losing fat in legs area

[brown_bear]

I'm female and have problem with losing fat in my lower body. Waist up am perfectly slim, I even have bony shoulders. However I have fat legs and can’t seem to lose any fat from that area. Can anyone recommend a plan that I could use in a fitness center? Should I do cardio or weight training? I don’t want to gain muscle just lose the fat, as I know of someone who did too much weight training to lose the fat in the legs area that it became muscular and looks bulky for a woman. Is there a way to train with weights but still don’t look too muscular? Thanks.

[ajarvis]

Unfortunately you can't choose to just lose weight in your legs. Your body decides when and where to lose it. I don't know what you consider to be too muscular and bulky, but weight training can help in shaping your legs and adding muscle helps burn even more calories.

[Andrea]

Power walking and Running also help.

[ajarvis]

Anrea's right I love running and my legs aren't big and bulky!

[Herrmann22]

In most women those extra calories that aren't burned store in the hips and legs, where in men it's usually the gut. So it appears those fat cells are camping out in the thighs! Well, this won't be the pretty answer you are hoping for so be prepared...

To be quite honest, you need to work dem legs sister! Yup, the best way to lose the fat in areas of the body is to CREATE lean muscle mass. For women, it's very difficult to build bulk so at this point I would not worry so much about building up huge legs from working them out. Your friend may be have different genetics so don't worry. Anyway, wouldn't it be nicer, and healthier to have strong, well built legs than fatty ones? Hmmmm

So what shall you do? Legs machines!, jog!, run!, whatever it takes to start to create some lean muscle mass in those trouble areas! Spot reduction is hard and sometimes impossible so I'd be curious to see what kind of food you are consuming and then maybe we can all help. Most of what goes in a person's mouth is the reason they have those dang fat cells camping out in places. A close second is the lack of muscle. So in a sense, it's a combination of the two.

Women worry so much about lifting weights but it's the best thing since sliced bread if you ask me! You can build muscle mass without getting huge legs if you do it properly and with enough reps. Remember, you are not trying to be a power lifter here, you just want to create some lean muscle.

So let us know what your daily food intake is like and there are plenty of people here who can tell you what to do. I'd recommend reading as many posts here within this forum and most of your questions will be answered. Alot of questions are repeated so you can do a search for various key words or topics to help you find your answers.

Good luck and get working on them legs!! :

[pbody]

Building muscle in your legs is not going to (directly) take fat away from your legs. Fat doesn't decide to congregate in an area just because it's devoid of muscle, your body already knows where it's going to put the fat and doesn't care where your muscle lives.

You have to lose fat overall to trim your legs. A sensible diet+weight training+some cardio is all you need. Weight train your entire body, don't worry about becoming too muscular. Muscle burns calories even when it's just sitting there, so that will help you shed the flab. Adding some lean mass to your upper body will also make you look more balanced (unless you like bony shoulders :confused: ). Muscle growth doesn't happen easily so you're not in any danger of becoming too muscular overnight. If you get to the point where you think you're too muscular you can always ease of the weights a bit (seriously though, it won't be a danger).

Search around this site, there's plenty of different beginers lifting routines, you should be able to find one that suits your schedule. Find some cardio you enjoy doing, most any kind of sport is just fine, you don't have to slave away on dull machines. There's also tons of great info on what constitutes a sensible diet.

[cursor]

Originally Posted by pbody

Building muscle in your legs is not going to (directly) take fat away from your legs. Fat doesn't decide to congregate in an area just because it's devoid of muscle, your body already knows where it's going to put the fat and doesn't care where your muscle lives.

Smart reply.

It's by effectively working the most muscle in your body (regardless of where your body may be storing fat) that changes will occur in fat-to-LBM ratio. Since your legs represent a huge amount of muscle (or at least potentially so), NOT working them is a serious mistake.

[lori501blu]

I can relate to this – (we’ve had this discussion in the female bodybuilding section) I think everybody’s body is different. I am very petite - 4’11, 105 lbs, and I carry all my weight from my hips on down, and yes my legs is my worst area. So a trainer at the gym (a man) put me on this major leg routine, it was only twice a week, but it consisted of leg presses, squats, etc., etc. and let me tell you – my legs got HUGE, my jeans ended up soooo tight in the thigh area, I absolutely hated it. And I did get the “bulkiness’ that everyone says woman can’t get. I think it all depends on your body and how it responds. I do major weights for my upper body, which I love to do but when it comes to my lower body, I am very careful about what I do for leg exercises.

So I decided to use my resources and talk to some aerobic instructors and the girl trainer (the ones at my gym, are not the “skinny fat” teachers, they have muscles, extremely defined, one just one 1st place in Fitness Universe) anyways they said light weight, high rep, and try do leg work with a stability ball, there are so many exercises you can do with that and feel an awesome burn with no weight. I only work my legs 1 a week, I do cardio 5x’s a week, running, spinning, aerobics, etc. so my legs get a lot of work. I hope this helps.

Lori

[Herrmann22]

Well, I suppose everyone is different and that's what makes the world go round! :

You will get very different opinions on this subject, depending who you ask. Sometimes you just have to do what best for YOU and only by trial and error will you know what works best for your body type. Some women I guess do bulk up with weight training and for others it's very difficult. Again, it all depends on your genetics I believe.

I keep reading in different places that the light-weight, high-rep thing for creating lean muscle is just a myth? I mean logically it makes sense so when I find again what I was reading the other day I'll post it. It was very interesting and made me open my eyes to the way I train.

See ya!

[lori501blu]

your right - everyone has to do what works for them. Its all trial and error. In my case I wanted to really lean out my legs and doing what the trainer suggested - i got results that I really didn't want.

And i hate all the controversy about high rep/low weight, etc. I think it all depends on what you want to look like. for example, the instructor at my gym who won 1st in fitness universe mostly does very high rep with lighter weights, and let me tell you - i don't think that there is one girl out there who wouldn't want to look like her - however her diet is a major key as well. But anyways... its all what works for you and how your body responds... so try one thing for several weeks, and if you don't like the results, try something else.

Lori

[trHawT]

Cannot spot reduce.

[Herrmann22]

It all boils down to what you eat. What goes in your mouth is just as important, or if not more important (depending on age and metabolism) than how many weights you lift or how many reps you do.

[brown_bear]

Well as far as diet is concerned - I don’t often eat fast food, ice-cream etc. I usually have sandwiches at work and home cooked food for dinner, usually pasta. Maybe I’m missing more protein as I don’t eat much meat. However, I do occasionally skip breakfast when I am running late, or have a late breakfast when I’m already at work. I need my every morning coffee as well. Does my diet sound bad?
Anyway I do a lot of walking but not long distance, more for leisure. I’m going to start using a gym soon so I need some pointers on how and what type of exercise or training I should do. I’m really a beginner, so just curious, what is this “high rep/low weight’ thing and how does it work?
Thanks!

[Andrea]

How many calories are you eating a day? Are you drinking any water? I would suggest eating pasta during the day instead of at night. Just my 2 cents.