How can I shrink my legs?

mollypink
mollypink Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,

I have steadily lost weight over the last year and I am now 5 stone down (from a UK 24/26 to an 18) which I am really pleased with. I am now aiming to lose another 4 stone to get down within a healthy BMI range.

The weight has come off steadily and I have been going to the gym (3 x weekly) and playing badminton (1x weekly) my problem is weight doesn't seem to be coming off my legs in proportion to everywhere else. my legs are really big to the point I am struggling to fit into smaller trousers although they fit my hips/waist because they are far too tight on my legs.

what can I do to help? would running help? open to any suggestions on exercise changes I can make

Many thanks
«1

Replies

  • eresin
    eresin Posts: 104 Member
    Perhaps give some leg toning a try, lunges and whatnot
  • mollypink
    mollypink Posts: 8
    Sorry I should have said what I am currently doing:

    4 x 20 sets of squats
    4 x 20 each leg of lunges
    3 x 2 minutes of squats on the power plates

    Plus 40 minutes of walking/jogging (trying to build up to running) or bike

    This just doesn't seem to be doing anything, I look very out of proportion and I am dying to wear dresses but my legs are like tree trunks
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    you cant spot reduce. if your weight isnt coming off proportionally then odds are it was never on proportionally (ie you're a pear shape).

    just keep doing what you're doing and your body will keep reducing its fat stores. the general rule of thumb is the first place you notice weight gain is the last place you notice weight loss.

    just keep at it. also as someone with thick thighs i dont understand why you arent able to wear dresses? dresses and skirts are pretty much the main things i can wear that will fit me
  • LaLouve_RK
    LaLouve_RK Posts: 899 Member
    I don't know what it's worth for you, but when I trained, my trainer refused I do any full strength exercises for my tights.
    I was a figure skater and they were already gotten bigger, and as he said, I dont want them to grow even bigger.
    He said I could do some of the back-kick weight bench to tone the butt but no big weight, only lots of repetitions so it will only tone up and not grow. Otherwise, I only did cardio or weights for the waist and up.
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
    You may never be able to fit into some of the fashions. I have always had strong, muscular calves, and even when I was very slim, they didn't fit the "skinny" fashion or most boots. It had little to do with working out too much. My daughter in law, who is an accomplished athlete, a strong skier and runner, has a problem finding boots skinny enough. However, if you keep at it, work out and lose the fat, you'll have shapely, strong legs, which is quite attractive even if they don't fit the rather skewed ideas of fashion designers.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Just be glad that you're naturally pear shaped instead of apple shaped!

    The fat will slowly come off of your entire body. But it will come off of your body the way it wants to, not the way you want it to. It may be that in your case, the legs are the last place it will burn off of (but once again, that's much better than your stomach). As previously mentioned, you can't spot reduce. Don't be afraid of continuing your squats and lower body exercises. You're definitely not going to get huge bulging quads unless you're taking steroids. Just keep slowly and steadily losing weight and exercising.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Are you using weights on your squats and lunges?
  • Sarah_Wins
    Sarah_Wins Posts: 936 Member
    My lower body has always been larger than the rest of me, but a few months ago I started running and now I have the opposite problem! My legs are slimmer than my torso! LOL

    Currently, I run about 12-15 miles per week.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
    Running+weight training+eating at a deficit=slimmer legs. :smile: Worked for me.
  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    Get one of these bad boys

    tumblr_m5iq0kmffa1qiceiuo1_500.gif
  • amytag
    amytag Posts: 206 Member
    I've been doing couch to 5 k and now that I'm progressing through it (been at it for 10 weeks), my legs are getting noticeably leaner and slimmer. I've always had big legs, and probably always will, but running has reshaped them.
  • likemeinvisible
    likemeinvisible Posts: 309
    Sorry I should have said what I am currently doing:

    4 x 20 sets of squats
    4 x 20 each leg of lunges
    3 x 2 minutes of squats on the power plates

    Plus 40 minutes of walking/jogging (trying to build up to running) or bike

    This just doesn't seem to be doing anything, I look very out of proportion and I am dying to wear dresses but my legs are like tree trunks

    Keep up with the walking/jogging, after a while you'll do more jogging than walking and I find that it gives the legs a slimmer shape, with longer less bulging muscles at the calves and thighs. Go for endurance on the jogging part, less speed and longer distance.
  • RealWomenLovePitbulls
    RealWomenLovePitbulls Posts: 729 Member
    mine seem to be getting somewhat smaller as i go, and i use the elliptical and go for walks with my doggie, HOWEVER, even when i was a teenager with the metabolism of a god and weighed a scrawny little 95 lbs, i still felt like my thighs were big compared to the rest of me. But i look at my other family members and the way they are built and realized everyone in my family has big booties and thighs, sometimes it's just the way u are made
  • mollypink
    mollypink Posts: 8
    Thanks for all the replies. I am trying to be patient I promise but was getting disheartened that the legs are just the same as before, I need to try and concentrate on all the other positives though and hopefully my legs will start improving soon.

    I am a pear shape you are right, even when I was smaller I had a 12 top and 14 bottom so it makes sense the fat clings to those areas I suppose. going to try and up my cardio and push myself a bit harder to jog more
  • mollypink
    mollypink Posts: 8
    Not using weights for the squats and lunges, I do them using a system at the gym (sorry gym dunce here not knowing the name of the equipment - straps hanging of a triangluar structure which I use to counterlever myself!) would weights help?
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Weights will increase your muscle size, so they will give your legs a larger appearance, even after the fat finally burns off.
  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    Weights will increase your muscle size, so they will give your legs a larger appearance, even after the fat finally burns off.

    false
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    omg this thread is so full of .....
    seriously just keep losing weight with diet mainly. Oh, and don't UNDER EAT!
  • nly1972
    nly1972 Posts: 23 Member
    I just lost 20 lbs. I am 5'7" and weigh 129. Seems like a good number to me. But my thighs are still bigger. They have gotten smaller but are still bigger in proportion to the rest of me. I've struggled with it since I was a teen. I don't think I necessarily need to lose more weight. I'm coming to terms with the fact that some people just have the body shape they have. I don't want to diet myself to a ridiculous low and unhealthy weight. I'll keep working out and trying different things. I've always hid under long shirts but now it is time to just be happy and buy those cute little tops I always skip past in the stores and enjoy life!
  • LaLouve_RK
    LaLouve_RK Posts: 899 Member
    Weights will increase your muscle size, so they will give your legs a larger appearance, even after the fat finally burns off.

    false
    Huh...true!
  • sydnisd183
    sydnisd183 Posts: 247 Member
    yea i have to keep reminding myself to be patient as well...i can wear junior tops in small/medium but size 12 in jeans

    my waist is about 30.5, hips are 44.5 (sigh)

    i've found that running helps a lot, when i was running a lot i was actually down to about 40"!!!!! (i don't know about anyone else but for me that is a big YAY hahahaha
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    you cant spot reduce. if your weight isnt coming off proportionally then odds are it was never on proportionally (ie you're a pear shape).

    just keep doing what you're doing and your body will keep reducing its fat stores. the general rule of thumb is the first place you notice weight gain is the last place you notice weight loss.

    just keep at it. also as someone with thick thighs i dont understand why you arent able to wear dresses? dresses and skirts are pretty much the main things i can wear that will fit me

    I just stopped here.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    lift HEAVY
  • vivie72
    vivie72 Posts: 127 Member
    Weights will increase your muscle size, so they will give your legs a larger appearance, even after the fat finally burns off.

    That is a misconception. She would have to be lifting huge weights and modifying her diet greatly to produce larger muscles. Women should be lifting. It increases your metabolism and tones your body.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    you cant spot reduce. if your weight isnt coming off proportionally then odds are it was never on proportionally (ie you're a pear shape).

    just keep doing what you're doing and your body will keep reducing its fat stores. the general rule of thumb is the first place you notice weight gain is the last place you notice weight loss.

    just keep at it. also as someone with thick thighs i dont understand why you arent able to wear dresses? dresses and skirts are pretty much the main things i can wear that will fit me

    Good post. This is the correct answer. Please ignore the other posts about the mythical "toning" and such.
  • likemeinvisible
    likemeinvisible Posts: 309
    Thanks for all the replies. I am trying to be patient I promise but was getting disheartened that the legs are just the same as before, I need to try and concentrate on all the other positives though and hopefully my legs will start improving soon.

    I am a pear shape you are right, even when I was smaller I had a 12 top and 14 bottom so it makes sense the fat clings to those areas I suppose. going to try and up my cardio and push myself a bit harder to jog more

    Don't sprint, run as slow as you can, to build endurance. Measure your heart rate at rest when you wake up, it will go down as your endurance builds up.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Weights will increase your muscle size, so they will give your legs a larger appearance, even after the fat finally burns off.

    false

    Lifting weights doesn't increase the size of your muscles? Good luck finding any science to prove that. :wink:
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Just checking in to see what happens here. I am not sure either way. One would think that working muscles would cause them to get bigger, but what do I know? I am curious.
  • vivie72
    vivie72 Posts: 127 Member
    The myths about women's weight training and female bodybuilding do not ever seem to go away. With this article, I'd like to share the facts regarding weight training and female bodybuilding.

    Women's Weight Training Myth #1 -Weight training makes you bulky and masculine.
    Due to the fact that women do not, and cannot, naturally produce as much testosterone (one of the main hormones responsible for increasing muscle size) as males do, it is impossible for a woman to gain huge amounts of muscle mass by merely touching some weights. Unfortunately, the image that may come to your mind is that of professional female bodybuilders. Most of these women, unfortunately, use anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone) along with other drugs in order to achieve that high degree of muscularity. In addition, most also have good genetics coupled with an unbelievable work ethic that enable them to gain muscle quickly when they spend hours in the gym lifting very heavy weights. Believe me when I say that they do not look like that by accident. Women who conduct weight training without the use of steroids get the firm and fit cellulite-free looking body that you see in most fitness/figure shows these days.

    http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/womensfitnesstopics/a/womenmyths.htm Here is one of many many articles that will debunk the myth.
  • vivie72
    vivie72 Posts: 127 Member
    Here is another one... http://www.livestrong.com/article/370071-do-women-get-big-when-lifting-weights/

    I have been working with a trainer...weight are essential if you want a toned not just skinny body. It is important for women and their overall health.

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