How to get rid of leg fat

norasteph723

Hi, I have been struggling with my legs for the longest time. What can I do to make them leaner? I am currently following a 1,200-calorie diet, restricting my carb intake and walking about 20-30 minutes a day due to my busy schedule. I also try not to eat between 8PM and 11:00AM.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much in advance.

scarlett_k

My legs and hips are the first place I put on significant weight and the anecdote is that the first place you tend to put it on will be the last place where you lose it (how true that is in general, I don't know).

I've had to amend my initial goal (which was arbitrary tbh) as I still carry quite a lot of excess fat around my hips and thighs, whereas there's barely any around my torso any more.

If you're eating at a deficit and losing weight it'll come off eventually. You can't choose where it comes off or do anything specific to make it so. Doesn't matter how many carbs you have or when you eat.

I walk a lot and do quite a lot of DIY/manual labour that involves a fair amount of deadlifting heavy stuff, which probably helps maintaining the muscles in my legs although it doesn't make the fat come off my legs any sooner.

norasteph723

Thank you Scarlett for your reply and thanks for the info!

fatty2begone

I am now on a journey to lose now 40 lbs (started at 50lbs). I have always had "heavier" legs and arms then my trousseau. Even at close to 200lbs, I never had a belly. It is just the way I am built. I put weight on everywhere and it seems to be coming off my waist 1st. Legs and arms will be the last for me. Unless I get to the very low range of normal body weight, I always have "thicker" legs. In the past I was a runner and now just starting again, I had thinner legs, but never the wow "sexy" legs I used to dream of.

I am now in my 50's, and so thankful that I do not have any leg, hip, knee, ankle problems. I know plenty of people who do and many with the "sexy" legs. I will take my "heavier" legs and be happy they work and are not causing physical problems.

Your photos look like you are younger and very healthy. I think you look great BTW. You might want to check out some threads about heavy lifting/body recomp. Maybe they have the answers your looking for.

spiriteagle99

I also store fat in my thighs and have large legs (both thighs and calves) for my size. I'm 5'6", 125 lbs. so don't need to lose more weight, especially since it all comes off my upper body and not my lower body. I know you can't spot reduce, but you can put on muscle, so even though my legs are large, they are strong and have definition. I run and walk a lot and it shows. I don't look like a model, or a teenager, but I have legs that can do amazing things like run 26.2, so I don't worry about it.

norasteph723

@fatty2begone Thank you for your reply! You are absolutely right, the most important thing is for our weight not to cause us any health and physical problems, the rest is secondary. I am actually 22 years old and weigh 152lbs. The lowest I have reached was 130lbs in 2020 after going through a bad burnout and depression. I am dreaming of going back to this weight and even going below it! Thank you for your recommendation. I feel like, deep down, I am convinced that working out and lifting weights especially can do wonders, but I just can’t get myself to join a gym and start. I really think I should however!

norasteph723

@spiriteagle99 Thank you for your reply! And kudos to you for being able to do a 26.2!

Xellercin

I think your legs look great. If that's where your body stores fat, then they're always going to be proportionally bigger than the rest of your body.

I also store fat in my hips and legs, and if I get too thin, I look *more* pear-shaped because the rest of my body gets thinner first.

I say embrace your legs, they look great. Do a lot of physical activity, keep them strong.

As someone who is now on crutches because my legs don't work, I would kill for yours, so try to enjoy them.

norasteph723

@Xellercin Thank you for your reply and for your advice. Sending comfort to you xx

AnnPT77

norasteph723 wrote: »

@fatty2begone Thank you for your reply! You are absolutely right, the most important thing is for our weight not to cause us any health and physical problems, the rest is secondary. I am actually 22 years old and weigh 152lbs. The lowest I have reached was 130lbs in 2020 after going through a bad burnout and depression. I am dreaming of going back to this weight and even going below it! Thank you for your recommendation. I feel like, deep down, I am convinced that working out and lifting weights especially can do wonders, but I just can’t get myself to join a gym and start. I really think I should however!

I'm another who tends to hold more body fat in my lower body as my upper body gets quite thin-looking. (I'm 5'5", mid-120s pounds now, in weight maintenance.)

Before I lost weight, I became quite active, and stayed active for over 10 years while staying fat (180s pounds most of the time). Very slowly, over time, my legs became leaner than they had been at the same weight, via "recomposition", essentially having more muscle weight and less fat weight at roughly the same body weight. Pants that had been close-fitting became looser around my legs. Repeat: Very slowly. Muscle gains take patience, under the best circumstances. I wasn't working toward those gains very efficiently (not lifting, rather doing a leg-strength exercise, on-water and machine rowing), so it took even longer. Muscle gains will also be slowed by being in a calorie deficit trying to lose weight.

That said, it can be a useful thing for you to start doing soon, as soon as you can convince yourself: When we're overweight, we have more muscle mass than people of the same height and athletic background who've not been overweight, just from moving our extra body mass through the world. By challenging those muscles during fat loss, we tell our body to keep those muscles, even though our daily life requires them less than before.

It sounds like you're somewhat a beginner to strength exercise. You can start, and make some progress, just doing some bodyweight exercises. (I'd encourage you to adopt a full-body routine, not just legs, but that's up to you.) Bodyweight exercises are something you can do at home, with minimal or no equipment, and get some benefits. There is a thread here about strength exercise. Despite the title implying it's only weight lifting, there are bodyweight programs in there for you to consider.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

If time is a problem, you can even split up the routine into little bits through the day when you have a few minutes, rather than doing it all at once in a single time block.

Muscle gain is a slow process under the best of circumstances, but muscle retention is a worthwhile goal in itself, and as you get closer to goal weight, and are eating more calories, your progress with muscle gain can continue and improve. Further, strength gain is quicker than muscle mass gain (it's from better utilizing muscle fibers we already have), and strength is useful in daily life. There can even be some appearance improvements, that look like better muscle definition, early in the process, before gaining much muscle mass.

One semi-warning: For a short time, if you start strength exercise, you may feel or measure a little bigger, maybe see a small scale jump. That's from water retained in the muscles as part of the body repairing them, and the repair is where the gains happen. Don't let those short-term changes freak you out, they'll sort themselves out in a week or few. It's 100% not interfering with fat loss, it's just water weight masking it for a while, and once that balances out, you'll start seeing scale and tape-measure progress in the direction you're seeking.

Best wishes!

kshama2001

norasteph723 wrote: »

@fatty2begone Thank you for your reply! You are absolutely right, the most important thing is for our weight not to cause us any health and physical problems, the rest is secondary. I am actually 22 years old and weigh 152lbs. The lowest I have reached was 130lbs in 2020 after going through a bad burnout and depression. I am dreaming of going back to this weight and even going below it! Thank you for your recommendation. I feel like, deep down, I am convinced that working out and lifting weights especially can do wonders, but I just can’t get myself to join a gym and start. I really think I should however!

I think your legs look great!

How tall are you?

norasteph723

@AnnPT77 Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a helpful and detailed message. I truly appreciate your advice!

norasteph723

@kshama2001 I am 5’2 and weigh 152 lbs. I’m usually a size medium or 10 in pants here in Canada, but I only feel comfortable wearing sweatpants or this one pair of chinos I own that I think make me look slimmer.

Bridgie3

your legs are fine, not overweight, but maybe you're concerned about ankle and/or calf definition? just do more workouts on them.

Beautiful legs. nothing wrong with them.

norasteph723

Thank you all for your help! It’s really appreciated. I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life, and especially the weight I carry in my legs. It runs quite a bit in my family. The heaviest I’ve been was 174lbs, and I went down to 130lbs in a short period of time in 2020. Since then, I haven’t stopped gaining weight until I reached 154lbs about a month ago and realized I had to do something, because my weight has very awfully affected my life. That’s when I joined MFP.

claireychn074

It can feel hard to carry the weight on your legs when societal norms say women should have long lithe legs - even with the current fad for bubble bums, we are supposed to still have slim legs. I’m short and have stocky legs - I always wanted slimmer legs and did everything I could to hide them. I’m a lot older than you, and I realised after years of hating my legs that they are strong and powerful, so now I focus on a sport where they are a benefit. It’s a mindshift and yes sometimes I still want slimmer legs (particularly when clothes don’t fit). So you’re not alone in wanting to change one body part, focus on being the healthiest and strongest version of you and you’ll rock it 😀

norasteph723

@claireychn074 Thank you very much!!