Best way to get rid of last remaining fat?

M

momof2_32

New member
Hi All. I'm pretty much at my goal weight, but wouldn't mind losing a few more lbs to get down to 110. Anyway, I've been doing cardio and strength training for the past few months and I just can not lose these thighs. The rest of my body is just fine or even a little too skinny (like my upper body), but my thighs are still jiggly. Should I focus just on cardio to get rid of the remaining fat while risking losing more on my upper body or continue to do the combined cardio/strength training? I'd also like to know if I continue to do exercises like squats, will muscle basically replace the fat that's in my thighs, leaving me with these big thighs? I think I'm very disproportioned right now. Here's some info about me:

33 years old
5'3"
CW: 115 lbs
Waist: 25"
Hips: 34"
Thighs: 20"
Calves: 13.25"
Daily Workout (5 times a week):
20-40 mins, 4.5 mph jogging on the treadmill
20 mins of strength training
bicep curls, pushups, squats, leg lifts, crunches

Help please! Thanks for any responses.

Michelle
 
Girl, girl, girl...this story is a page out of my life. Let me pull up a chair and talk to you. :p

When I started this journey it was mainly to loose my thighs because they had me literally bursting out of the seams of all of my pants. I couldn't get into a single pair of them without looking like I had a watermelon in each pant leg. They were REALLY pulling at the threads...quite sad, but true.

I've found squats and lunges to be quite helpful, in addition to my Cuves workout, but what really did the trick for me was powerwalking and/or running. I do either of the two for 2 miles twice a week and I saw my legs transform. Girl, I almost cried this morning when I had my measurements done at Curves this morning. When I began my thighs were 22.25 (and that wasn't my highest point, but where I had gotten down to by the time I joined Curves and as of this morning they are 19.75. I stood there looking at my measurements print out and darn near cried girl. It can be done, but it WON'T be easy.

To loose that fat, you've got to lose it overall and it will eventually start to come from that area, but the walking/running DEFINITELY helps! I am a witness to that! Don't fear the lunges and squats, I did initially, but they really are your friend. They will hurt like heck, but they will help you.

Best of luck to you my friend!
 
Thanks so much for the reply. Congrats on all the hard work and being 2.5 lbs away from goal.

I figured eventually the cardio would get rid of the rest of the fat..I'm just so impatient. I was on a liquid diet for a couple of months and got down to my goal weight, but my body definitely doesn't look like I want it to so that's when I added the strength training and I just love the results in my arms. For the first time in my life I have muscles! I just wasn’t sure if I should do any weights on my legs because I definitely don't want them to stay as big as they are. But I know what you mean about the squats.. I already see a nice definition line on my inner thighs. Do you think I should increase the cardio by running more or maybe adding an aerobic video? I just signed up for a hiking group so I'm stoked about that. Hopefully that will help as well.

Best of luck to you!
 
And congratulations to you, you're almost at your goal! As for running versus tape for the cardio, I'd say you can alternate, you'll need a little variation to keep you from getting bored. The hiking group sounds awesome and will DEFINITELY help your legs.

A liquid diet? For a couple of MONTHS? That sounds dangerous. I don't like that kinda stuff because that's not how I plan to eat for the rest of my life. It really is about making lifestyle changes that you can maintain, otherwise when you go back to eating it comes back.

Strength training is great. The more muscle you build, regardless of where, your back, arms, legs or calves, the easier you burn fat. Don't worry about bulking your thighs up by using the weights. That was my concern too, I didn't want to do anything that would make it worse. As women we don't have the body makeup to have our legs bulk up that much when using weights unless we're taking specific types of supplements to make it happen. I used machines with weights on them and used ankle weights sometimes when I worked out, but just keep 'em light and you'll be fine.
 
Oh I forgot to ask, how long have you been at Curves? I almost joined a gym, but both a home gym instead. What kind of exercises are part of your circuit? Thanks for the info about the leg weights.. That was my big concern. I would like to tone up my legs since I have these nice biceps and these jiggly thighs.. Doesn't quite match. :)

The liquid diet was to teach me to get away from those one huge meals and learn how to have small meals every 2-3 hours. That was my problem.. I would pig out once a day and I paid for it. I was amazed at how little I could eat without being hungry by making sure I eat every 2-3 hours. The program worked, but when I got down to my original goal of 115, I realized my metabolism was shot! I couldn't eat over 1000 calories without gaining weight.. That's when I started reading about strength training and incorporated that into my schedule. Now I'm up to about 1200 calories and still losing fat (which is my new goal.. Not losing weight). You're right, liquid diets definitely aren't realistic when it comes to real life so I've used what I've learned from the program and just exchanged those shakes with real low calories foods instead. But without the liquid diet, I would not be at the weight I am in only a few months. I started at 135 in April and got down to 115 in July. I've been there since then (after a few ups and downs during birthday season) and now want to get to 110 or 20% body fat. According to my scale, I'm at 23.8% right now.
 
I'm too lazy to post a good enough descripiton...my strength training has me all tired. But at the bottom I posted a link to Curves and you can see some of the machines, go to the "about" section.

I've been a member since April and I love it. You alternate between a machine and a cardio pad. The machines are hydraulic so you're working against yourself and can push the limits as much as you're willing.


You can also try doing a search on here, there are a couple of threads about Curves and if I remember correctly one has a pretty good description of the machines.

Curves International - About Curves
 
don't forget, that if you're doing a bunch of leg work, to work out your hamstrings as well. Hamstring muscles are what protect you from a major ACL injury. The best one to do is to balance on one foot, then, keeping your back straight, slowly bend at the waist, going as low as you can without hurting yourself. Remember not to bend your knee either.

Trust me, this works. We did it for the first time at volleyball practice three weeks ago, and we didn't go very, just across the short side of the court and back, but, we definately felt it the next day! :D This also makes the back of your thighs look nice and tight. (according to our trainer, at the moment, mine still jiggle too much:D) good luck!
 
My penny's worth .... I hit my final target weight two months ago - but I'm still working on that last hard to lose excess body fat. With me its on my belly and chest. I subscribe to the common theory that you cannot target an area of your bodyfat with exercise - is a wholesome thing. You just have to keep on persevering! Building up muscle mass through strength training is one tactic, another is good old cardio. Running / jogging has a good reputation for working, and I'm alternating between both forms of exercise. Its a slow old process, but then again, it took me years of self abuse to get it in the first place!

I have told myself that if I'm not happy with my progress by Christmas, then I might try cutting calories again in the new year - but first I want to build up more muscle to fuel my metabolism.
 
Xorie, thanks for the tip, I'll try that out.

ToothlessFerret, do you think you do more cardio than strength training? According to the treadmill counter, I'm burning 300 calories on a 30 min jog and then I follow that up with the strength training so I'm not sure what the total would be.

Thanks for the replies!
 
Well I personally probably hit 60% strength training, 40 % cardio - but I'm a bloke with other motivations (I want bigger muscles!) :) I exercise cardio or strength train on different alternate days. I have read (and want to believe) that running/cardio more than 3 or 4 days per week doesnt benefit much. Preferably on alternate days. Rest days are said to be as important as exercise days.

You might also want to check out HIIT (high intensity interval training), where you sprint then walk, sprint, then walk etc. There are HIIT programmes on the internet, that claim to be better for both muscle development and fat loss than simple long distance running / cardio. I don't bother though - I like the challenge of running!
 
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I also want bigger muscles.. well not really huge, just nice and defined and feminine. Really my goal is to lower my body fat %. If I lose 5 more lbs while I lower the body fat, that would be great as well. I've always had skinny arms and now I have biceps and love it! I think you might be right on the lack of benefit of a lot of cardio because right now I jog about 5x a week and I am not seeing any difference. I've been at a stand still for about 1-2 months. Well, I take that back.. I haven't lost weight, but did lose about .25 inches on my thighs. I think I will try the cardio every other day and strength training on the others. Do you know why our muscles need to rest 48 hours after training? I'd like to build muscle faster and like working out with weights everyday.
 
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