Wearing tight jeans will define your shape but what if your thighs are protruding? Won’t that look odd when you hang out with friends? Well, you can’t avoid being conscious of the ‘extra’ fat.
Thigh weight is a cause of concern for many, especially women. Most Indian women have pear shaped bodies and often struggle to lose weight from their thighs. They end up feeling depressed when jeans/trousers fit them oddly. Wearing short dresses often becomes an embarrassing problem.
1. Consume Low Calorie Foods:
In order to lose weight effectively, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Hence, a low calorie diet is recommended which restricts your daily intake of calories between 1200 and 1500 calories. This can be achieved by limiting the consumption of fat foods to between 35 and 50 grams per day which will provide 20% to 30% of daily caloric requirement.
Apart from this, around 180 to 270 grams of complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits should be consumed which will fulfil 45% to 65% of caloric requirement for the day. Low fat proteins like poultry, meat and fish should also be eaten. It is recommended to eat 50% to 95% of low fat proteins that will provide for 15% to 25% of caloric intake for the day.
2. Consider a Low Carb Diet:
Consumption of excess carbohydrates in your diet leads to weight gain as it causes the body to release insulin. This insulin level is controlled by the body by producing glucose which is eventually converted into fat. A typical low carb diet focuses on high protein foods like beef, chicken, turkey and fish, soy products, leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts. Processed foods, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, beet and corn, and sugar or margarine should be avoided.
3. Eliminate Sugar in Your Liquid Diet:
We all have a weakness for sweets but we should realize that sweets make it extremely difficult to shed those extra pounds. Sodas, energy drinks, juices etc have a high content of sugar in them and therefore should be avoided. Instead, drink plenty of water as it removes toxins from your body, transports nutrients to cells and provides moist environment needed by the body tissues. Green tea is also a great source of antioxidants with minimal calories. It contains ten times more amounts of polyphenols than vegetables and thus protects the cells from free radicals. Thus, a cup of unsweetened green tea is a great option.
B. Exercises:
In addition to a healthy diet, proper exercise regime is also necessary because the body can lose fat by converting it into usable energy. This enables you to lose weight from the entire body and not just your thighs. Hence, to lose thigh fat, you need to work out your entire body.
1. Cardiovascular Exercises:
Cardiovascular exercises can be very effective in slimming your thighs. These include working out on cardio equipment like stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical trainer etc. Half an hour of cardio for at least 5 days in a week helps a lot in slimming down the lower body and maintaining a healthy body weight.
2. Running:
Running helps to slim down your thighs and reshape your legs. It is an effective exercise for people with big thigh muscles as it decreases the size of the muscles by reducing excess fat. Endurance running with little or no incline can be resorted to slimming thighs. If it appears difficult, then elliptical trainer can also be used with little or no resistance. Ensure to maintain the correct posture on the elliptical trainer to lessen the strain on your quadriceps (front of thighs), thus preventing increasing your thigh size. Running on an incline should be considered as it enables you to burn more calories than running on a flat surface.
3. Aerobic Exercises:
Aerobic exercises help in burning fat on your inner thighs and rest of the body as well. Certain exercises like stair climbing, brisk walking, running and dancing increase heart rate and work out your thigh muscles. Hence, make it a point to indulge in aerobic exercise for at least 45 minutes in a day for 5 days in a week.
4. Avoid Exercises such as Squats:
Now this might come as a surprise to you because squats, lunges, leg curls, leg extensions and calf raises, particularly with heavy weights are often considered to make thighs smaller. However, in reality, these exercises target thigh muscles and make muscle fibers larger. These exercises aim at toning your thighs and legs and you can resort to these exercises once you have stripped fat from your thighs and know better how muscular your thighs are.
5. Resistance Training:
Resistance training can be resorted, after you have lost some weight from thighs in order to make them well defined. Often it happens that after losing weight, your thighs and legs lack proper shape. Then resistance training is the absolute answer to this problem. A program of resistance training makes your thigh muscles harder, stronger and more defined but prevents your thigh muscles from becoming larger in size. Weights should be kept moderately light to prevent your thigh muscles from getting bigger. Those with highly responsive muscles (mesomorphs) should avoid such exercises as their thigh muscles are already well toned.
6. Abduction Machine:
Abduction machines are found in most of the gyms and they basically focus on exercising your inner thighs. You can start off by placing your inner thighs on the padded levers and feet on the foot rests. Ensure that there is enough resistance to make your abductors burn. Squeezing your legs together, hold and extend out to starting position. Three sets of 20 repetitions should be performed.
C. Liposuction:
You can consider liposuction if all your efforts to remove excessive thigh fat accumulation have failed. It basically involves removal of fat under the skin with a cannula and vacuum. However, this procedure can only be performed on fit individuals who have stubborn fat and not those who are overweight.
Losing weight from specific areas, particularly your thighs, is quite an uphill task. Therefore, you should be patient and focused on what you to wish to achieve. You need to give yourself enough time before you ‘flaunt’ slim and toned thighs. You have to be realistic in setting your goals after taking into consideration your body fat, genetic makeup and current level of body fat. So, follow these simple tips to lead a slim life.
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