Trying to get rid of excess butt/thigh fat--no luck so far.

L

Legrandebazar

0
Several months ago I started to gain a few (5?) pounds, which sounds fine...right? But the problem is this fat went straight to my butt and thighs and I have been trying to lose it since this past Spring. I've had to buy new jeans and shorts, and have gone up 1-3 sizes (depending on the brand) in this area alone. I am 5'3 so 5 pounds of fat straight to my lower body when I already have short legs makes me feel like I look completely stubby. I am hating the way I look lately, yet I have been trying very hard to do something about it.

I am a very healthy person. I have been exercising consistently for the past 2 years, with the slight exception of last winter due to lethargy. Currently, I work out 3-5 days a week and I do a little of everything--from yoga & aerobic dance classes at my gym to walking, and strength training work out dvds at home. I eat pretty healthy and I have recently switched virtually all my carbohydrates to whole grains. For the last few days I have even started to try not to eat after 7:30 pm, as I have heard this can help cut calories in general at a time when your body is less active. It has helped a few family members lose weight. Also, I am in pretty good shape besides these trouble spots and have some muscle tone in my legs, but it is barely noticeable with all this extra fat. I don't know what else I can possibly try to help me slim down this area. I don't believe in fad diets, and overall I am a thin person so I would never do something as drastic as trimspa or the like. I am in college and can not afford a personal trainer or liposuction. Any other suggestions? Help!!!
 
You have to really take a good look at your diet and your caloric intake. Fat no matter where it is on your body is fat, and it is going to come off from where ever your body lets go of it. So if you want to get rid of it in specific places, you are going to have to work to get rid of it all over, cause you can't spot reduce.

If you are having trouble getting rid of it, take a good look at your diet, you probably need to do some adjusting to it.
 
Yes, I am aware of the fact that I can't only lose weight in one area but I am still at a loss and feel that I am trying all of the logical options with no results. I eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fiber. I don't eat meat very much at all, maybe a few times a week. I cut out junk food like chips and fast food. I eat nuts as snacks and only drink fat free milk etc. I read nutrition labels carefully lately as well. I guess my only option is to cut calories. It's worth a try. But I don't believe in starving myself!
 
Legrandebazar said:
I am still at a loss and feel that I am trying all of the logical options with no results.
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what do you consider logical options?

Legrandebazar said:
I eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fiber. I don't eat meat very much at all, maybe a few times a week. I cut out junk food like chips and fast food. I eat nuts as snacks and only drink fat free milk etc. I read nutrition labels carefully lately as well. I guess my only option is to cut calories. It's worth a try. But I don't believe in starving myself!
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Just because you believe you eat "healthy" doesn't mean you are eating the right caloric intake for you.

Have you determined your BMR? What is your daily caloric intake?

Legrandebazar said:
I do a little of everything--from yoga & aerobic dance classes at my gym to walking, and strength training work out dvds at home.
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can you be even more specific? How much time do you spend doing each of these activities? What exactly is the "strength" training you do? Do you have a routine?

The more specific you can tell us about these things, the better we can figure out what can help you.
 
I consider logical options all of the things I mentioned in my post: putting more thought into what I eat, joining a gym, being active, etc. I don't know what I BMR is. Did you mean BMI? I believe my BMI is around 19.

I spend 1-2 hours per week doing yoga, 1-2 hours per week taking cardio dance class. I also walk a lot, probably 1-3 hours a week. I do exercise dvds, mainly from the SHAPE series, along with some others that probably add up to 2 hours a week. Many of them are geared to toning the lower body. I am trying to get back to doing more intense strength training such as my Jari Love dvds (consists of MANY reps of various weight lifting exercises such as lunges, squats, bicep curls, etc. with light weights and holding for various counts) but I guess that doesn't count because I haven't gotten back into that yet. But I plan to start this week. Occasionally I go for a jog or walk on a very high incline on the treadmill.

I am not sure what my caloric intake is. I once calculated that I should be eating about 1600 calories a day according to my size & level of activity and such. How do I know how many calories something is when it doesn't come with a nutrition label--like fruits, and veggies? It's also difficult to measure out everything you eat according to the serving size. But I am open to further suggestions.
 
http://training.fitness.com/nutrition/nutrition-101-a-32846.html


The first step is establish how many calories you need to maintain your weight while resting. This is called your BMR. The following equations can be used to figure out your BMR:


“English BMR Formula”
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

“Metric BMR Formula”
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )
This is just a general estimation, some may be above or below this, but this is a good place to start.

Multiply this number by your activity level factor:

1.0 - Sedentary (doing nothing all day)
1.2 - Very light activity (Working a desk job or on a computer and not performing any type of physical activity during your day.)
1.4 - Light activity (having a non-physical job (desk, computer, etc.) but performing some sort of physical activity during the day (e.g. above average walking) but no hard training.)
1.6 - Moderate activity (having a non-physical job, performing some sort of physical activity during the day, and including a daily workout session in your routine. This is where most of you are at.)
1.8 - High activity (either training plus a physical job or non-physical job and twice-a-day training sessions)
2.0 - Extreme activity (a very physical job and daily hard training.)

Now you have your daily maintenance calories.




So, are you telling me, that you workout up to 9 hours a week? or do you do one of these and you are working out 2-3 hours a week? I'm confused....

If you can't find the calories on say a piece of fruit, you can often look it up on line to get a basic idea. You need to find out exactly what the calories you are taking in to be able to control your caloric deficit.

Also cardio is good, but you may want to look into doing some weights. I'm not sure about any of the dvd's you are talking about.

This sticky may be helpful in getting you started if you have access to weights:

http://training.fitness.com/weight-training/weight-training-101-a-18766.html

BUT you can also workout WITHOUT weights, and still get a good all over body workout.

Google: "exercise without weights"
 
are the home strength training workout videos REALLY giving you a good strength workout? Or is it one of those with endless reps using 5lb weights?

if its not actually kicking your ass, you should try more weight, less reps, with more intensity. it might help increase overall muscle mass enough to help burn those extra calories.
 
I work out for approximately 6-9 hours a week. I do use weights in the workout dvds I do at home. As I said, strength training is one of the elements of exercise that I am actively trying to reintroduce into my regimen. Last winter I had kind of fallen out of my routine of working out very consistently due to hypothyroid (causes one to be fatigued, tired, and lethargic). Not being active during that time may have contributed to the weight gain, partially, at least.

Also, this summer I have been traveling a lot, visiting family and such, so I realized I have not been as consistent as I'd like to have been while I was away from home and the gym.

And yes, the Jari Love dvd series really does "kick my ass!" At least it did about 6 months ago when I used to do it once a week. I was in the best shape of my life then.

I will try to calculate my BMR today and figure out how many calories I should be consuming. This is really the only thing mentioned that is new to me.
 
usually you cut 500 calories off what your BMR is. Is that to maintain your current weight? You may also want to calculate it will your goal weight and see what it is....

The only thing I can figure is, maybe your cardio isn't keeping your heart rate up where it is being effective in burning calories. Your body does adjust, and since you have been doing this a while, it may be time to shake things up. Maybe the change in the workout and doing the strength training will make the difference as well as watching you caloric intake.
 
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