Any advice on slimming down calves?

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Replies

  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    Giolis wrote: »
    Unfortunately, "toning" is a made up word. You either have muscle or you don't. Muscle is muscle. No such thing as lean muscle either.

    See the tread below:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10229692/toning-is-a-deception/p1

    In my mind, "toning" is building muscle. So maybe that isn't the best choice of words either. So exercises that that build calf muscles would be fine.

    I guess I will just stick to cycling and add in come calf lifts or something.



    I have found that when I started running my legs (actually hips to calves) slimmed down dramatically. A great percentage of the fat I lost during the first few months of running (jogging actually) came from my lower body. I know you can't spot reduce, so I don't really have an explanation for it...but it is what it is. I have seen people who walk for exercise get similar results, btw. Long bouts of cardio can work wonders.

    I wouldn't recommend sprints though...sprints built more muscle for me...my thighs actually got a bit bigger after a couple of months of sprints and then leveled out. Sprints, and hills, are known to build muscle.

    I also wouldn't focus too much on things that build calf muscle...calf raises, etc. Just focus on cardio, watch your diet, and your calves will get smaller as you lose. They may or may not ever be as small as you want them, but they will get smaller than they are now.

    I used to have to wear wide calf boots as well. At my heaviest my calves were 16.5 inches. The first 60 pounds I lost my calves did not change AT ALL. Then over the next 15 pounds I lost two whole inches. And they would periodically get smaller after that.

    Btw, research grape seed extract if you haven't already. You may want to consider giving it a try. I know a couple of people who got significant relief from varicose veins after using it for a while.

    Thank you for your post. I am aware the spot training, toning, all that is nonsense. I don't mind muscle too much, I can control, somewhat, how much muscle I gain. I have done research myself and many say that walking/jogging/running does seem to have an affect on the legs. I use to jog before I had issues with my legs (varicose veins, sciatica pain).

    I realize that there may not be a dramatic decrease. I just want to be able to not look like I am walking on pale, bulging sausages.

    I do not suffer from the dreaded cankle, but when my legs swell, I can lose all definition on my legs and ankles (I stay away from any foot wear during these periods and often don compression stockings to help circulation) But I know my legs will never be small. I am okay with that. I just want smaller (2-3 inches would be marvelous) than what they are now. Though, even that may not be a possibility.

    I will definitely look into grape seed extract.

    Walking will give you the same effect and might be easier on your legs. If not, stick with the cycling. If you lose weight some of it will come from the legs eventually. Maybe you'll be luckier than me and it will come from your calves first. LOL!

    Supposedly grape seed extract strengthens the blood vessels and makes them more elastic and that is how it helps with varicose veins...and probably other blood vessel issues as well to some extent. Good luck!
  • missg6984
    missg6984 Posts: 12 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    The world is pretty much made up of big-calved and small-calved people. It is difficult to switch from one group to the other. You can work on losing fat, as you already said, but actually getting your muscles to atrophy is difficult and (completely my opinion) silly. Enjoy your big calves. Continue to work on your overall fitness and they will be big shapely calves, which are great.

    Support is what helps motivate!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited August 2015
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    Giolis wrote: »
    Unfortunately, "toning" is a made up word. You either have muscle or you don't. Muscle is muscle. No such thing as lean muscle either.

    See the tread below:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10229692/toning-is-a-deception/p1

    In my mind, "toning" is building muscle. So maybe that isn't the best choice of words either. So exercises that that build calf muscles would be fine.

    I guess I will just stick to cycling and add in come calf lifts or something.



    I have found that when I started running my legs (actually hips to calves) slimmed down dramatically. A great percentage of the fat I lost during the first few months of running (jogging actually) came from my lower body. I know you can't spot reduce, so I don't really have an explanation for it...but it is what it is. I have seen people who walk for exercise get similar results, btw. Long bouts of cardio can work wonders.

    I wouldn't recommend sprints though...sprints built more muscle for me...my thighs actually got a bit bigger after a couple of months of sprints and then leveled out. Sprints, and hills, are known to build muscle.

    I also wouldn't focus too much on things that build calf muscle...calf raises, etc. Just focus on cardio, watch your diet, and your calves will get smaller as you lose. They may or may not ever be as small as you want them, but they will get smaller than they are now.

    I used to have to wear wide calf boots as well. At my heaviest my calves were 16.5 inches. The first 60 pounds I lost my calves did not change AT ALL. Then over the next 15 pounds I lost two whole inches. And they would periodically get smaller after that.

    Btw, research grape seed extract if you haven't already. You may want to consider giving it a try. I know a couple of people who got significant relief from varicose veins after using it for a while.

    Thank you for your post. I am aware the spot training, toning, all that is nonsense. I don't mind muscle too much, I can control, somewhat, how much muscle I gain. I have done research myself and many say that walking/jogging/running does seem to have an affect on the legs. I use to jog before I had issues with my legs (varicose veins, sciatica pain).

    I realize that there may not be a dramatic decrease. I just want to be able to not look like I am walking on pale, bulging sausages.

    I do not suffer from the dreaded cankle, but when my legs swell, I can lose all definition on my legs and ankles (I stay away from any foot wear during these periods and often don compression stockings to help circulation) But I know my legs will never be small. I am okay with that. I just want smaller (2-3 inches would be marvelous) than what they are now. Though, even that may not be a possibility.

    I will definitely look into grape seed extract.

    That made me literally laugh out loud. I have issues with water retention, too. I was in the hospital a few years ago for an emergency appendectomy and during the 3 days I was there I gained 18 pounds while eating a total of about 2000 calories of soft, tasteless food. Happily, it was all gone about a week later. Running helps keep the water at bay because I lose about 2 pounds in sweat during my morning run. :smile:
  • BlahUnderpants
    BlahUnderpants Posts: 33 Member
    SueInAz wrote: »
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    BlahUnderpants wrote: »
    Giolis wrote: »
    Unfortunately, "toning" is a made up word. You either have muscle or you don't. Muscle is muscle. No such thing as lean muscle either.

    See the tread below:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10229692/toning-is-a-deception/p1

    In my mind, "toning" is building muscle. So maybe that isn't the best choice of words either. So exercises that that build calf muscles would be fine.

    I guess I will just stick to cycling and add in come calf lifts or something.



    I have found that when I started running my legs (actually hips to calves) slimmed down dramatically. A great percentage of the fat I lost during the first few months of running (jogging actually) came from my lower body. I know you can't spot reduce, so I don't really have an explanation for it...but it is what it is. I have seen people who walk for exercise get similar results, btw. Long bouts of cardio can work wonders.

    I wouldn't recommend sprints though...sprints built more muscle for me...my thighs actually got a bit bigger after a couple of months of sprints and then leveled out. Sprints, and hills, are known to build muscle.

    I also wouldn't focus too much on things that build calf muscle...calf raises, etc. Just focus on cardio, watch your diet, and your calves will get smaller as you lose. They may or may not ever be as small as you want them, but they will get smaller than they are now.

    I used to have to wear wide calf boots as well. At my heaviest my calves were 16.5 inches. The first 60 pounds I lost my calves did not change AT ALL. Then over the next 15 pounds I lost two whole inches. And they would periodically get smaller after that.

    Btw, research grape seed extract if you haven't already. You may want to consider giving it a try. I know a couple of people who got significant relief from varicose veins after using it for a while.

    Thank you for your post. I am aware the spot training, toning, all that is nonsense. I don't mind muscle too much, I can control, somewhat, how much muscle I gain. I have done research myself and many say that walking/jogging/running does seem to have an affect on the legs. I use to jog before I had issues with my legs (varicose veins, sciatica pain).

    I realize that there may not be a dramatic decrease. I just want to be able to not look like I am walking on pale, bulging sausages.

    I do not suffer from the dreaded cankle, but when my legs swell, I can lose all definition on my legs and ankles (I stay away from any foot wear during these periods and often don compression stockings to help circulation) But I know my legs will never be small. I am okay with that. I just want smaller (2-3 inches would be marvelous) than what they are now. Though, even that may not be a possibility.

    I will definitely look into grape seed extract.

    That made me literally laugh out loud. I have issues with water retention, too. I was in the hospital a few years ago for an emergency appendectomy and during the 3 days I was there I gained 18 pounds while eating a total of about 2000 calories of soft, tasteless food. Happily, it was all gone about a week later. Running helps keep the water at bay because I lose about 2 pounds in sweat during my morning run. :smile:

    Glad I can make you laugh.

    My mom and grandmother (deceased) both suffered from water retention, and varicose veins. Turns out the veins are mostly hereditary, so says my doctor. Yay. I love how genes can be so similar but do completely different things to people. Makes me wonder if water retention can be a (somewhat) genetic issue as well.

    I don't bother to weigh myself when I am retaining water. It's already scary enough. :) Haha.

    I am glad that you were able to get back down though. I don't really use air conditioning in my house, and I live in Florida, so sweating isn't a problem for me.

    I really need to get back in the habit of walking (and then jogging.. baby steps. ^_^) again.
  • MagnoliaStorm
    MagnoliaStorm Posts: 32 Member
    Mines are big for my body size and it has been a huge complex for my life. Now I am trying to slim my whole body in expectation that calves and thighs get smaller. I started yoga a few months ago and I am pretty in to it. Some yoga instructor said your calves become smaller because you'd stretch calves a lot with yoga, I.e. Downward facing dog pose. Not sure that will happen to me, though. I need to see in coming months.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    As others have said, you can't spot reduce. That being said, I always had huge calves until I did Insanity - all the jumping was the only thing thats ever made my calves slimmer!
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    I think at some point we just need to accept certain realities about our body. Even if you get rid of all the fat on your calfs, you still might not fit boots because of your calf muscles.
    Some shoewear or clothes will never work for our bodies, because there are some things we can't ever really change. I'll never be able to wear ballet flats or pumps without a strap, because my feet simply won't stay in. Only thing to do is find a style that does work for me.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    AsISmile wrote: »
    I think at some point we just need to accept certain realities about our body. Even if you get rid of all the fat on your calfs, you still might not fit boots because of your calf muscles.
    Some shoewear or clothes will never work for our bodies, because there are some things we can't ever really change. I'll never be able to wear ballet flats or pumps without a strap, because my feet simply won't stay in. Only thing to do is find a style that does work for me.

    I have lean legs but my calves are out of proportion. I have small feet, skinny ankles but my calves are something else! I've never fit into longer boots. I've never tried to make them bigger, they just are what they are. And I don't know how I could possibly avoid training them - I run, I do yoga, cross fit etc. I've just embraced the ankle boot and brogue. And honestly my legs are bangin' and I get compliments on them frequently, so I'll take that in exchange for not being able to wear longer boots.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    jasminesubasat wrote: »
    Mines are big for my body size and it has been a huge complex for my life. Now I am trying to slim my whole body in expectation that calves and thighs get smaller. I started yoga a few months ago and I am pretty in to it. Some yoga instructor said your calves become smaller because you'd stretch calves a lot with yoga, I.e. Downward facing dog pose. Not sure that will happen to me, though. I need to see in coming months.
    That is a false claim a lot of yoga people make. As an adult, you can not alter the length of muscles:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/33598471/#Comment_33598471
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    @BlahUnderpants walking (or even walk-running if you are able to now or in the future) will probably do a lot to help your circulation issues.

    Do whatever exercise you can manage and push yourself to do a little more. While this isn't necessary to lose weight, it is necessary to improve health. You've already got some health issues so there's no time like the present.

    I have somewhat beefy calves, not lean runners legs, but I am a runner nonetheless. My legs have slimmed up as I've dropped the pounds, but as many have said and will say, not in a predictable manner. Fat will drop where it will and there's nothing we can do about that, so focus on dropping the weight and use exercise to improve fitness. I bet you five bucks you'll be happy with your boot choices a year from now. :smiley:
  • lindssaurus
    lindssaurus Posts: 98 Member
    I'm in the same boat as you. Losing weight will only reduce the size not by much but it's better than nothing. I have gone down from 170-130lb as 5'8 my calves did reduce size but they were still pretty big. my weight went back up and so did my calves
  • lindssaurus
    lindssaurus Posts: 98 Member
    My reply was cut off but what helped me a lot was Pilates with exercise ball and lunges. Naturalizer makes excellent wide calf boots and there is a company that makes boot width extenders.
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