I always lose belly fat, and THEN thigh fat? Normal? (Woman)

Hello everyone! I'm pretty new here, and I've been trying to lose weight for awhile now. Ever since I was younger I would devote about an entire summer to working out and losing weight. I would always lose my abdominal fat first, and THEN my big thighs. Now that I'm older I've decided to just keep working out all year long, and watch my diet pretty closely. My stomach is now flat, but my thighs remain pretty large. I'm hoping they'll go away just like they did when I was younger and trying to lose weight. Is this normal? Or do you usually lose weight all around your body? Any tips on making thighs shrink faster? Thank you! :)

Replies

  • 1971MLJ
    1971MLJ Posts: 137 Member
    I'm exactly the same, it's boring but it takes time, patience and consistency.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Normal for a lot of women, yes, myself included.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Nope. You can't spot reduce, and everyone's bodies stores fat as it wants to, and loses it as their bodies want. The little I have left is on my hips and upper thighs.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    It's not possible to spot reduce your fat unfortunately. Generally, it comes off all over, but different people accumulate different amounts of fat in different places, so it may appear to come off quicker in some places relative to others.

    What kind of exercise are you doing? If you're doing a lot of leg work then it's possible you are building muscle in your thighs, so if there is still a layer of fat there, they will temporarily look bigger. You should slim down overall when that fat gets burning!

    Also consider genetics. My thighs are huge and although they are getting smaller overall, there ain't nothing I can do about their shape or proportion - *thanks* mom!!
  • missabeez
    missabeez Posts: 280 Member
    That's the gift of us "pears". We have smaller bellies and larger thighs. It's up to genetics as to what we lose, where, and how much in what order.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    I'm the exact opposite! I think it's because I do leg workouts and not abdominal workouts, but that also doesn't make sense because you can't spot reduce fat. It comes off all the same. My thighs are big but they are muscular. My tummy is just plain big and round.
  • MeadowSong
    MeadowSong Posts: 171 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.
  • bizgirl26
    bizgirl26 Posts: 1,795 Member
    I always lose off my belly and waist first- thighs last. Its just my genetic make up and I have learned to accept it. I will always be a 'pear' just a smaller version
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    Yeah, no. I eat plenty of sugar, junk food and even beer and I have a flat stomach. Genetics control where you store and lose fat.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    I've had a big belly since I was little, but I also wasn't really watching my sugar either.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    lol wut?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Yes, it's normal-- I lose from the top down.

    No, no tips. You can't spot reduce, just eat at a deficit and it'll come off in it's own time.

    And ignore the bit about sugar.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    No... Just no.
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    Nope. Fat storage is genetic. It is not determined by what foods go through your system, what time you eat those foods, what part of the house you're in when you eat those foods, how many people you looked at that day, how many cars your neighbor owns, what the dew point is that day, or how many chocolate bunnies your cousin's son's best friend's roommate ate.

    It's genetic and different for each individual.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    That's the gift of us "pears". We have smaller bellies and larger thighs. It's up to genetics as to what we lose, where, and how much in what order.
    ^^ this

    However, after years of trying out anything, I noticed that my big thighs are more toned than before although I weigh about the same. I have been running, lifting, doing ballet, and insanity...It will come along eventually.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    It's been my observation that belly fat comes from too much sugar--ie, the 'beer belly'. Either a person is just eating too much sugar (carbs) or metabolizing their sugar poorly. Seems to me to be a warning sign of heart disease. I'd guess the first thing you do is cut back on junk and your junk is largely sugar of one kind or another and so your belly slims right down. Or just upping your exercise would be helping you metabolize that sugar better.

    Nope. Fat storage is genetic. It is not determined by what foods go through your system, what time you eat those foods, what part of the house you're in when you eat those foods, how many people you looked at that day, how many cars your neighbor owns, what the dew point is that day, or how many chocolate bunnies your cousin's son's best friend's roommate ate.

    It's genetic and different for each individual.

    True. One thing to add, though, that stress causes belly fat accumalation for everybody, almost...I rarely gain weight around the mdi section but when I was over trained and under huge stress last year...my belly looked so abnormal...never seen in my whole life...
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    I hate the fat on my inner thighs, that is why I do T-Tapp, for me that really works to make it go away, since I started doing it again (after I lost the first 30 lbs.), I have lost a lot of that fat, and more keeps going all the time, at the top of my inner things at least a couple of inches so far. You know if you watch, you can see it mobilize (that is the position of the fat changes and it is more noticeable because it sort of hangs out, don't know how to explain it better), but that it what it does right before it goes away, that is why I call it mobilizing, getting ready to depart . :) I am also doing squats now with weight lifting, expecting that should help too.