Shredding the fat to see the muscle?

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I have been working out for about two years now. I am genearlly quite fit and my body looks fairly toned now except on my legs. You can see actually see the muscle on my legs (not neccessarily a good thing) but the fat is masking the majority of it. It may sound weird but the fat just rests on it and does not burn away. Do you think i should perhaps change my diet to mainly things like salads to burn the fat away? i dont want the existing muscles to get bigger, just want to shred the fat to see the muscle. Make any sense? Help!

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  • Kabula
    Kabula Posts: 97 Member
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    I have the same problem! I'm not at my ideal weight! however I have big thigh muscles and on top there is fat! I don't really know what to do? Hopefully if I loose at least 20 lbs. I will see my thighs get smaller! But i'm not sure if I'll trim the fat! Help?
  • jessicajane11
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    I feel your pain!! :(
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    What you need to do is cut fat while maintaining muscle as much as possible. The trick to this is a moderate calorie deficit (maybe 10% off of the calories it'd take to maintain your weight) and eating 1 gram of protien for every pound of lean body mass and 0.3 grams of fat for every total pound of body mass. There's no magical "diet" that will help. The key is just a calorie deficit.
  • kappy_hollowell
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    This is something I'm having a problem with as well. BUT, please read the book "The New Rules of Lifting For Women: Lift Like a Man, Look LIke a Goddess." It tells how weight lifting can help get rid of that layer of fat. I've read it, and I'm trying to do the program, however, I have hurt my wrist, and can't lift right now, so I'm going to re-start the program at the beginning of the new year. Hope that helps.
  • fasttrack27
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    Maybe increase your cardio? When I get my HR in the 130-150 range and keep it there for extended periods I tend to burn the most calories while also building endurance. Are you logging your foods and staying within the goals? We dont know enough about your routine and diet to offer more specifics.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    Sounds like all you need is a lot of cardio to burn both your muscle and the fat hiding it. I have the same problem, accept, I don't want to forfeit the muscle. I'm at around 20% body fat.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    This is something I'm having a problem with as well. BUT, please read the book "The New Rules of Lifting For Women: Lift Like a Man, Look LIke a Goddess." It tells how weight lifting can help get rid of that layer of fat. I've read it, and I'm trying to do the program, however, I have hurt my wrist, and can't lift right now, so I'm going to re-start the program at the beginning of the new year. Hope that helps.

    I'm a big fan of "lifting like a man" and looking like a goddess... I'm very interested in this book. Thanks! :happy: