really thick legs/calfs??

chisama

Hi there!
I would love to know how to keep the weight off my legs; not just by exercising! ((tell me ur secrets plzzzz))

I'm on a 1200 cal a day, 5 ft 1in, and 112pounds. I know for a fact im not growing anymore. I'm aiming to be like one of my friends who is the same height but 15 pounds less. I really don't want to be referred as the fatter one, and just want to be about the same size as my friend.
I think I have a strange body shape. My upper body is relatively normal, but it's like all my weight just goes to my legs; especially my calfs.
I do exercise, not really hard core though (about 3 times a week), and I know my legs are composed of both lots of fat AND an average amount of muscle.
This is the problem; I want to lose weight, but I'm not sure what to do. If I don't exercise much, then i will probably lose a lot of muscle mass and my legs might even look thinner (?) But if I keep on exercising my legs/calfs will become even more bulkier than it already is, and i probably will end up gaining weight.
Or maybe I'm just doing the dieting wrong? This is one of the first times I've tried dieting/exercise for weight loss and tbh I'm not sure I'm doing it right.
Thank you so much for reading.

galgenstrick

chisama wrote: »

Hi there!
I would love to know how to keep the weight off my legs; not just by exercising! ((tell me ur secrets plzzzz))

I'm on a 1200 cal a day, 5 ft 1in, and 112pounds. I know for a fact im not growing anymore. I'm aiming to be like one of my friends who is the same height but 15 pounds less. I really don't want to be referred as the fatter one, and just want to be about the same size as my friend.
I think I have a strange body shape. My upper body is relatively normal, but it's like all my weight just goes to my legs; especially my calfs.
I do exercise, not really hard core though (about 3 times a week), and I know my legs are composed of both lots of fat AND an average amount of muscle.
This is the problem; I want to lose weight, but I'm not sure what to do. If I don't exercise much, then i will probably lose a lot of muscle mass and my legs might even look thinner (?) But if I keep on exercising my legs/calfs will become even more bulkier than it already is, and i probably will end up gaining weight.
Or maybe I'm just doing the dieting wrong? This is one of the first times I've tried dieting/exercise for weight loss and tbh I'm not sure I'm doing it right.
Thank you so much for reading.

You wont get bulkier or gain weight in a calorie deficit. Keep training. Keep eating in a deficit.

hrtchoco

It's pretty hard to gain muscle...I know, I've been trying.

chisama

Okay thank you!!

chisama

hrtchoco wrote: »

It's pretty hard to gain muscle...I know, I've been trying. [/quote
0.0 Really? I don't even try to gain muscle (I exercise with the thought of burning fat) but i still get it whether I like it or not, making me weigh more hahahaha >.<

lorenswan

Actually how a person metabolizes fats, sugars, and carbs is an individual process. What works for one person
may not work for another. That cannot be determined as much as personal trainers and nutritionist lie and try to tell you. Budding science today in Gastroenterology teaches us the bacterial differences that seal our fate with diet. Listen to your body and keep at your journal. Look toward nutrient dense foods; foods with low calorie and high nutrition. Those are the superfoods you want. Don't starve yourself either or your body will go into survival mode and strike back. Just keep tracking.

That said, one shouldn't equate simply "exercise" as a means to bulk. The type of exercise often defines what will show on your body and where. This you do have control over. If legs and calves are the issue and I were your trainer I would put you on a heavy cardio and light toning regiment. You arent standing in front of me (what you think is wrong may not be) so I will suggest plyometrics, kickboxing, and/or running as your heavy cardio. For toning you'll want to focus on pilates. Yes, pilates does a lot of core work, but its created to help build strength for dancers. Many of pilates exercises isolate those tricky glutes all the way down to the calves. If you have any more questions feel free to friend me or hit me back here. Good luck!

pzyxian

exercises and dieting would help. However, sometimes that's genetics. I tend to have weight gain around my belly and muscle around my calves as well. There's two things I do that helped:

1. follow the deficit diet such that you don't put on extra weight
2. exercise on body parts that would make the calves look smaller, such as quads / hamstring / glutes

Good Luck!

JamBlaze

I have the same thing as you - always had pretty thick legs/calves. Makes it a real pain shopping for knee high boots! And I gotta say, especially as your BMI is already in the normal zone, I think you need to accept that you can only do so much to alter the way your body puts itself together. If fat and muscle always goes to your legs, they will keep going to your legs. But I bet you must have fairly strong legs, right? So take pride in that. Just the way that some people have more strength or fat in their arms, or their bum, or their hips... You always want what you don't have. You always want what somebody else is.

By all means, keep exercising and eating well, but you can't fundamentally change how your body forms itself.

SingRunTing

Stop comparing yourself to others and you will be much happier.

Your friend's body is hers. Your body is yours. Aim to be the best you that you can be and stop trying to be her.

yopeeps025

OP you sound like you are very fixated on things that don't really matter. The fatter one in the group. I don't think anymore really cares about that. Only you do. You want to weigh what your friends weigh? Why does that matter?

Cherimoose

lorenswan wrote: »

That said, one shouldn't equate simply "exercise" as a means to bulk. The type of exercise often defines what will show on your body and where. This you do have control over. If legs and calves are the issue and I were your trainer I would put you on a heavy cardio and light toning regiment. You arent standing in front of me (what you think is wrong may not be) so I will suggest plyometrics, kickboxing, and/or running as your heavy cardio. For toning you'll want to focus on pilates. Yes, pilates does a lot of core work, but its created to help build strength for dancers. Many of pilates exercises isolate those tricky glutes all the way down to the calves.

I'd follow the standard fat-loss protocol that works for almost everyone - a calorie deficit plus full-body strength training, to minimize the loss of the muscle that happens with fat loss. Heavy strength training accomplishes that better than light "toning".

skeo

I just wanted to say that being 5'1 and 112 is not considered to be overweight. I also understand that many Asian women have a very small and thin frame, I am not one of them. My mother is 4'11 and 100lbs, I am 5'4 and 140lbs, so I am relatively larger than her; this doesn't offend me, we all have different body types and structures, and I've accepted that. Be the best version of you that YOU can be, don't compare yourself to your friend, or even consider yourself to be the "fat" friend, you are beautiful.

zaxx1953

Calf structure is notoriously genetic. A lot is based on heritage; if you look at most sub saharran Africans, they'll GENERALLY have very thin calfs. A lot of East Asians tend to have thicker looking lower legs.

You can slim or thicken what you have to SOME degree, but you won't radically transform it.