Hello! Question about trimming/toning thighs.....

[jillian]

Hi Everyone!
I have been lurking on the boards for some time, and finally decided it was time to get off my butt and join!

I hope you can help me with a couple of questions....approx. 3 years ago I lost over 100 lbs. by hitting the gym and doing Weight Watchers. Now I am finding the real struggle in maintaining my weight (not to mention I would love to lose another 10-15 pounds!) and building more muscle, without adding too much bulk. The fact I am rapidly approaching 39 years old doesn't help, as the old metabolism is slowing down much to my chagrin. I am approx 5'3, and my weight is hovering around 146-149 pounds. I hit the gym 3x a week, and compliment this with minor lifting and cardio at home.

I have the tendency to have thicker thighs and a bigger rear (thanks very much to genetics!) and now I fear I have been using too much weight in my exercising and only added to the problems. My upper thighs are fairly toned for the most part, but I sure would be a happy camper if I could trim them down a bit, and make the old fanny smaller in the process.

I have not been lifting with massive amounts of weight by any means, but I generally 4x a week do squats and lunges (approx 60 reps) with 30-40 pounds on the barbell. I also compliment this with leg extensions with approx 30 pounds 1-2x a week. There is also a machine called a "butt blaster" which is more or less a reverse leg press you do one leg at a time....with around 30 pounds as well. I do this 1-2x a week too.

I do cardio 3-4 times a week, one of those times being a spinning class for 60 minutes. The other times are filled with elliptical training combined with treadmill work and/or laps on the track.

For the most part my diet is very closely monitored, I still track my Weight Watcher points (after all, it worked very well for me! : ) although I admit on the weekends I like to have a glass or two of wine and cheat just a little bit.

I apologize for the ramblings, I would really like some feedback on any suggestions or insight you folks may have. I REALLY enjoy the weightlifting part of my workouts, and am trying to bulk up my top half a bit more. I just wish the lower half would cooperate!!

Does anyone else have a problem in this area? If so, what worked for you?

Thanks so much for any suggestions you guys/gals may have.

~Jill

[Lady C]

Welcome to DF:

Originally Posted by jillian

I have not been lifting with massive amounts of weight by any means, but I generally 4x a week do squats and lunges (approx 60 reps) with 30-40 pounds on the barbell. I also compliment this with leg extensions with approx 30 pounds 1-2x a week.~Jill

My suggestion is lift HEAVIER weights. It is not unrealistic to lift your bodyweight or more for those exercises.

Please give more detail of a typical WW day of eating? It may not be balanced enough.

[jillian]

Lady C,
Thanks for the reply! Cool progress pics by the way! :

Here's a typical day:

Breakfast: I cup steamed veggies with 3 egg whites and 1 tsp. parmesean cheese
or:
1 cup all bran cereal with 1 cup ff milk with 1 t of sugar
or:
I package cream of wheat cereal with 1 t of sugar
Black coffee

Snack:
Piece of fruit (orange or apple)

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine packaged meal (i know, not the greatest for me, but they are so easy to eat on the go at work and easy for me to monitor my calories/fat-
Usually a chicken or fish meal)
1 cup frozen veggies
carrot & celery sticks

Snack:
Another piece of fruit
or:
1-2 cups air popped popcorn
or:
fresh veggies with salsa (broccoli, carrots, or celery)

Dinner:
Lean cuisine dinnertime portion meal (again, usually a chicken or fish selection)
Salad with 2 T low fat or FF dressing and 2 t of parmesean cheese
1-2 slices of whole grain bread dry
1 cup unsweetened applesauce or more frozen veggies (cooked of course!)

Snack:
SOMETIMES I will have one cup of low fat pretzels, or 1 cup of ff milk depending upon my hunger levels.

Maybe I am getting too many carbs? This has been hard for me, I am so disciplined to the Weight Watchers way of eating (counting points., etc. ) because it really did work for me. Now that I have pretty much reached my goal, it is difficult to adjust.

I don't know exactly how many calories per day I am ingesting, but I do know 50 calories = 1 WW point (roughly, of course fat and fiber come into play as well)
I average around 20-24 points a day....and I drink TONS of water. I am constantly in the ladies room.

I am utterly TERRIFIED of the weight coming back on.

Thanks for looking at this!!!

~Jill

[sunmedicFL]

Congrats on your success so far & KEEP GOING!!!

Try WWW.FITDAY.com
HUGE help in calculating intake, easy to use, and I've found it very useful:

[threenorns]

first off, RELAX! the weight's gone, it's not lurking around a corner waiting to jump on you when you're not looking.

fat loss 101: one pound of fat = 3500 calories.

that means, for you to gain 1lb of fat, you have to eat 3500 calories *on top of* the calories your body needs to function. let's say your basic metabolic rate is 1600 calories a day (not unreasonable for a petite female of your weight). add to that the calories needed to perform your daily activities - you do a lot of cardio, so we'll say 400 calories just for the sake of the math. that's 2000 calories a day needed to maintain your weight at its current level.

now, for you to gain one pound in one day, you'd have to eat 5500 calories and that is a LOT of food!

weight watchers is really great for losing the weight - but you're at the point where you need to graduate back to the real world of food.

may i introduce you to two really great sites (both free):

www.fitday.com -- this site will allow you track and plan your calories, both coming and going. you can plan what you'll eat for the day and that'll give you a LOT of control.

www.freedieting.com -- an excellent resource containing calculators up the ying-yang. the bodyfat estimator is a lot more reasonable than others on the net.

www.nutritiondata.com - everything you wanted to know about what you're putting in your mouth.

above all, don't be afraid of lifting heavy - you're not going to wake up, look in the mirror, slap your hands to your cheeks and go "AAAGGGH!!!!! i'm arnold!!!!"

doesn't happen like that.

i lift VERY heavy weights for a female (same age and height as you, btw) but the only thing that's happened is ppl look at me and say "no WAY you're 190!!! 160, at the most!"

[sunmedicFL]

Ha! I beat her to it!!

yeah ME! ;P

[threenorns]

i'll get you yet!!!

[CF-OC_gal]

Hi Jillian,
Congrats on your weight loss and wlecome to DF.

Here is a post I made of a post about how to get your head around strength training and "big lower body and thighs". It explains why training is perceived to as making you bigger and why you should continue to train through that in order to see the results you are looking for. It's a matter of patience and faith!

[Lady C]

Thanks - It is from hard work and dedication

Originally Posted by jillian

I don't know exactly how many calories per day I am ingesting, but I do know 50 calories = 1 WW point (roughly, of course fat and fiber come into play as well) I average around 20-24 points a day....

That is 1000-1200 calories! EAT EAT more calories. Target around 1500-1700 for your size. You need to educate yourself on what you are putting in your body now. Do a food logging experiment.

Start with the links 3norns gave you and for 4 days write down EVERYTHING you eat, how much and when. If it has a label record the information on the label. After that you can go back and add up the protein carbs and fat you are eating. I suspect (like most women) not enough protein.

It would be wise to start cooking your meals instead of packaged items (that are high in sodium). Really it isn't too hard and doesn't take too much time if you cook for several meals.

Try it and report back, we can even help you add it up if needed.

Beginner Tips

Go read the Notes at the top of each forum. Especially the "Beginners" and "Diet & Nutrition"

[jillian]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions....I will definitely check out the links you have provided to me and try to modify my diet somewhat and see what happens.

Thanks again! :

Jill

[threenorns]

by the way: do NOT be alarmed if you increase your calories to, say, 1500 a day and you inexplicably gain a couple pounds. it's WATER WEIGHT ONLY - your body is just refuelling and stored glycogen needs water to be metabolized.