Whether you’re rocking a mini skirt or a pair of short shorts, there are few things sexier than a great pair of legs.
Research involving more than 200 men and women discovered that people whose legs are 5% longer than average are considered more attractive, regardless of their gender.
“Long legs are a sign of health,” says Boguslow Pawlowski, lead psychologist at the University of Wroclaw in Poland.
Experts agree that there is no such thing as spot-reduction. Liz Neporent, author of Fitness for Dummies explains. “There simply isn't a certain exercise that will make fat disappear from your inner thighs as opposed to your stomach. “ Consequently, if you’re going to burn fat, you’ll need to lose it all over. Although you can’t spot reduce per se, increasing strength in your lower body can increase lean body mass. This in turn burns more calories, explains Michelle Lovitt, personal trainer to actress Lauren Graham.
Try these exercises to get started:
• Leg Press: Angle the back of the leg press seat so it’s a little lower. Feet should be shoulder-width apart with toes turned out about 15 degrees. Bring your knees into your chest just past 90 degrees. Then extend your legs but not so far that your knees lock.
• Side Stride: Add resistance bands around your ankles. Squat part way and then take a big step, followed by a little step to the right. Repeat to the left.
• Plie Squat: Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with toes pointed outward. Slowly lower for two counts into a squatting position. Then straighten your legs for two counts. To increase the intensity, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell.
See my training video above for detailed instructions on how to perform these exercises.
It doesn’t matter whether you pick a peach or pile on the pasta, too many carbohydrates may be the reason why your inner thigh fat won’t budge.
After a carb-rich meal, glucose and insulin production significantly increases. “[Glucose] is converted first into a starch called glycogen,” explains Barry Groves, PhD. “But the body can store only a limited amount of glycogen, so the excess glucose is stored as body fat. This is the process of putting on weight.” According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, about half of your calories should come from carbohydrates. But recent studies suggest consuming a low-carb diet stimulates faster weight loss.[1] Here are a few tips for cutting carbs:
• Avoid breading on meat, poultry, and other protein.
• Stock up on high-fiber veggies to keep you fuller
• Eat starchy vegetables (such as potatoes) sparingly
• Skip products that contain white, processed flour
• Eliminate liquid carbs such as sodas, sweetened teas, and juices
If you’re serious about losing the fat along your inner thighs, consider keeping a food journal.
In a study conducted by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women who kept food journals lost an average of 6 pounds more than those who did not.[2]
Once you’ve determined how many calories you consume on a regular basis, start cutting your overall calorie consumption by a small amount. Reduce your intake by 250 calories per day, which is equivalent to a 20 oz. bottle of soda. After a couple of weeks, if there is no change, reduce calorie consumption up to 500 calories per day.
“The moment it leaves your fork, protein starts winnowing your waistline,” says Selene Yeager, author at Women’s Health Magazine. “High-protein foods take more work to digest, metabolize, and use, which means you burn more calories processing them. They also take longer to leave your stomach, so you feel full sooner and for a longer amount of time.”
So how much protein do you really need?
To calculate your protein needs, aim for .5 to .8 grams per pound of body weight and activity level. (Athletes will want to stick to the higher end of the protein scale.)
While most of your protein should come from your diet, a whey protein shake can fill in any nutritional gaps. Studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center revealed that drinking whey protein reduces body weight and body fat, by almost 2 pounds.[3]
As it turns out, what you eat is just as important as how much you eat.
According to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, “Consumption of processed foods that are higher in starches, refined grains, fats, and sugars can increase weight gain.”
Furthermore, certain foods, herbs, and ingredients may trigger the release of stubborn fat stores.
• Coleus Forskohlii (ForsLean) – is a non-stimulating fat burner that increases cyclic AMP to improve energy levels and fat metabolism. It triggers the release of fatty acids from body adipose tissues much like Ephedrine but without the risk of negative side effects.
• Green Tea – contains high concentrations of catechins, particularly EGCG. It also releases fatty acids from the body’s lipid stores while simultaneously increasing heat generation (thermogenesis).
• Raspberry Ketone – prevents lipid absorption while eliminating free radicals. It acts like a “fat blocker,” coating dietary lipids in the stomach to create a molecule too big to be absorbed into the blood stream.
Hello there!
I’d like to know that is there any supplements which could causes for wight gaining around the thigh and hip area?
I’m frequently taking few of health supplements,such as;
Vit-D, iron,vita B-complex, omega fish oil capsules, vit-C and biotin.
Before I start taking these supplements,I was not having this problem but now I’m really worried about my unshaped thighs and hips according to overall body shape,I hope I can get any good answer from the expertise to whom I’m sending this problem now,regards!
Sorry to hear about the unexpected weight-gain, I know how frustrating that can be! As far as one or more of the supplements you listed goes, there’s no known side effects related to fat accumulation with any of the 6 you listed. In fact, the majority of that list has clinically shown to aid in weight loss. The one potential scenario where the use of one of those supplements might increase body fat is the fish oil. Most brands of fish oil supplements contain about 40 calories per teaspoon; therefore consuming excessive amounts of fish oil could potentially to increase your total calorie intake and lead to unwanted weight gain. Hope this helps!
Meg
February 12, 2014
Thigh fat.
Hi, I am a volleyball player and with that come big thighs. I have a lot of muscle in them but I would like to slim them down for summer. I would like to do it without diet pills. Are there any exercises I could do to help?
Great question. Having worked with athletes (and ex-athletes) with thicker thighs that wish to slim them down, it’s been my experience that the exercise selections need to focus more on isolation movements such as leg extensions, hamstring curls, stiff-legged deadlifts, etc. and less on compound movements such as the squat, leg press and heavy weighted lunges.
In addition to that shift in exercise selection, if you drastically cut rest time between sets, you’ll be hard pressed to build new lean mass or even maintain what you already have, this means no more than 30 seconds in between sets. Hope this helps and good luck!
Faiza saba
July 11, 2013
Reduce thigh fat
Hello there!
I’d like to know that is there any supplements which could causes for wight gaining around the thigh and hip area?
I’m frequently taking few of health supplements,such as;
Vit-D, iron,vita B-complex, omega fish oil capsules, vit-C and biotin.
Before I start taking these supplements,I was not having this problem but now I’m really worried about my unshaped thighs and hips according to overall body shape,I hope I can get any good answer from the expertise to whom I’m sending this problem now,regards!
Mike Jackson
July 11, 2013
Re: Reduce thigh fat
Hello Faiza,
Sorry to hear about the unexpected weight-gain, I know how frustrating that can be! As far as one or more of the supplements you listed goes, there’s no known side effects related to fat accumulation with any of the 6 you listed. In fact, the majority of that list has clinically shown to aid in weight loss. The one potential scenario where the use of one of those supplements might increase body fat is the fish oil. Most brands of fish oil supplements contain about 40 calories per teaspoon; therefore consuming excessive amounts of fish oil could potentially to increase your total calorie intake and lead to unwanted weight gain. Hope this helps!
Meg
February 12, 2014
Thigh fat.
Hi, I am a volleyball player and with that come big thighs. I have a lot of muscle in them but I would like to slim them down for summer. I would like to do it without diet pills. Are there any exercises I could do to help?
Mike Jackson
February 12, 2014
Re:Thigh fat.
Hey Meg,
Great question. Having worked with athletes (and ex-athletes) with thicker thighs that wish to slim them down, it’s been my experience that the exercise selections need to focus more on isolation movements such as leg extensions, hamstring curls, stiff-legged deadlifts, etc. and less on compound movements such as the squat, leg press and heavy weighted lunges.
In addition to that shift in exercise selection, if you drastically cut rest time between sets, you’ll be hard pressed to build new lean mass or even maintain what you already have, this means no more than 30 seconds in between sets. Hope this helps and good luck!