How to slim thighs and hips

I have been working out for about 6 months now. I was running a lot, and lifting weights, and doing weighted things for my legs. But now I notice my legs are getting bigger. I have always had big muscular legs but my jeans are not even fitting anymore. I eat healthy, I was eating 800 caories a day but i stopped that since i found out it was bad. now i don't track but i would say anywhere within 1200-1400 a day. some days i have a cheat meal . but has anyone found ways to make thighs and hips slim? i don't need weights and stuff because i am muscular enough and i want it to go away. i am 5 foot 8 and 145 pounds. 18 yrs old and female

Replies

  • swet02
    swet02 Posts: 52
    Interesting, want to know about this too. Got big thighs and legs and as I go on with my diet, I also wanted to know about this. Anyone?
  • What about low impact exercise such as yoga or pilates for the legs? You won't put on nearly as much muscle as say weighted squats or lunges (I assume) I'm no professional though haha.
  • If a gain in muscle is making pant legs too tight, stop or lessen the exercises that are adding muscle to your thighs, or just buy some new pants.
  • HealthyLeeLee
    HealthyLeeLee Posts: 97 Member
    Bump!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Eat at a deficit to lose overall body fat. Start tracking. Get a food scale and weigh your food. Enter your own recipes. Hit your calorie goal every day.

    There's no such thing as spot reduction, but if you're eating at a deficit your thighs are not going to be getting bigger, except for a small amount of temporary water retention for muscle repair. But even that should be minimal.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    You can't spot reduce. Simply lose body fat to lean out legs and thighs. I highly doubt your gaining "that" much muscle. It could simply be that your experiencing a pump (more oxygen and blood flow to your legs which gives it a physical appearance of being bigger) but if you really want to slim down than don't eat so much!
  • susieoj
    susieoj Posts: 181
    Unless you've measured your body fat percentage and you're really so lean that it's just pure solid muscle making your legs bigger... In which case you're my hero because I think that's awesome personally.... Then I wouldn't throw the weight training out the window, I've seen many many very slim ladies who lift very very heavy things. Usually what you want to lose is fat, not muscle, you should keep the muscle... It's your friend...your calorie torching friend...
  • shred_me_up
    shred_me_up Posts: 267 Member
    but..... big thighs are SEXY!!! i would kill to make mine more muscular!
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    I have been working out for about 6 months now. I was running a lot, and lifting weights, and doing weighted things for my legs. But now I notice my legs are getting bigger. I have always had big muscular legs but my jeans are not even fitting anymore. I eat healthy, I was eating 800 caories a day but i stopped that since i found out it was bad. now i don't track but i would say anywhere within 1200-1400 a day. some days i have a cheat meal . but has anyone found ways to make thighs and hips slim? i don't need weights and stuff because i am muscular enough and i want it to go away. i am 5 foot 8 and 145 pounds. 18 yrs old and female
    wait wait wait wait "now i don't track but i would say anywhere within 1200-1400 a day. some days i have a cheat meal . but has anyone found ways to make thighs and hips slim? i don't need weights and stuff because i am muscular enough and i want it to go away. i am 5 foot 8 and 145 pounds." How do you know you're eating at a deficit if you dont track or measure/weigh your food? If your legs are getting bigger then you are eating at maintenance which means close to 1800calories per day.

    Ok, here, your BMR is 1488 which means you should not be eating any less than that. If you work out 3 times a week your TDEE is 2045 calories which means in order for you to lose body fat (which means your thighs and legs will lose fat too) you need to be eating at least 1534-1636 kcals per day. No ifs and or buts.
  • shauna121211
    shauna121211 Posts: 575 Member
    What is so wrong with strong thighs? Strong thighs are beautiful! I love my big thighs and I wouldn't have it any other way. Would I be able to back squat 88kilos if I had a thigh gap? Doubtful! Embrace the body you are working hard to achieve! Don't stop because your jeans are getting too tight!

    I'm sorry, but I hate how society has dictated that the thigh gap is healthy and what we should be aiming to achieve. I am appauled that I just googled "healthy thighs" and the first 5 articles were about how to get a thigh gap! That's not healthy! There are many studies out there that argue and prove the exact opposite! Here's a greatt article I managed to find in that google search: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mens_Health_Watch/2012/January/big-thighs-may-be-wise

    Here is a bit of the article: "To find out how thigh circumference affects health, Danish scientists evaluated 2,816 men and women ages 35 to 65 who were free of heart disease, stroke, and cancer when they joined the study in the late '80s. Each participant provided a detailed health history and each underwent comprehensive examinations that included measurements of height, weight, and thigh, hip, and waist circumferences, as well as body fat percentage, which was determined by the highly accurate impedance method.

    Researchers tracked the volunteers for an average of 12.5 years. They found that people with big thighs had a lower risk of heart disease and premature death than those with thin thighs. In round numbers, a thigh circumference (measured where the thigh meets the butt) of about 62 cm (about 24.4 inches) was most protective; bigger thighs provided little if any extra benefit, but progressively thinner thighs were linked to progressively higher risks. The predictive value of thigh size held up even after the scientists accounted for other indicators of body composition, including waist circumference, BMI, height, and body fat percentage. And thigh size remained a strong independent predictor even after researchers adjusted for risk factors such as smoking, exercise, alcohol use, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and (for women) menopause."

    Moonjuleigh is half right - I don't agree you should stop doing the exersice that is making your thighs "big", but I do agree you should buy new pants!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I'm your height and as of this morning, 141.2 lbs. My thighs started at 25 and are now 22. My hips started at 42 and now measure at 38.5. My measurements started moving down when I began eating Keto-style. I also do squats, calf-raises, deadlifts and glute bridges with a 20 lb dumbbell. I used to squat with a backpack full of 75 lbs in barbell weights, but my backpack broke. If you're eating at a deficit, you're not gaining muscle. It sounds more like water retention to me.

    I would suggest doing strength training and if you want to jog, do that as well. It will help you maintain what muscle you have, while also helping to burn fat.
  • Mchl496
    Mchl496 Posts: 12 Member
    You can't really spot reduce. If you are doing everything you are suppose to by way of diet and exercise areas will shrink independently. You can work out those areas like crazy and still not lose weight. Best think you can do is stay the course and don't get pulled into focusing on one area. I am a big gym guy and I always laugh at usually guys but sometimes women who hyper developed 1 muscle group to get the look they thought they wanted. you