I only do cardio - Will I have to broaden my horizons?

portofmorrow

I am 5'10" and 155 lbs. I have already lost 20 lbs, and am currently 10lbs away from my weight loss goal right now. I am fairly active - I go for jogs a few times a week, go for bike rides, walk a lot.

The thing is, I have always had huge hips, *kitten* and thighs - even when I was 140 lbs many years ago! Will I have to do a different kind of exercise if I expect to be fitter in these areas?

JenMc14

You likely just have more fat to lose. If you have not been doing any resistance training, it's likely that your weight loss to date has come not only from fat, but LBM/muscle as well. So, even close to your goal weight, that can leave you with more fat than you'd like. You may also just be genetically predisposed to having a larger lower half. Incorporate some resistance training to go along with your cardio for a more well rounded exercise program.

holothuroidea

You need to keep reducing your body fat percentage if you want to get rid of the fat on your hips/thighs/butt. Most of us have to get a pretty low bf% before we start to see losses in our stubborn spots.

People who loose significant amount of weight quickly with a lot of cardio and no strength training can loose an significant amount of muscle mass, and therefore they loose weight but their bf% doesn't improve as much. Resistance training will help you lower your bf% by preserving your muscle mass while you loose fat, and if you choose to try to gain muscle by eating a small surplus, you can lower your bf% even more.

You don't have to broaden your horizons, but it would help you reach your goals.