Is it possible for your legs to shrink?
beautifulsparkles
Posts: 314 Member
I started at 275lbs and my goal weight is about 140lbs. I read somewhere that the reason large people have bigger calves is because they develop bigger muscles in their legs to support the weight they have to carry. Is this true? Someone said my calves were big because there was a lot of fat in them, but when I squeeze them they feel rock hard and firm, not squishy like you would expect.
The reason I ask, is I would love to wear boots, but I can barely get them past my ankles. I think my calves are 19 inches :-O
The reason I ask, is I would love to wear boots, but I can barely get them past my ankles. I think my calves are 19 inches :-O
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Replies
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Yes
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Yes.
Look at it the other way, a 140lb person that started carrying around an extra 135lbs would develop larger muscles to carry the added weight.
Unless you have really visibly defined calf muscles you will also have fat to lose there.
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Yes they will shrink. I have chicken legs no matter how big I get and my lower legs are so boney now they're ugly.
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ch33s3cak3 wrote: »its not always the case though , i was barely 100lbs and i still couldnt wear long boots (standard size) with the muscles in my legs, there are shops that do wide fitting.
I can't wear regular length boots unless I go to a plus sized store.0 -
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Mine certainly shrunk. Went from 230 to 140 and had to give away all my wide calf boots. They looked ridiculous! Now regular boots fit great. Some even a little loose.3
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I have always had to get wide calf boots, even when I was about 125 lbs in college. My older daughter is blessed with big calves too.
Big Polish legs run in my family. One of my sisters and I have stocky legs, even when we were ideal weight. I have another sister who has always been bigger (over 220 lbs) , but has little spindles for legs.2 -
They will get smaller...but yeah, maybe not too much. I've lost about an inch on my calves going from 180 to 128 ha.1
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arditarose wrote: »They will get smaller...but yeah, maybe not too much. I've lost about an inch on my calves going from 180 to 128 ha.
Are your numbers right? Lol0 -
beautifulsparkles wrote: »arditarose wrote: »They will get smaller...but yeah, maybe not too much. I've lost about an inch on my calves going from 180 to 128 ha.
Are your numbers right? Lol
Yeeeep. Okay. I didn't measure my calves until I was 163 but from there to 128 I went from 16.5 inches to 15. Okay an inch and a half lol. I just went back to look.1 -
They will shrink, but it's also possible that you are genetically disposed to having larger calves, so who knows. My wife is small and lean but she's always had large, sexy calves.5
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My calves measure over 15 inches. I'm 5'4" and weigh 141.5. I've never been obese, just on the higher side of overweight.
Calve are genetic.1 -
My legs definitely shrunk. My feet also went down an entire size
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I definitely have my moms legs and we have similar shaped calves and thighs. We both have pretty thick calves, but like you said they aren't squishy. Same with my thighs. They're big but if I flex them there's a ton of muscle. I just have this pesky layer of fat on them too lol1
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Really the only way to find out is to get to goal weight and see. Genetics and how much time you were obese would dictate how much muscle you have in your calves. I will tell you that it's HARD to lose muscle in the legs and to "slim" them down. Muscle just doesn't go away that easily.
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I have slender legs. Even many years ago when I was in the 270s, I didn't have fat legs. Just some slight thigh chub. My calves at any weight have very little fat, but they are very muscular. Like visably cut. Because of that, I struggle with boots, at any weight.0
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They will shrink. You will lose both muscle and fat as you lose weight.0
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My calves are big when I'm obese, overweight, and at a healthy weight. They have always been this way. They're muscular. When I was in college, a friend told me he wanted to "breed football players" with me -- because he was 6'4" with scrawny legs and I am 5'4" with strong-*kitten* legs. ;-)
That said, while still large, my calves are slightly smaller when I'm a healthy weight.
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To some extent, although at 100 lb lost I haven't lost much in calves at all.
It only really bugs me when I go skiing. I can't rent ski boots that fit well, the ones that fit over my calves are just way too big otherwise. I suppose this year I'll bite the bullet and buy 0 -
Starting weight was 268lbs, current is 134lbs. My calves have gone from 18" to 12.5", so for me that's a pretty significant difference. I'm able to wear boots for the first time in my life so yes it definitely is possible.0
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Yes.
For example, I could never wear skinny jeans because I couldn't get my feet/ankles/calves through the pant legs (nevermind that I was too fat for skinny jeans, it's the principle of being able to try them on). Now, at nearly 80 lbs down, I live in skinny jeans. My legs have definitely shrunk.0 -
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A little for me. Not a lot though. The difference between my highest and lowest adult weights is around 125lbs and my calves lost about 1.5" each between those weights. I have always been muscular though and have historically done a lot of weightlifting so that may be why. All the other women in my family have skinny *kitten* legs so it's very annoying!0
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Mine did. I used to not be able to fit into most regular sized boots; always had to get wide calf. After losing 75 lbs, I'm now able to fit into pretty much any of the regular calf size boots in my size. The other funny thing is that my shoe size went from 10 to 9, so I had to get different shoes anyway!0
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My calves have always been the first place I put inches on. Weird Fortunately they are not the last to lose inches from My butt takes the honourable place! 0
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I've always had to buy wide calf boots and assumed I always would. After reading this thread, I've gotta go try out some regular calf boots and see where I am!0
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I'll never get down below "wide calf" boots. Even at 13 when I was 5'11" and 150 lbs, I had 15" calves. Right now I'm 183 and they're at 16", and they only reached 18" at my heaviest (270). They're pretty solid and if losing nearly 90 lbs only took down 2" I just don't see ever having slender lower legs.0
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Mine have gone down several inches already. I had to go to the wide calf boots 2 years ago now and now can wear regular boots again.0
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