Thigh Fat Question

Hi, I've lost over 35 pounds using MFB and quite a lot of body fat too, especially around my stomach. But the one area I'm really struggling with are my thighs. Since I started 5-6 months ago, I have lost only a maximum of 1-2 pounds off my thighs, but I've lost over 5-6 on my waist and hips. I do strength training at least 3 times a week and cardio almost every single day and am always under my calorie goals. Please help and suggest what I can do. :smiley:
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Replies

  • qqsha
    qqsha Posts: 19 Member
    Cassey has a video on her blog: http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2012/08/11/how-to-get-an-inner-thigh-gap/. You do this specific video 2-3 times a week. There is a 30 day challenge as well, which I am starting up at the beginning of June: http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2015/02/28/30-day-thigh-slimming-challenge/

    They specifically target the thighs, so I hope that helps out!
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Nope, sorry, there isn't any way to lost fat from any one specific area of the body. Genetics and body type will determine where fat comes off. Just keep losing weight, more will eventually come off your thighs.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Do you mean inches cos I think 1-2" from thighs having dropped 35lbs is pretty good

    If you do mean pounds what funky kinda scales do you own that can weigh body parts :bigsmile:

    Continue to lose bf

    Heavy progressive compound lifting ...squats, lunges and walking more
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
    qqsha wrote: »
    Cassey has a video on her blog: http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2012/08/11/how-to-get-an-inner-thigh-gap/. You do this specific video 2-3 times a week. There is a 30 day challenge as well, which I am starting up at the beginning of June: http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2015/02/28/30-day-thigh-slimming-challenge/

    They specifically target the thighs, so I hope that helps out!

    Looked at the front page, bunch of women lying on mats doing leg raises, no weights in sight

    Are you kidding me?
  • Tania212
    Tania212 Posts: 3 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Heavy progressive compound lifting ...squats, lunges and walking more

    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    My thighs are always the last place I lose fat, and the first place I gain it. When I was pregnant I could literally feel my thighs expanding lol. After my 2nd baby I lost 66lbs and actually lost 10 inches off my waist, and 10 off each thigh, but my thighs still had too much fat on them. I'm losing after my third baby now and although my thighs are smaller, they're still too fat.

    Just keep going, doing what you're doing.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...
  • Tania212
    Tania212 Posts: 3 Member
    @ Snow3y: please open a biology book. It is physically impossible to spot reduce without liposuction. Hormones that trigger the reaction in our bodies to turn stored fat into energy are dispersed to every fat cell simultaneously, regardless of it's location in the body. The girls you know have only appeared to stop reduce because the muscle in their legs have grown and become "toned" due to their continuous use, and their fat cells are distributed in such a way where they are more concentrated in the upper portions of their bodies.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    Anecdotal 'evidence' doesn't carry much weight around here. Actual scientific studies have shown targeted fat loss to be a myth, It's entirely possible that all three of those women are genetically built to carry less weight in their legs causing weight to come off that area first. Meanwhile the cycling may well have resulted in a small muscle gain in the legs resulting in a more 'toned' look.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    From yalescientific.org (explaining way better than I ever could):

    "It turns out that there are a few basic physiological reasons why targeted fat loss does not work. The fat contained in fat cells exists in a form known as triglycerides. Muscle cells, however, cannot directly use triglycerides as fuel; it would be analogous to trying to run a car on crude oil. Instead, the fat must be broken down into glycerol and free fatty acids, which then enter the bloodstream. As a result, the fat broken down to be used as fuel during prolonged exercise can come from anywhere in your body, not just the part that is being worked the most.
    ...

    Ultimately, fat loss comes down not to targeted exercises, but to the basic principle of how many calories you expend versus how many you take in. Doing 100 crunches a day can effectively strengthen your abdominal muscles, but it probably will not make them any more visible unless you also take other steps to reduce your overall body fat. If you combine cardiovascular exercise with weight training and sensible nutrition, however, those fat cells will not stand a chance."
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    @lemonlionheart Good posts!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I just have to know how you know how many lbs you lost off your thighs?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Tania212 wrote: »
    @ Snow3y: please open a biology book. It is physically impossible to spot reduce without liposuction. Hormones that trigger the reaction in our bodies to turn stored fat into energy are dispersed to every fat cell simultaneously, regardless of it's location in the body. The girls you know have only appeared to stop reduce because the muscle in their legs have grown and become "toned" due to their continuous use, and their fat cells are distributed in such a way where they are more concentrated in the upper portions of their bodies.

    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    Anecdotal 'evidence' doesn't carry much weight around here. Actual scientific studies have shown targeted fat loss to be a myth, It's entirely possible that all three of those women are genetically built to carry less weight in their legs causing weight to come off that area first. Meanwhile the cycling may well have resulted in a small muscle gain in the legs resulting in a more 'toned' look.

    @Snow3y 's observations were also seen in this study among cyclists doing HIIT
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18197184

    The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women.
    Trapp EG1, Chisholm DJ, Freund J, Boutcher SH.
    Author information
    Abstract
    OBJECTIVE:

    To determine the effects of a 15-week high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) program on subcutaneous and trunk fat and insulin resistance of young women.
    DESIGN AND PROCEDURES:

    Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: HIIE (n=15), steady-state exercise (SSE; n=15) or control (CONT; n=15). HIIE and SSE groups underwent a 15-week exercise intervention.
    SUBJECTS:

    Forty-five women with a mean BMI of 23.2+/-2.0 kg m(-2) and age of 20.2+/-2.0 years.
    RESULTS:

    Both exercise groups demonstrated a significant improvement (P<0.05) in cardiovascular fitness. However, only the HIIE group had a significant reduction in total body mass (TBM), fat mass (FM), trunk fat and fasting plasma insulin levels. There was significant fat loss (P<0.05) in legs compared to arms in the HIIE group only. Lean compared to overweight women lost less fat after HIIE. Decreases in leptin concentrations were negatively correlated with increases in VO(2peak) (r=-0.57, P<0.05) and positively correlated with decreases in TBM (r=0.47; P<0.0001). There was no significant change in adiponectin levels after training.
    CONCLUSIONS:

    HIIE three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of SSE exercise was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance in young women.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
    Tania212 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Heavy progressive compound lifting ...squats, lunges and walking more

    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    If you have fat thighs and lose fat and preserve your LBM they will not look bigger

    You managed to misquote me and I only wrote a couple of lines
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Do you mean inches cos I think 1-2" from thighs having dropped 35lbs is pretty good

    If you do mean pounds what funky kinda scales do you own that can weigh body parts :bigsmile:

    Continue to lose bf

    Heavy progressive compound lifting ...squats, lunges and walking more



    I would love to inhabit this mythical land where eating at a defecit in order to lose body fat and lifting heavy results in such amazing hypertrophy
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    edited May 2015
    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    I agree,...'Outdoor' Cycling (not Gym Bikes) does seem to improve muscle tone in the Legs.
    I've been hearing this for Years!
    I better go buy a Bike. Lol
  • batmanforever126
    batmanforever126 Posts: 8 Member
    I just have to know how you know how many lbs you lost off your thighs?
    I meant 1-2 inches. My bad.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    you cant spot reduce.

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I just have to know how you know how many lbs you lost off your thighs?
    I meant 1-2 inches. My bad.

    Lol ok! That makes more sense!
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited May 2015
    Menopause. I've gone up an down the scales all my life, and always kept proportionally large thighs. This is the first time I've ever lost weight in my legs at the same rate I've lost it in other places.

    I remember reading something once about hormones and thigh fat, but I'm old and my memory about the specifics is shot.

    Other than that? Squats.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    Anecdotal 'evidence' doesn't carry much weight around here. Actual scientific studies have shown targeted fat loss to be a myth, It's entirely possible that all three of those women are genetically built to carry less weight in their legs causing weight to come off that area first. Meanwhile the cycling may well have resulted in a small muscle gain in the legs resulting in a more 'toned' look.

    Links please? I do like reading and learning - currently going through those which another guy posted in response in the latter


    Tania212 wrote: »
    @ Snow3y: please open a biology(you mean physiology and anatomy?) book. It is physically impossible to spot reduce without liposuction. Hormones that trigger the reaction in our bodies to turn stored fat into energy are dispersed to every fat cell simultaneously, regardless of it's location in the body. The girls you know have only appeared to stop reduce because the muscle in their legs have grown and become "toned" due to their continuous use, and their fat cells are distributed in such a way where they are more concentrated in the upper portions of their bodies.

    Your use of the word 'toned' had me just give up on your entire paragraph entirely.
    - did you not just prove my point, of - though it's not "spot reducing", there is a working of the body which causes that part of the body to (not)retain fat?


  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    I await those said studies....
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Tania212 wrote: »
    @ Snow3y: please open a biology book. It is physically impossible to spot reduce without liposuction. Hormones that trigger the reaction in our bodies to turn stored fat into energy are dispersed to every fat cell simultaneously, regardless of it's location in the body. The girls you know have only appeared to stop reduce because the muscle in their legs have grown and become "toned" due to their continuous use, and their fat cells are distributed in such a way where they are more concentrated in the upper portions of their bodies.

    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    Anecdotal 'evidence' doesn't carry much weight around here. Actual scientific studies have shown targeted fat loss to be a myth, It's entirely possible that all three of those women are genetically built to carry less weight in their legs causing weight to come off that area first. Meanwhile the cycling may well have resulted in a small muscle gain in the legs resulting in a more 'toned' look.

    @Snow3y 's observations were also seen in this study among cyclists doing HIIT
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18197184

    The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women.
    Trapp EG1, Chisholm DJ, Freund J, Boutcher SH.
    Author information
    Abstract
    OBJECTIVE:

    To determine the effects of a 15-week high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) program on subcutaneous and trunk fat and insulin resistance of young women.
    DESIGN AND PROCEDURES:

    Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: HIIE (n=15), steady-state exercise (SSE; n=15) or control (CONT; n=15). HIIE and SSE groups underwent a 15-week exercise intervention.
    SUBJECTS:

    Forty-five women with a mean BMI of 23.2+/-2.0 kg m(-2) and age of 20.2+/-2.0 years.
    RESULTS:

    Both exercise groups demonstrated a significant improvement (P<0.05) in cardiovascular fitness. However, only the HIIE group had a significant reduction in total body mass (TBM), fat mass (FM), trunk fat and fasting plasma insulin levels. There was significant fat loss (P<0.05) in legs compared to arms in the HIIE group only. Lean compared to overweight women lost less fat after HIIE. Decreases in leptin concentrations were negatively correlated with increases in VO(2peak) (r=-0.57, P<0.05) and positively correlated with decreases in TBM (r=0.47; P<0.0001). There was no significant change in adiponectin levels after training.
    CONCLUSIONS:

    HIIE three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of SSE exercise was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance in young women.

    I'm not sure if this was lost on everyone here, but the OP is actually a 19-year-old male.

  • Indigoblu1
    Indigoblu1 Posts: 127 Member
    Tania212 wrote: »
    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    Can somebody please tell me, is this true?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Indigoblu1 wrote: »
    Tania212 wrote: »
    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    Can somebody please tell me, is this true?

    nope
  • bigbootycutey
    bigbootycutey Posts: 20 Member
    Just wanted to add that you may have lost more inches from your thighs than you think. Areas which retain more fat -- like thighs, bellies etc -- can continue to shrink after you lose weight as the stretched skin shrinks back into place.
  • Indigoblu1
    Indigoblu1 Posts: 127 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Indigoblu1 wrote: »
    Tania212 wrote: »
    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    Can somebody please tell me, is this true?

    nope

    Thank you, rabbitjb - I was hoping a seasoned "vet" on their successful fitness journey, such as you, would answer! I needed "real" verification. Gotta admit, that post freaked me out, because these types of exercises are basic to every fitness program I've heard of.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Indigoblu1 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Indigoblu1 wrote: »
    Tania212 wrote: »
    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    Can somebody please tell me, is this true?

    nope

    Thank you, rabbitjb - I was hoping a seasoned "vet" on their successful fitness journey, such as you, would answer! I needed "real" verification. Gotta admit, that post freaked me out, because these types of exercises are basic to every fitness program I've heard of.

    Because they're a great exercise. I personally can't have a decent leg day without them.

  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    Tania212 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Heavy progressive compound lifting ...squats, lunges and walking more

    Lunges and squats actually make your thighs bigger, but more toned. If you want smaller thighs and care nothing about how toned you are, either lose more weight or get lipo!

    funny all I do is lift weights and I've lost 5+ inches off each thigh in 2.5 years going from a size 14/16 to currently a size 2 but whatever. lol

    Fat loss will happen over time and sometimes the stomach hips thighs and butt are the last to go. Just keep going. Lift heavy...you would hate to have skinny but wobbly cellulite filled thighs right? Because that is what is going to happen if you do not strength train.


  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    abductor, adductor and donkey kicks.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Snow3y wrote: »
    I'm kind of against people who say spot reduction can't take place.. Simply because I know of 3 girls personally, who haven't necessarily followed diets, but go on the bicycle for many hours in a week. This has made them retain their 'muffin top' stomachs, and somewhat 'flab' on arms, but have beautifully worked legs which look as if they're meant to be on a skinny girl...

    I agree,...'Outdoor' Cycling (not Gym Bikes) does seem to improve muscle tone in the Legs.
    I've been hearing this for Years!
    I better go buy a Bike. Lol

    Why would only "real" bikes train your legs?