What's best for reducing thigh size? Why isn't diet working?

I am a 16 year old Asian. I've always been slender, but since I hit high school I've gained weight in my thighs and since I'm not very active, it's all fat. My upper body is still slender and my stomach is reasonably flat, but what can I do about my wobbly thighs? Exercise suggestions are really helpful for me, and I'm a complete beginner. All I do at the moment is run for 10 minutes once a week and take walks.

Also, I just can't understand how my eating habits aren't helping. I eat 1400-2000 calories but it's all healthy, unprocessed stuff like fruit, vegetables, whole wheat bread, clif bars, soup. Basically, nothing very fattening or unhealthy, but I haven't lost anything in my thighs. Any ideas?

Any suggestions are great.

• try some lunges
• try running more than 10 minutes a week. Since you are young I'd say go for a mile a day to start.
• any thingh excersizes will really help

Hi!  I have the same issue!  I can lose weight all throughout my upper body and still my thighs look like tree stumps!  It's so frustrating!  I run/jog 3 miles 4-5 days a week, bike to school (about 4 miles/4 days/week), walk to get downtown (about 1/2 mile each way with hills), I'm constantly walking around campus and consider myself pretty active.  I eat healthy (mostly fruits and veggies with occasional white meat) and have recently lost five more pounds after a long term plateau but the thigh weight is still not coming off... Any suggestions???  I have a knee problem which keeps me from a more vigorous running schedule.   

kay:

1. you can't spot reduce. simple as that. it might be related to family history or whatever but when you lose weight, it wont all be gone from your thighs

2. yes, try lunges but they do sometimes make bulky muscles so add in pilates/yoga as well

3. clif bars ARE processed foods because you have to open something to get it, and they list of ingredients are WAY LONG, and it does have sat. fat in it. IMO, any food you have to open a box/bag/can/wrapper to eat, are processed

 

kaleigh: running/biking build muscles in your legs, so its most likely muscle that you're seeing, and unless you feel like losing that then your legs will stay the same

Also, you can gain weight on healthy foods too.  You have to watch the calorie intake no matter what you eat.  If you are not loosing at 2000 calories, try dropping it a bit.  And weigh and measure your food for a while to make sure that is what you are really eating.

Walking is a good start.

i had this same problem.

this exercise will turn your thighs,hips,butt into steel in a month.worked 4 me.

stand up with arms extended like a= T  ,extend one leg while balancing on the other ,your leg should be extended to your side not out in front of you.

do 30 leg lifts with your toes barely touching the floor each time.

then switch to the other leg do 30 more.

 

do this 2 times a day or at random moments.

 

eat low carbs,no choco,no beer,no SAlt

Yoga and pilates are really good for this.  I'm told running is good for it. 

One thing to realize, that's been mentioned, spot reduction is a myth.  Where you gain body fat is purely how your body responds to excess calories.  The only way to cure the problem is to exercise and lose weight.  You need to burn more calories per day than you take in, it's that simple! 

Your diet has a huge effect on your progress, I'm sure I don't have to mention that, but you have to cut calories.  If you eat 7000 calories in fruit and vegetables but only burn 2000 per day, you're going to gain weight.  It is possible to gain from healthful foods.

Thanks for the responses guys!  I know I didn't start this topic, but I definitely appreciate all your input.  Just to clarify, I eat healthy foods (fruits, veggies, etc...) but I have a hard time even reaching the 1300 cal that CC has recommended for me to lose 1 1/2 lbs each week.  Right now it's 5:30pm and I've only had 650cal...   I just don't feel hungry.  When I don't have hunger pains, I tend to forget to eat and I know that's a bad thing too!  So I don't think it's an excess of calories that's causing the problem.  But I could be wrong??? 

Thanks for the exercise suggestion!  I'll have to give that a try :)

I don't know if I fully believe that "spot reducing is a myth".  Several years ago, I lost 27 pounds "without trying" by just eating less (of the same junky food) and working hard at a physical job and 6 miles x5/week of bike riding.  I lost all the weight above my waist.  My bottom half stayed really large and I went down one size. (from 18 to 16)

This time, I worked at my eating habits (cut soda, refined carbs, fats, added fiber) and exercise at a variety of things, mostly brisk walking several times a week, some workout dvds (Tae Bo) and some jogging/elliptical. I've gone down 30 pounds but the most rapid change is my size, I went from sizes 18 (and popping out of that) down to a 10 and those are loose on me. 

I highly advocate brisk walking (3 miles @4+mph), some jogging, bike riding and other calisthenics.   Mostly the walking/jogging. 

It's your lack of calories.

 You absolute must, must, eat enough to support your activity level and get a minimum of 1500 calories/day as a teenager - the 1200/day is for a fairly short, sedentary woman, not a still growing teenager.

 The lack of calories is a significant stress on your body, leading to chronically elevated cortisol production over time, leading to loss of muscle mass and tone while increasing fat deposits on abdominals and thighs. Yes, stress can alter how your body deposits fat, and when you aren't eating enough - that is, your calorie deficit is higher than what your fat mass can support - your body has no choice but to use muscle for fuel. this is a bad thing - less muscle means less fat burnt, means you need less and less energy and so maintain at a lower intake.

 Stop doing that to yourself - eat enough to fuel your activity level, your body will thank you for it.

 Oh, and what Blackheart says - there's no such thing as voluntary spot reduction, your body chooses where the fat comes off regardless of how you train. You can spot increase muscles by training them, but that's different.

 Pilates and yoga isn't much good for anything in connection with weight loss - good for posture, mind/muscle connection, flexibility and general meditation, but it's nowhere near enough exercise to have an impact on your fat loss.

Original Post by melkor:


Pilates and yoga isn't much good for anything in connection with weight loss - good for posture, mind/muscle connection, flexibility and general meditation, but it's nowhere near enough exercise to have an impact on your fat loss.

Amen!

 

Guys, your body is going to lose fat where it wants to lose fat. I can lose an inch off of each thigh by just thinking about it. My waist though, I need to cut my weight in half in order to lose 1/2 an inch.

I had knee surgery and couldn't use my left leg for 6 weeks. I had one normal thigh and one emaciated thigh so you could lay on the couch and not use your legs for 6 weeks.

Original Post by spirochete:

I had knee surgery and couldn't use my left leg for 6 weeks. I had one normal thigh and one emaciated thigh so you could lay on the couch and not use your legs for 6 weeks.

That's hysterical! I'm almost tempted to try it.

Guys, thanks for all your suggestions and tips :) I appreciate it!

LOL!  If you're referring to me, as I'm assuming you are given your reference to number of calories... I'm not a teenager, I'm 21 years old and stopped growing when I was 12 :) But thanks!  As for the 1200 calories, I am a relatively short (5' 3") woman with a light activity lifestyle.  I know that I should be eating more, but I simply don't feel hungry and I hate eating when I'm not hungry.  I've been able to keep my calorie intake about 1100-1200 cal the last week or so and have been trying to keep it a balance between carbs, fats and proteins.  I'll definitely be trying all of your suggestions though.  Thank you! 

hmm, well if your 16, thats around the age where my hips & thighs started to really develop.

melkor,

I started faithfully lifting free weights(arms, back, biceps, tri, legs,chest, etc...) about 6 weeks ago. I also do cardio about 6 days a week 30-45 minutes. I have gained 7lbs compared to before I started lifting. I am eating the same. Are you saying that I need to increase my caloric intake to get better results? I do feel better, and alot stronger, but the scale isnt making me happy.

 I was mostly thinking of Kaleighlynn; 650-1300 calories is somewhere between dangerously low and far too little. 1200 calories is barely adequate for a 5'0" woman who lies in bed all day, never mind anyone doing any form of exercise.

 That does strike me as a bit odd - now, it's not unusual for beginners to strength training to gain a pund or two of muscle and 4 pounds of water in the first 6-8 weeks of a new workout; this will mostly fade away again as you keep on dieting and training. And if you have unreasonably good muscle building genes like some people I could name (JasonTarin, I'm looking at you) you could add even more muscle to your frame in that time, but that's highly unusual - most likely you're looking at a combination of modest muscle gain, increased intramuscular glycogen storage, and water retention.

 Even if the scale isn't being friendly - what does the measuring tape tell you?

What would you suggest???  I'm going off of CC recommendations that I should be eating 1300 cal to lose 1 1/2 pounds/week.  My goal is to lose 20lbs by October 30th.  I'm walking to get places as much as I can (living in a small town, that's pretty much everywhere), biking to school (about 4 miles/day) and jogging 3 miles about 4 days a week.  Do you have any ideas of good high calorie foods that I can eat while I do feel hungry since I don't like to eat while I'm not hungry?  I like to eat lots of fruits and veggies and occasionally lean meats. 

CC is a good tool but are you sure that it recommends that you only get 1300 calories with your moderate-to-high exercise level? Entering your stats and light activity I get

 You burn 2100 calories during a typical day. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and your average level of activity.

but the activity level you're describing sounds more like Moderate-2300cal/day to me. Check your stats with Phords calculator and see what it says.

Melkor,

Thanks so much with your help. Sorry this post has become something other than it was originally supposed to be!  I just have so many questions. I have battled with weight all my life and am sick of not feeling comfortable in my own skin!  I'm trying to figure all of this out and I appreciate any and all answers :)

I looked at the site you recommended and they suggest I aim for 1431 calories (I used the "a little bit more exercise", since it said exercise 2-4 days/week and I generally jog 4 days/week).  This was to lose 1.26 lbs/week...  Since I want to lose 1.5 pounds/week, do you think that CC's recommendation (1300 cal) is closer to what I should be eating?  

Even though I know I need to eat more, in complete honesty, I just don't feel like eating most of the time.   Today's a good example... I had a cup of coffee and some grapes when I woke up, had a handful of almonds for a snack at about 11am, just finished a salad of lettuce, tuna and red potatoes and I'm stuffed!  Yet, I've only eaten 750 cal today...  I wasn't hungry until tonight and that's why I ate the salad.  Should I just eat even if I'm not hungry? Or should I eat higher calorie foods when I am hungry?   ???