How to get rid of chunky legs? Please help!

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Replies

  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
    The only way to get rid of the fat covering your beautiful muscles on your legs is to bring your body fat down. You can't pick where you lose fat from right? A lot of it is genetics. My mother was a runner beach babe back in the 70's and when she went to a cosmetic surgeon to talk to him about breast augmentation he asked if she wanted to do anything about her chubby knees! LOL, that's just where she kept a little fat. She was fit and toned but carried a little more in the knee and upper thigh area.

    Get a trainer to help you work on a diet and lifting program that helps you burn that fat. Or just accept that you are thin and fit and beautiful and may have extra fat around your thighs.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    What the previous poster said about tap dancing is good to!! I love tap but we don't have an adult class near me or I'd do that as well as zumba.
  • dietstokes
    dietstokes Posts: 216 Member
    My legs are 24" at 5'4" with a 26" waist as well. I would kill for your size legs right now. I understand the frustration with legs. I hate having to apply cream between my thighs too.

    You sound like you have a solid base with lifting. Continue with that, add in cardio. You're building the muscle, but you still need to burn fat. Sounds like your diet is fairly clean, though I have not checked your food diary to check. Try adding in 30-60 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and after a month, see if you notice any changes in your legs. HIIT is best fro fat burning, but steady state has its benefits as well. If you don't like running, do the elliptical or some other cardio machine. You can bike as well, though I wouldn't do that every time as I personally don't think you burn as many calories with it.

    If after a month of continuing lifting heavy, eating clean, and adding additional cardio you don't see some sort of difference, then it may be time to hire a trainer for a few sessions to see if they have recommendations. Good luck!

    Oh,l while this is not a permanent solution, you can also try using the anti cellulite creams to help with the appearance. Many are caffeine based so they temporarily change the tone of your legs. If you use it consistently, you will see some changes. Butr see above for more lasting results.
  • kittynat
    kittynat Posts: 25 Member
    I suggest running & cycling.

    I have been running three times per week and cycling to work and back twice a week, my thighs especially have thinned down quite a lot.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I am small like you, almost same stats (just under 5'4" and 110 pounds). At one point I weighed 100 pounds and my legs were still flabby. That was due to mostly all cardio and a low calorie diet.

    What helped me is a moderate diet, lifting heavy 3-4 times a week and 2-3x a week of HIIT on the treadmill. My legs are in the best shape they have ever been and firmer than they have ever been. My thighs measure 20" and I'm able to wear size 3 comfortably in most everything.

    Try HIIT, not steady state cardio. IMO steady state cardio breaks down the muscles. I have my fitness routine on my profile if you're interested. I would not focus on losing more weight, just losing more fat.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    ^^ what she said.

    and at 5'3" you don't want to go under 100 I suspect. My roommate was stacked as **** at 5'5" and 125. Certain body types carry weight lower- I'm definitely one of those people- and there is a point where you will have to drop so much of EVERYTHING you'll in an extremely inhealthy place. For me to loose my legs- I have to drop TONS of muscle and the fat- it would be very unhealthy.

    Keep working hard- lift the heavy things- do the HIIT- avoid chronic cardio. You'll be fine. :)
  • esballet
    esballet Posts: 51 Member
    I feel your pain, girl. I'm about the same size as you- 5'3'' and 115 pounds. I have a 26 inch waist and 22 1/2 inch legs. When I lose weight my torso just gets bonier and scrawnier while my legs stay the same size. It's very strange looking. I have pictures of myself from when I weighed under 100 pounds and my legs were still chubby.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I've seen some amazing body transformations of women that were thin but looked soft who then started heavy lifting and went from chubby thighs and bingo wings to hard bodies. I think this is your answer, not losing more weight.
  • albosler
    albosler Posts: 16 Member
    Have you done a true body composition test? I find it really helpful. And I'm not talking calipers or electrodes, but either a Bod Pod test or the water displacement test. Check google for places near you that have a Bod Pod, it's air displacement and is quite accurate if you follow the instructions. It's easy and fast, and where I live you can get it done for $25. It gives you a read of your lean body mass (muscle mass, bone, etc) and of your body fat. This is helpful because it gives you a realistic picture of where you are in terms of muscle mass vs. fat and a realistic picture of where you should be. If you do it, many times they'll recommend you "gain muscle and lose fat." Ask them also to calculate how much weight you'd have to lost if you didn't gain any muscle, to be at the appropriate body fat percent.

    Also, keep in mind, when most people go in there, their results are higher than they'd expect, most people don't have a realistic view of where they are, even if they've had a calipers test. a woman should be under 30%, and under 23% is considered lean. it is difficult to get there, 22% in a woman is equivalent to 12% in a man with the calculation they use in the Bod Pod.

    I had a calipers test once that said I was at 13%, totally unrealistic, but I was quite upset to find out at that weight I was probably closer to 23%, and am currently at 29%. However, once they explained to me what is realistic in women, I felt better. When I get to my goal weight, if I don't gain any muscle I'll be around 22-23%.
  • albosler
    albosler Posts: 16 Member
    so what I'm saying is if you go in there and you're under 22%, just embrace your God given strong beautiful legs!!!!
  • Yes but I am not overweight and never have been. I don't think my body would feel in danger of crushing my organs at this point?

    Just like how typically normal weight men don't usually get moobs.

    Sorry if I wasnt clear. With women fat isnt put on the legs to avoid having your organs crushed, its directed there full stop because unlike men (beer belly) women need to keep the womb area free of fat to keep the space available for a growing baby. Fat on women thus goes to the legs which is actually by design as its stored there ready to be used up to provide calories for breast milk. Forget the moobs thing thats just a distraction.

    So anyway thats why women store fat there. Just like men get it on their belly and its the last place to go from the same is true of womens legs. Like others have said, keep off the refined carbs (if you can get to under 100g per day of all carbs) get some quality fats in there and stuborn fat will soon shift.

    quick google to prove I am not just talking crap - http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-fat-deposit-on-t
  • Wowunicorns
    Wowunicorns Posts: 16
    i'm not sure what my body fat % is but i am guessing under 25% just based on pics on the internet.

    i'm more concerned about the actual look of flabbyness on my legs as opposed to the size. the size is too big but i figure there isn't much i can do about it because i naturally have thick muscular legs. they don't look too bad in pants anyway.

    but they look terrible in skirts and dresses because they are thick and untoned. the untoned part is what's making it ugly when i wear skirts or shorts.

    this is so frustrating.
  • albosler
    albosler Posts: 16 Member
    I know it's frustrating, we can't control where we store fat, only how much fat we store. Maybe it would be helpful to do a reliable body fat assessment. that way you will know if you even have room to lose fat, or if you just have to be ok with it. If you're at 25% or even 22-23 you could conceivably go down 17-18% and still be in the "lean" or healthy range. It would be difficult though, to get that low though! I always feel that when I get to about 22% it's about as low as I can get.

    Just FYI though, I have envied the shape of women who store fat in their bottoms/legs quite often, I think it's a really feminine look. I store in my shoulders, chest, and stomach - and although I know some people envy that, I HATE it. I have a muscular frame all over, and when I'm really lean I look fine, but if I get higher in my weight I just look.... thick! ugh!

    I do have a friend who is built like you.... she started doing cross-fit and cut out gluten (because one of her kids had too) and she said she lost weight in places she never thought she could lose weight. she now looks like an olympic gymnast, seriously.
  • Wowunicorns
    Wowunicorns Posts: 16
    Maybe I do need to lose more weight then. I don't know how I can get a real body fat % measurement... I tried looking up some bodpod places on the internet but it didn't yield any results that weren't super expensive.

    http://ee85019fd821af767b70-f458b2f4b4b80b1a6f1dc7d41583c151.r97.cf1.rackcdn.com/women-bodyfat-chart-visual.jpg

    According to that chart (from leigh peele) I think I'm around 20% (based only on torso pics... I imagine my legs look way less lean).

    But with this chart: http://files.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/body-fat-percentage-women.jpg

    I am probably a couple % more... but still under 25%.