, and you may need to work on loving it the way it is, especially if you don't want to lose anymore weight. Of course, you can do as those above have stated and lift weights (as heavy as you can) in a slight calorie deficit, or maybe even at maintenance (what works for one, may not work for another), and attempt to shed only body fat, while gaining a bit of muscle.
I'm the same height as you, but 15 lbs heavier, and I have a very similar shape to you (yesterday: 34"bust - 25.5"waist - 37.5"low hip) and saddlebags are where I store the most stubborn to remove fat (I've lost quite a bit of weight and inches since February, which is the last time I did measurements, but my top of thigh measurement has stayed the same), but what I've noticed is that with bigger shoulders (mine measured 40" yesterday), it balances things out a bit. What is your shoulder measurement?
If you do the weights, maybe work toward balance of shoulder to hip/thigh region, and work the butt and leg muscles good and hard. I'm really just beginning to get back into lifting (it's been about 20 years), so I'm technically a newbie. Others with more experience can offer more specific advice.
I hope you achieve all your goals!1 -
Thanks you all. I'll start lifting weights and doing a bunch of squats like you suggested. I wish I had a good before+after pic to give an example of my shape but I do have this. This is an x-ray I got (well 2 x-rays). The scan on the left is before I lost weight and the scan on the right is after I lost weight. As you can see on the right, despite my weight loss, I still have some "unnecessary width" around where my thighs/bum are. It also jiggles a bit... Hence the saddlebags.
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I am sure you are being too hard on yourself. You have a coveted shape, my dear. Celebrate your victories!!!!0
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