THESE DAMN THIGHS, TIPS?

ew_david

Guys. I lift heavy weights. And I did years of biking and hiking. I have MASSIVE THIGHS and I don't want them. The OP is a woman who wants to be slim, not a guy who wants to look muscley. Women do not have the same issues as men, because women naturally have big legs and small upper bodies. Men are the opposite. That's where the bro "never skip leg day" thing comes from. For women, it really needs to be "never skip shoulders day".

Lifting is great. Running is great. Exercising is great. For a problem area, you have to fat-reduce all over, not spot-reduce by working the area you want to improve. We all agree on this. So why are we telling her to do squats and lunges when AT BEST it will do nothing to reduce her thighs, and AT WORST it will bulk them up like mine.

I love being strong. I can quad-press almost 500 lbs (if my knees don't give out!). That is a lot for a 5'5" woman. It's not because I did a ton of leg training or because I "tried" to builk up. It's from years of biking, first as transport and then in a misguided attempt to lose weight. You see women here at size 0 and 2. I'd love to be size 2. But even if I were scary-skinny (for me) like 15% bf, I'd never be less than size 8 or maybe 10 because of my muscle build. Ugh.

Ummm, I lost almost 30 pounds and reduced my thighs significantly by squatting/deadlifting/lunging and dieting. But okay.

Mischievous_Rascal

I have huge thighs but I did lose 4 inches in the thigh/hip area from the "diet"/calorie deficit. Squats and deadlifts have improved their appearance. Still big though!

Mine are the same. They're no longer big and fat, just big and strong. I love them!!

silentKayak

"Everyone" has not said calorie deficit. They are confusing the message by focusing on leg exercise when the OP clearly stated her goal is "smaller thighs". They're confusing their own goals with hers.

As to the question of how I got bulky legs while trying to reduce fat all over ... I never said I was in a calorie deficit, because this is the first time I've done calorie counting. At the time "calorie counting" took a lot of effort, because it meant a notebook, a little book to look up calorie counts, and a pocket calculator. And there was no way to measure calories burned (no fitbits, no computers on exercise machines, no Google). In the 80s you would have had to be really obsessive about your weight to even try that.

What happened is ... I wanted to lose weight, but also more generally "get in shape", because at the time I didn't have a serious weight problem, though I thought I could stand to lose maybe 20 lbs. Choices were diet or exercise, or some combination of the two. I hate being hungry, and as I said, I wanted to be "in shape" and not just thin. So I got a gym membership. The trainer said "Strength training and cardio". So I did. I biked, I ran, I did the weights. And I cut out some bad foods like soda and sweets. But of course the workouts were making me hungry, so I ate more (mostly heathy food, though I understand now that I was eating more than I was burning). And I didn't lose weight, though I did get a lot stronger and my upper body improved. My trainer said, "Increase the cardio". So I did. And I got hungrier. And I ate more. And put on more muscle.

I lived in a town with a lot of hills, and didn't get a car til my mid-twenties. So that meant HARD biking up hills, carrying a loaded backpack.

I did a ton of skiing, and you guys know what the food is like in a ski lodge - and you're pretty hungry after burning like 1500 calories on the slopes. A burger and fries later, and you've eaten more than you burned.

I don't think this is an unusual situation for someone who's trying to lose through "intuitive eating" while working out hard. I estimate that my calorie intake was less than 100/day over maintenance. But over 25 years of working out while eating a very slight caloric excess, I have packed literally pounds of basically unwanted muscle onto my legs (the shoulders and biceps, I'm happy to keep!)

I got mixed messsages. This was a looooong time ago (20 years ago, pre-internet), so I really didn't have the information I needed. Really the trainer should have sent me home from the gym and said "go on a diet and take a walk every day" (but of course, his job is to sell gym memberships, so it's not his fault!) Then I wouldn't be where I am today. I should have gotten information about a body-builder type "cutting" cycle, which is basically what I'm on now until I'm down to a preferred weight.

So yes, it is absolutely possible for people to "accidentally" bulk up with unwanted muscle. I have an equally hard time believing that there are people who have trouble putting on or keeping on weight, but apparently we aren't all the same! Imagine that!

And to answer the question of "why is it reasonable for women to want to have less muscle so they can look thinner": I give you possibly the saddest story in pro sports: why the strongest woman in America can't pay her bills. Hint: she's not attractive enough for people to buy products she endorses. Look at her pictures. She looks fat. Well, she is fat. She has high bodyfat, but her muscle mass makes her look even fatter, with all the negative stereotypes that come with it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty#1tko2dk

My pet peeve is when people substitute their own goals for someone else's. OP's stated goal is "smaller". She didn't say "I want athletic, toned legs that you guys will find attractive".

So the answer to OP is: eat fewer, burn more, or some combination of the above /thread

da_bears1008

You can't lose fat from your thighs by exercising your thighs. All that will do is build muscle. You're making the problem worse by building muscle in the areas you want to have smaller.

It's counterintuitive, but for slimmer thighs, stay away from exercises that will bulk you up there. Squats and lunges are bad. Biking is bad, especially uphill or with high resistance on the machine. Quad press is bad. These are the exercises that men do when they're trying to bulk up their legs so they won't look like Foghorn Leghorn. That's the opposite of what you want. If you must do these things in the gym, go for light weights and lots of reps.

What's good - dieting, of course. Walking and gentle running for overall fat burn. Upper body strength training / heavy lifting to give you bigger shoulders, back and chest to balance your body out. Rowing, swimming, dancing, or any other cardio exercise you can think of that will burn fat without bulking your legs.

Avoid this:

vismal

"Everyone" has not said calorie deficit. They are confusing the message by focusing on leg exercise when the OP clearly stated her goal is "smaller thighs". They're confusing their own goals with hers.

As to the question of how I got bulky legs while trying to reduce fat all over ... I never said I was in a calorie deficit, because this is the first time I've done calorie counting. At the time "calorie counting" took a lot of effort, because it meant a notebook, a little book to look up calorie counts, and a pocket calculator. And there was no way to measure calories burned (no fitbits, no computers on exercise machines, no Google). In the 80s you would have had to be really obsessive about your weight to even try that.

What happened is ... I wanted to lose weight, but also more generally "get in shape", because at the time I didn't have a serious weight problem, though I thought I could stand to lose maybe 20 lbs. Choices were diet or exercise, or some combination of the two. I hate being hungry, and as I said, I wanted to be "in shape" and not just thin. So I got a gym membership. The trainer said "Strength training and cardio". So I did. I biked, I ran, I did the weights. And I cut out some bad foods like soda and sweets. But of course the workouts were making me hungry, so I ate more (mostly heathy food, though I understand now that I was eating more than I was burning). And I didn't lose weight, though I did get a lot stronger and my upper body improved. My trainer said, "Increase the cardio". So I did. And I got hungrier. And I ate more. And put on more muscle.

I lived in a town with a lot of hills, and didn't get a car til my mid-twenties. So that meant HARD biking up hills, carrying a loaded backpack.

I did a ton of skiing, and you guys know what the food is like in a ski lodge - and you're pretty hungry after burning like 1500 calories on the slopes. A burger and fries later, and you've eaten more than you burned.

I don't think this is an unusual situation for someone who's trying to lose through "intuitive eating" while working out hard. I estimate that my calorie intake was less than 100/day over maintenance. But over 25 years of working out while eating a very slight caloric excess, I have packed literally pounds of basically unwanted muscle onto my legs (the shoulders and biceps, I'm happy to keep!)

I got mixed messsages. This was a looooong time ago (20 years ago, pre-internet), so I really didn't have the information I needed. Really the trainer should have sent me home from the gym and said "go on a diet and take a walk every day" (but of course, his job is to sell gym memberships, so it's not his fault!) Then I wouldn't be where I am today. I should have gotten information about a body-builder type "cutting" cycle, which is basically what I'm on now until I'm down to a preferred weight.

So yes, it is absolutely possible for people to "accidentally" bulk up with unwanted muscle. I have an equally hard time believing that there are people who have trouble putting on or keeping on weight, but apparently we aren't all the same! Imagine that!

And to answer the question of "why is it reasonable for women to want to have less muscle so they can look thinner": I give you possibly the saddest story in pro sports: why the strongest woman in America can't pay her bills. Hint: she's not attractive enough for people to buy products she endorses. Look at her pictures. She looks fat. Well, she is fat. She has high bodyfat, but her muscle mass makes her look even fatter, with all the negative stereotypes that come with it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty#1tko2dk

My pet peeve is when people substitute their own goals for someone else's. OP's stated goal is "smaller". She didn't say "I want athletic, toned legs that you guys will find attractive".

So the answer to OP is: eat fewer, burn more, or some combination of the above /thread

If she eats in a deficit while she lifts her thighs will still get smaller. Your entire point made irrelevant in one sentence...

yopeeps025

"Everyone" has not said calorie deficit. They are confusing the message by focusing on leg exercise when the OP clearly stated her goal is "smaller thighs". They're confusing their own goals with hers.

As to the question of how I got bulky legs while trying to reduce fat all over ... I never said I was in a calorie deficit, because this is the first time I've done calorie counting. At the time "calorie counting" took a lot of effort, because it meant a notebook, a little book to look up calorie counts, and a pocket calculator. And there was no way to measure calories burned (no fitbits, no computers on exercise machines, no Google). In the 80s you would have had to be really obsessive about your weight to even try that.

What happened is ... I wanted to lose weight, but also more generally "get in shape", because at the time I didn't have a serious weight problem, though I thought I could stand to lose maybe 20 lbs. Choices were diet or exercise, or some combination of the two. I hate being hungry, and as I said, I wanted to be "in shape" and not just thin. So I got a gym membership. The trainer said "Strength training and cardio". So I did. I biked, I ran, I did the weights. And I cut out some bad foods like soda and sweets. But of course the workouts were making me hungry, so I ate more (mostly heathy food, though I understand now that I was eating more than I was burning). And I didn't lose weight, though I did get a lot stronger and my upper body improved. My trainer said, "Increase the cardio". So I did. And I got hungrier. And I ate more. And put on more muscle.

I lived in a town with a lot of hills, and didn't get a car til my mid-twenties. So that meant HARD biking up hills, carrying a loaded backpack.

I did a ton of skiing, and you guys know what the food is like in a ski lodge - and you're pretty hungry after burning like 1500 calories on the slopes. A burger and fries later, and you've eaten more than you burned.

I don't think this is an unusual situation for someone who's trying to lose through "intuitive eating" while working out hard. I estimate that my calorie intake was less than 100/day over maintenance. But over 25 years of working out while eating a very slight caloric excess, I have packed literally pounds of basically unwanted muscle onto my legs (the shoulders and biceps, I'm happy to keep!)

I got mixed messsages. This was a looooong time ago (20 years ago, pre-internet), so I really didn't have the information I needed. Really the trainer should have sent me home from the gym and said "go on a diet and take a walk every day" (but of course, his job is to sell gym memberships, so it's not his fault!) Then I wouldn't be where I am today. I should have gotten information about a body-builder type "cutting" cycle, which is basically what I'm on now until I'm down to a preferred weight.

So yes, it is absolutely possible for people to "accidentally" bulk up with unwanted muscle. I have an equally hard time believing that there are people who have trouble putting on or keeping on weight, but apparently we aren't all the same! Imagine that!

And to answer the question of "why is it reasonable for women to want to have less muscle so they can look thinner": I give you possibly the saddest story in pro sports: why the strongest woman in America can't pay her bills. Hint: she's not attractive enough for people to buy products she endorses. Look at her pictures. She looks fat. Well, she is fat. She has high bodyfat, but her muscle mass makes her look even fatter, with all the negative stereotypes that come with it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty#1tko2dk

My pet peeve is when people substitute their own goals for someone else's. OP's stated goal is "smaller". She didn't say "I want athletic, toned legs that you guys will find attractive".

So the answer to OP is: eat fewer, burn more, or some combination of the above /thread

If she eats in a deficit while she lifts her thighs will still get smaller. Your entire point made irrelevant in one sentence...

What did I just read? She still did not answer low weight high rep question. I think she is very lost.

Btw you said you are always hungry. You put on muscle mass eating too much food. That sums up your entire story. Props to you though on your hard workouts.

Tab122377

Give time it will adjust. you just can't see it right now.

ew_david

"Everyone" has not said calorie deficit. They are confusing the message by focusing on leg exercise when the OP clearly stated her goal is "smaller thighs". They're confusing their own goals with hers.

As to the question of how I got bulky legs while trying to reduce fat all over ... I never said I was in a calorie deficit, because this is the first time I've done calorie counting. At the time "calorie counting" took a lot of effort, because it meant a notebook, a little book to look up calorie counts, and a pocket calculator. And there was no way to measure calories burned (no fitbits, no computers on exercise machines, no Google). In the 80s you would have had to be really obsessive about your weight to even try that.

What happened is ... I wanted to lose weight, but also more generally "get in shape", because at the time I didn't have a serious weight problem, though I thought I could stand to lose maybe 20 lbs. Choices were diet or exercise, or some combination of the two. I hate being hungry, and as I said, I wanted to be "in shape" and not just thin. So I got a gym membership. The trainer said "Strength training and cardio". So I did. I biked, I ran, I did the weights. And I cut out some bad foods like soda and sweets. But of course the workouts were making me hungry, so I ate more (mostly heathy food, though I understand now that I was eating more than I was burning). And I didn't lose weight, though I did get a lot stronger and my upper body improved. My trainer said, "Increase the cardio". So I did. And I got hungrier. And I ate more. And put on more muscle.

I lived in a town with a lot of hills, and didn't get a car til my mid-twenties. So that meant HARD biking up hills, carrying a loaded backpack.

I did a ton of skiing, and you guys know what the food is like in a ski lodge - and you're pretty hungry after burning like 1500 calories on the slopes. A burger and fries later, and you've eaten more than you burned.

I don't think this is an unusual situation for someone who's trying to lose through "intuitive eating" while working out hard. I estimate that my calorie intake was less than 100/day over maintenance. But over 25 years of working out while eating a very slight caloric excess, I have packed literally pounds of basically unwanted muscle onto my legs (the shoulders and biceps, I'm happy to keep!)

I got mixed messsages. This was a looooong time ago (20 years ago, pre-internet), so I really didn't have the information I needed. Really the trainer should have sent me home from the gym and said "go on a diet and take a walk every day" (but of course, his job is to sell gym memberships, so it's not his fault!) Then I wouldn't be where I am today. I should have gotten information about a body-builder type "cutting" cycle, which is basically what I'm on now until I'm down to a preferred weight.

So yes, it is absolutely possible for people to "accidentally" bulk up with unwanted muscle. I have an equally hard time believing that there are people who have trouble putting on or keeping on weight, but apparently we aren't all the same! Imagine that!

And to answer the question of "why is it reasonable for women to want to have less muscle so they can look thinner": I give you possibly the saddest story in pro sports: why the strongest woman in America can't pay her bills. Hint: she's not attractive enough for people to buy products she endorses. Look at her pictures. She looks fat. Well, she is fat. She has high bodyfat, but her muscle mass makes her look even fatter, with all the negative stereotypes that come with it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty#1tko2dk

My pet peeve is when people substitute their own goals for someone else's. OP's stated goal is "smaller". She didn't say "I want athletic, toned legs that you guys will find attractive".

So the answer to OP is: eat fewer, burn more, or some combination of the above /thread

Lol.

Deficit + lifting = smaller thighs. Sorry you didn't know that in the 80s.

Kalikel

God, I wish there was a way to deduct fat from just one spot.

There is, but it requires surgery.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

OK, I'll rephrase.

I wish there was a way I could deduct weight from one spot on my own.

It would, for sure, be my thighs.

veggieluvr45

The women in my family all have the body shape of a small waist and large thighs. No matter how thin I get (and I have been Pretty Darn Thin at points in my life) they are always disproportionately large. I have never been happy.

My beautiful, extremely fit daughter has the exact same shape but she LOVES her thighs. She calls them her "leg guns" since she is big into Cross Fit, lifting, running and general fitness.

I say embrace your shape, I wish I had learned that a long time ago!

silentKayak

Did you guys see OP's SW?

Muscle tone is not the issue, and she is overly focused on exercise already. To lose fat, she needs to diet.

yopeeps025

Did you guys see OP's SW?

Muscle tone is not the issue, and she is overly focused on exercise already. To lose fat, she needs to diet.

Is this your way of taking back your first post in this thread?

Liftng4Lis

You can't lose fat from your thighs by exercising your thighs. All that will do is build muscle. You're making the problem worse by building muscle in the areas you want to have smaller.

Okay so I've been in a deficit for 5 months while lifting, heavy lifting for 4 of those months, still in that deficit. You're trying to tell me that the inches I've lost off said HUGE thighs is muscle??? WOMEN in general have an extremely hard time gaining muscle, as a matter of fact I think its something like 4 pounds a year (don't quote me because I have to go look for that article), let ALONE gaining muscle in a deficit!
OP eat in a deficit, lift heavy weights, EVERYWHERE. As aforementioned by other posters, you can't spot reduce.

vismal

Did you guys see OP's SW?

Muscle tone is not the issue, and she is overly focused on exercise already. To lose fat, she needs to diet.

You are speaking as though dieting and weight lifting are somehow mutually exclusive. Again, most of us are agreeing that a caloric deficit is needed to reduce fat, in fact I've not seen a single person say otherwise. That still doesn't mean that OP also shouldn't do strength training.

threnjen

I have mega thunder thighs, as do all women in my family. I've been eating at a deficit and lifting and they are just getting smaller and smaller. Lifting is the bomb.

psuLemon

OK, but let's stick to the basics here. She wants thinner thighs. She doesn't say she wants "more shapely thighs" or "more toned thighs". She wants SMALLER thighs.

So the answer to her asked question is: diet and cardio to burn fat. That's it. Let's please stop perpetuating the "spot-reducing" myth, which is perpetuated by the diet industy and is completely false.



We've stopped telling people that they can get ripped abs by doing crunches if they have significant bodyfat, right? We wouldn't tell a bro to do bench presses or chest flies to get rid of his moobs, right? You can't get rid of a double chin with jaw exercises, right? The primary solution is diet.

Cardio doesn't burn fat. It burns calories. If the OP is in a surplus and doing cardio, she will still gain new fat.


Lets look at this in general. The OP has 50 lbs to lose. She could do absolutely no exercise and her thighs will still get smaller. But again, weight training will only help maintain muscle. And if the majority of your lose is fat, and not muscle, your body fat % will lower faster.


Also, how big are your thighs? You continue to say they are huge, but you haven't defined their actual size.

psuLemon

"Everyone" has not said calorie deficit. They are confusing the message by focusing on leg exercise when the OP clearly stated her goal is "smaller thighs". They're confusing their own goals with hers.

As to the question of how I got bulky legs while trying to reduce fat all over ... I never said I was in a calorie deficit, because this is the first time I've done calorie counting. At the time "calorie counting" took a lot of effort, because it meant a notebook, a little book to look up calorie counts, and a pocket calculator. And there was no way to measure calories burned (no fitbits, no computers on exercise machines, no Google). In the 80s you would have had to be really obsessive about your weight to even try that.

What happened is ... I wanted to lose weight, but also more generally "get in shape", because at the time I didn't have a serious weight problem, though I thought I could stand to lose maybe 20 lbs. Choices were diet or exercise, or some combination of the two. I hate being hungry, and as I said, I wanted to be "in shape" and not just thin. So I got a gym membership. The trainer said "Strength training and cardio". So I did. I biked, I ran, I did the weights. And I cut out some bad foods like soda and sweets. But of course the workouts were making me hungry, so I ate more (mostly heathy food, though I understand now that I was eating more than I was burning). And I didn't lose weight, though I did get a lot stronger and my upper body improved. My trainer said, "Increase the cardio". So I did. And I got hungrier. And I ate more. And put on more muscle.

I lived in a town with a lot of hills, and didn't get a car til my mid-twenties. So that meant HARD biking up hills, carrying a loaded backpack.

I did a ton of skiing, and you guys know what the food is like in a ski lodge - and you're pretty hungry after burning like 1500 calories on the slopes. A burger and fries later, and you've eaten more than you burned.

I don't think this is an unusual situation for someone who's trying to lose through "intuitive eating" while working out hard. I estimate that my calorie intake was less than 100/day over maintenance. But over 25 years of working out while eating a very slight caloric excess, I have packed literally pounds of basically unwanted muscle onto my legs (the shoulders and biceps, I'm happy to keep!)

I got mixed messsages. This was a looooong time ago (20 years ago, pre-internet), so I really didn't have the information I needed. Really the trainer should have sent me home from the gym and said "go on a diet and take a walk every day" (but of course, his job is to sell gym memberships, so it's not his fault!) Then I wouldn't be where I am today. I should have gotten information about a body-builder type "cutting" cycle, which is basically what I'm on now until I'm down to a preferred weight.

So yes, it is absolutely possible for people to "accidentally" bulk up with unwanted muscle. I have an equally hard time believing that there are people who have trouble putting on or keeping on weight, but apparently we aren't all the same! Imagine that!

And to answer the question of "why is it reasonable for women to want to have less muscle so they can look thinner": I give you possibly the saddest story in pro sports: why the strongest woman in America can't pay her bills. Hint: she's not attractive enough for people to buy products she endorses. Look at her pictures. She looks fat. Well, she is fat. She has high bodyfat, but her muscle mass makes her look even fatter, with all the negative stereotypes that come with it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty#1tko2dk

My pet peeve is when people substitute their own goals for someone else's. OP's stated goal is "smaller". She didn't say "I want athletic, toned legs that you guys will find attractive".

So the answer to OP is: eat fewer, burn more, or some combination of the above /thread

You have to understand, when you eat in a surplus, you may gain some muscle, you also gain fat. In fact, if a woman can limit their fat gains to 50% then, it's a solid plan. Now, if you cycled between a cut and a bulk, you would have gotten more lean like the below:


http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/


Also, regarding the strongest women, at some point, there are diminishing gains and the only way to get stronger is by adding more mass to be able to push the weight. In many cases, that might mean gaining fat. Lets face it, what are the odds of an 150 lb women being able to lift 586 lbs? Even so, her training routine and her requirements are vastly different than the OP's so it wouldn't be a fair comparison to the OP, who will be in a deficit.

Kalikel

The "Thin Thighs in 30 Days" book is $4.04 (free shipping) on eBay. I may have to get it.

I'd like to have thin thighs in 30 days.

Veryme

Try ballet like moves with your legs. 25 front ( pointy feet) each, 25 side and 25 back/ day. When too tied Make a day off, and start all over. I do it rather 2-3 times a week and feel better: tights become tighter:))

LilyOfTheValley008

You can't lose fat from your thighs by exercising your thighs. All that will do is build muscle. You're making the problem worse by building muscle in the areas you want to have smaller.

It's counterintuitive, but for slimmer thighs, stay away from exercises that will bulk you up there. Squats and lunges are bad. Biking is bad, especially uphill or with high resistance on the machine. Quad press is bad. These are the exercises that men do when they're trying to bulk up their legs so they won't look like Foghorn Leghorn. That's the opposite of what you want. If you must do these things in the gym, go for light weights and lots of reps.

What's good - dieting, of course. Walking and gentle running for overall fat burn. Upper body strength training / heavy lifting to give you bigger shoulders, back and chest to balance your body out. Rowing, swimming, dancing, or any other cardio exercise you can think of that will burn fat without bulking your legs.

Avoid this:

That's funny because my main form of cardio is cycling and my thighs are toned and slimmer than ever