i have HUGE calves?

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mahatolba
mahatolba Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So i'm only 5'2", but I weigh around 165lbs and my calves are HUGE. They're around 17" :( When I flex them, they feel really firm which is weird since I never used to work out at all until I decided to start losing weight. When they're not flexed, though, they're super jiggly. Could they just be big because I'm short and overweight? Or is it possible that I somehow have muscly calves without ever having done exercise or sports? Any advice is appreciated!
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Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
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    large people typically have large calves/legs in general. mine are massive as well
  • laurasnyder411
    laurasnyder411 Posts: 172 Member
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    Maybe it's a short girl thing. I am 5'3" and also have really big calves. Could just be the way your body is built. I have learned to embrace mine anyways. They take me places :)
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
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    I will trade with you...mine are under 15" and i'm working the shiz hell out of them.
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    I just stopped hoping I could buy real boots. Only ankle booties for me. *sigh.
    I think it's probably genetic.
    I'm 5'2 @133 lbs. Humongous calves. whachagonna do?
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
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    I'm the same - 5'2" and my calves are about 16". Used to hate them, now I'm learning to accept them. A few years ago when I had lost a decent amount of inches, I only ever lost 1/4" on my calves. They just like to be big. It's okay though. They help me bike and run faster :smile:
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    Everyone's body is different - your calves could be on the large side because of the extra weight you're carrying, or it could just be how your body is. No big deal, but you'll just have to wait and see.

    I'm 5'5" with 14-inch calves. I've honestly never thought about the size of them very much.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Honestly sounds like you still have a lot of fat on your calves and by exercising them for the first time in forever you are probably retaining a lot of water in the muscle as well giving it that firm feeling.

    I imagine as the weight comes off your calves will eventually shrink, there is no way you have that much muscle...even bodybuilders don't have 17'' calves.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    Trade you.
    Mine are 14.5".
    I want bigger calves
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
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    I have big calves, I'm 5'4" and they are 16" But this is because I've been a runner my whole life and I'm extremely muscular... It might just be fat, but it could also be that you have a muscular frame. You can't really know unless you do accurate body fat or body mass testing.

    I have a "thing" for calves, and I've found women generally have larger calves than men (at least the ones in my life) It's rare to find a man with big, thick calves. :)
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    That isn't exactly HUGE : ) It is just how your body is - it's all good. As someone pointed out above: If they are big due to excess fat, then they will decrease perhaps. If due to muscle - then NAH - prob not. I have 17" calves too. Muscle. They are basically the same size now than they were 70 pounds ago. They are in proportion to the rest of my legs, which are also muscular.

    Instead of stressing, just embrace them as they are. ROCK THEM OUT. I've always had a desire for awesome dressy black knee boots. Guess what? Gonna get me a pair custom made for my fabulous calves. I waited to do so to see if they would indeed decrease in size with weight loss - they didn't much. My calves are my calves - they go with my thighs. I'm 5'4, wear a size 6 1/2 shoe just as a point of reference.
  • dbrightwell1270
    dbrightwell1270 Posts: 1,732 Member
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    I am 6'3" My calves are about 25". Some of it is from lifting weights. some of it is from carrying extra weight for years but a lot of it is from growing up in an old house with 20 very steep and very small steps up to my bedroom. Mine are always solid though. You'll probably lose a good amount of size in yours as the weight drops.
  • Shalaurise
    Shalaurise Posts: 707 Member
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    My hubbs has large calves as well. He has been heavier for a long time and his legs have gotten quite strong from carrying him around.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    yea... 18" calves here. I practically need a shoe horn to get compression socks on. Embrace it, get a bike :)
  • ucabucca
    ucabucca Posts: 606 Member
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    I have huge calves but also huge legs in general but as my coach said when I was young give up that image of long skinny legs like a model you are a great athlete and so I grew up identifying with strength not the model look thankful he did make me see the postive at such a young age
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
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    I do too. I inherited them from my parents. What can you do, except embrace them. :flowerforyou:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    They will get smaller as you lose weight. I have big calves for my height 5'1" but they went all the way down to about 13.5 inches when I got to a healthy body fat percentage, and I had to work my *kitten* off literally and eat at a surplus just to get them back to 14 inches. I'd like them to be significantly bigger because I like big calves, but even doing calf raises with the weight of a grown man on my shoulders didn't make them any bigger. Deadlifts, squats and eating at a surplus made them half an inch bigger (and as I was eating at a surplus, some of that half inch was possibly a little extra fat. So I'm concerned (well that's too strong a word because aesthetics isn't really a big deal to me) that on this cut they'll just go right back to 13.5 inches. But really so long as I achieve my long term goal of deadlifting 300lb then I'll not care *that* much that my calves are too skinny.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    It's likely intramuscular fat. As you lose weight, the size of your calves will decrease. Also, the size of the muscle could decrease as well since your legs will be carrying around less weight on a day to day basis. I have big calves too but I'm nearly positive that it's a result of the phenomenon shown below. I have firm definition when I flex as well with little to no giggle but as I lose weight, they continue to lose diameter.

    ETA: And I'm eating enough protein and lifting heavy in order to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible so the decrease is hopefully mostly from fat loss within the muscle and not muscle itself.

    49529036-137b-4944-b45a-1e2ab95a4700_zpsdf03daf8.png
  • Russandol
    Russandol Posts: 71 Member
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    Maybe it's a short girl thing. I am 5'3" and also have really big calves. Could just be the way your body is built. I have learned to embrace mine anyways. They take me places :)

    Us taller girls can have big calves, too. :) I'm 5'8 and my calves are around 16.5 inches, Then again, I bike everywhere all year round and have done so for about... um, 20 years or so. I'm not claiming my calves are all muscle, but all that biking has paid off. I'm hoping they'll shrink just a bit once I lose the 20 or so pounds I'm trying to lose, because I'd really, really love to be able to buy knee-high boots. :(
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    If you've been overweight a while, they've had to support your weight all that time. Silly little calves wouldn't be able to.
  • R_Woodruff
    R_Woodruff Posts: 74 Member
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    I've always had huge, very muscular calves/legs. When I was younger my mom called them my softball legs (and occasionally still does). I learned to love and for some reason guys are infatuated with them, so I guess they're not all that bad haha.

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