frustrated

Oops, don't know how I sent the blank one - sorry!  Here is my question - I have lost nearly 25 lbs in the last 6 months and I am happy with my weight - I'm 5' 5" and 122 lbs.  But the tops of my thighs stick out so much - like I have big flabby saddlebags.  I do Pilates, and I run/jog/walk on an incline at least 3x a week.  I feel like the shape of my legs has actually gotten worse since I started eating better/ exercising more.  I'm kind of toned the way I think i ought to be everywhere else, and I don't really want to lose more weight.  Short of lipo, which I won't do (too $$$ and risky) any suggestions?

my saddlebags are flabby too, along with cellulite, even when i was skinny. the only way ive found to re-shape my body is doing weight lifting. i still have a way to go for my lower body & i know it will never be perfect, most of us just have that certain area thats very stubborn. & like you i didn't want to lose any more weight as the rest of me was ok & my boobs started to shrink.

Thanks octo-luv, for the reply.  Is there a kind of weight lifting that targets your legs?  I don't have access to a gym, but I have weights I use for upper body workouts. 

Why don't you do leg lifting exercises? Lie down and lift your legs up at a 90 degree angle, then bring them down and repeat. This should tone the thigh areas.

Original Post by katann:

Thanks octo-luv, for the reply.  Is there a kind of weight lifting that targets your legs?  I don't have access to a gym, but I have weights I use for upper body workouts. 

squats & deadlifts (mostly). & i have to warn you, once you start lifting you will experience some gain & water retention. your legs will initially look bigger, even bulkier for awhile, especially if you  have a certain percentage of fat in that area. but after awhile you'll start to see results (ie more defined & less flabby legs). caloriecountingme experienced the same things for a couple of months (cant find the post) but she got through it. 

but you have to look at it this way, you want to reshape your legs, the only way to do that is to make certain leg muscles more defined & shapely. so in my opinion getting your butt higher, showing off some hamstrings & quads are a way to do that. since you dont want to lose more weight, try body recompositioning (simple terms, more muscle less fat but around the same weight). unfortunately you can't tell your body specifically where to lose fat.

Two issues come to mind. Stuborn fat, which will take time to drop. The down side to dropping fat is that fat is melted from your entire body. Spot reduction is a myth. So your chest will get smaller and your going to feel a proportional reduction, meaning your thighs may always appear big.

The second is simply genetics,if your body is designed to have wider thighs, I would guess you are your own worse critic! Chances are if you were to approach most guys they would say you look great. Not every guy is hung up about dating a model.  Some guys prefer a girl with a little meat on her hips. Again, as a guy, we can all pick on something. I am working on trying to regain a once ripped body. Will I get my14 inch arms back and flat stomach,maybe, but the cost is tons of work. And I was never happy with my stomach, I even did lipo and it left me feeling like one side looked better than the other. Now my friends and family said my criticism was all unreal, simply in my head. This may be the case with your own obsession of your thighs.  You sound like a nice person that is too hard on your self

Exercises. Lunges with weights or without, stairs, lots of them and even running can help burn excess body fat and may be your answer. Best wishes to you.

M