Discouraged over thighs

[Leonana]

Originally Posted by cherimac

Just having seen your picture, you are DEFINITELY being hard on yourself. I think you look great and in proportion.

I think you look great too!

ETA: Just read your next post. Good luck on finding what works for you!

[cherimac]

Originally Posted by muffins135

cherimac, what is it about barre that gave you saddlebags? And what is it about Pilates that is a magic bullet for you? I'm very curious about this. I'm hoping Barre will help my saddle bags.

I think it was all the emphasis on quad work that barre has. I am a meso-and short, medium-framed. So the quad work did something to my thighs I never had before. A month after doing Pilates by Lisa, my saddlebags were gone. The side-lying leg work is magic.

[flight301]

Thank you all for the feedback, I really do appreciate the kind words and advice! It really put it into perspective that I have come very far and I am being a bit ridiculous about this imperfection I perceive I have. I've always hated my thighs, and I realize I can probably never get them as thin as I want, but I have always hoped that I could improve the overall shape and thickness so they are less blobby and tree trunky (you can't tell in those exercise pants, I have very little definition, and they are like one shape up and down), that's really the part I don't like. I have no desire to be super skinny at all, I just want nicely shaped legs, and I will keep trying to get them. I'm not chasing perfection, because the rest of my body isn't perfect looking or super toned; I settle for reasonably shaped. I think I am a bit delusional and always hoping there is some magic solution I have just not discovered, which is unlikely. Acceptance eludes me yet.

I didn't think I was overworking my legs because I've been focusing on mostly pilates/floor work (which I always thought aimed to 'lengthen' and pull in), and I thought it would help improve my thigh shape; I didn't think these types of exercises contribute to building muscle. I guess I've been going a bit overboard. I'll have to force myself to lay off and do them less (which shouldn't be too difficult...).

I'm really disappointed to hear that Callanetics is not recommended for just targeting the thighs/butt area... I don't think I can ever get myself to do the full workout . I hate suffering for body parts that are already ok shaped, and I have a hard time doing exercise routines that last more than 20 minutes. Blah. And blueskies, that's odd that inner and outter thigh work has that effect, now I'm paranoid. I don't think its really done much for my legs, they look the same to me. There are Ballet Beautiful bridge series (which I hated and therefore avoided), and others that involve lifting the leg behind the body, so perhaps I may switch to those.

Ladies, thank you so much again for all the feedback, I take everything under consideration! If I do find anything that works, I will update.

[Tugger31]

My thighs were looking their best when I did Butt Bible (workouts are free on youtube). This concentrated my lower body work on my gllutes more and not the thighs. For cardio I did just walking.

Also it is helpful to know if your thigh size is more due to extra fat or more to overdeveloped quad musculature. Knowing this you can fine tune what you're doing.

[flight301]

Originally Posted by Tugger31

My thighs were looking their best when I did Butt Bible (workouts are free on youtube). This concentrated my lower body work on my gllutes more and not the thighs. For cardio I did just walking.

Also it is helpful to know if your thigh size is more due to extra fat or more to overdeveloped quad musculature. Knowing this you can fine tune what you're doing.

I believe its a combination. My quads seem to be naturally overdeveloped if that makes sense, they haven't gotten bigger - they are always that big it seems. Thats why I choose workouts that supposedly lean and lengthen muscles, or at least create a pulling in effect - mostly floorwork.

[blueskies]

Originally Posted by flight301

And blueskies, that's odd that inner and outter thigh work has that effect, now I'm paranoid.

flight, it's really all about how your individual body reacts to specific exercises. If you do inner thigh/outer thigh lifts, side lunges, side kicks, etc., and notice over time that there is little to no improvement, or that your legs are increasing in size (and it's not what you want), that's when you want to change up exercises. As with all things in life YMMV--what works for one person may not work for the other.

My personal experience is that concentrating on working those areas of the body always meant increasing the size of those areas on me. I don't like the look of thick upper thighs, nor do I like having my thighs rub together when I walk, so I adjusted my exercise routine accordingly. Some people have no problem with a lot of isolation work, or may be looking to increase their leg size. It's all about tailoring your workout plan to your individual body and your individual goals.

[muffins135]

Thanks for the info cherimac
I think I'll give Pilates by Lisa a try...I have a code for 50% off the first month (hope it still works).

[blueskies]

Originally Posted by toaster

I don't mean to hijack the OP's thread, but this might be related. Rebecca, I'm curious about how you got your body fat so low--not necessarily just about the diet part (although I would welcome receiving a PM from you about that!) but regarding how you are still able to have a nice shape with lower body fat. It seems that the OP and I have both had the issue of losing weight and having this look unattractive. I've never been able to to just lose the excess body fat from the "pear" parts of my body; it's never seemed possible before even though I've never been overweight.

Beth - I'll send you a PM about the diet part, but I did want to answer this in general for the OP and anyone else who may be interested.

I've never really been overweight either, and had a "normal" BMI (20-21) and "normal" body fat percentage (22-23%) prior to my fat loss last year. However, in all the years of exercising, dieting, etc., I always noticed that my legs had a layer of cellulite on them that just would not budge, and just didn't look that great. From some online research, I read that for the legs to start looking defined and lean, body fat percent must be in the 17-18% range. So clearly, I still had too much body fat on me for my goals.

Honestly, for me, the key is diet. I know people hate hearing it. I still don't like hearing it, even after proving to myself that it works. But I've never been a "workout warrior," even in my most active exercise days, so I could never sustain long term the activity or intensity level necessary for me to lose fat. Meaning that I have no desire at this time in my life to work out 6-7 days a week, an hour or more at a time. The only other solution is the diet part of the equation.

As far as losing fat and still having a nice shape, that is addressed with specific diet components (that I can't discuss here) and tailoring your exercise plan to your individual body shape. I did find that after persevering through the initial phase of fat loss, things did "even out" eventually. Once it gets to that point, then you can really use exercise to target body areas that you want to sculpt or reduce.

[toaster]

Rebecca, thanks for responding! It does make me more interested to hear about what diet helped you with fat loss, so please do PM me.

Regarding your response to flight301 above, I've done a lot of the types of exercises you mentioned, and while they never seemed to make my legs larger, I've never noticed significant improvement. I have gone through periods where I've done just about everything for my lower body--e.g., body weight only, heavy weights only, cardio-only for lower body, emphasis on barre-type work, or a mix. Nothing has really made an appreciable impact for me either way.

[Honeydew]

Originally Posted by cherimac

Just having seen your picture, you are DEFINITELY being hard on yourself. I think you look great and in proportion.

I think you look great, but I understand what you are saying. I haven't read all the posts but barre worked for me, specifically, Ballet Body Periodization System 1.