Cardio cardio cardio. It's all a matter of burning the fat first. Elyptical's are a great thing, they use those muscles on the lower body but they also burn a lot of calories. It's hard to lose fat in a certain area... if you just try and build muscle your thighs will get bigger until the fat comes off. Just my suggestion...
Yeah, unfortunately it's impossible to spot-reduce/tell your body where to take its fat away first. The best you can do is build muscle and eat properly. Have faith the fat will go away when you get to a good weight for your body! A lot of people lose from their calves last, I've heard -- which doesn't bode well for people like me whose calves dictate my choice of footwear (no boots!).
Swimming!! If you have access to a pool - Swimming is great for getting lean muscles.
I have heard that ellipticals tend to build muscles - so if you do that, you might want to keep the resistance really low.
Walking, jogging, running on flatter surfaces. (I have heard hills build up muscles in the thighs and butt)
Women do not typically have the necessary hormones to bulk up their muscles via strength training...you'll get more toned, but not much bigger. So please don't be afraid to strength train your legs (or do cardio that strengthens your legs)! Strength training means you burn more calories, even when you're at rest...this will burn off the fat that is making your thighs bigger than you want them to be.
mandalinn- agreed. I started strength training my lower body about 5 weeks ago and my legs have never been thinner. It's awesome! It's a lot of work and I get much sweatier than when I do cardio, so it must be burning lots of calories too!
unfortunately fat around the legs and butt are the hardest to lose. When i was taking a women's health class, my professor said that we tend to lose weight from the head down, so thats why you start seeing your face get a little thinner when you lose a little weight, and then down down down but she said something about the fat being more condensed.
Sucks because thats exactly my dilemma. I could lose about 30-40 lbs in my thighs and butt. :-( but like someone up there said, i need to remember cardio cardio cardio.
Also remember that for women, our legs are where we keep a good deal of our muscle, which means that if you're not using weight training to replace some of that fat with muscle you're missing out on a goldmine for fat burning.
Thighs & Calves
