[truehappiness]

Lately I have been feeling pretty good about my efforts so far, and in clothes I am looking a little better. But then as I was trying on different clothes today, I realized just how much fat is still on my inner thighs and mid section. The fat on my thighs was when I lifted my leg and it was the kind of fat that just hangs there uselessly, for inches and inches I was appalled and disgusted with myself.

I know I shouldn't have a "bad attitude", but I was very caught off guard by this discovery. I have a huge event in 4 weeks, one of the biggest of my life, and I have been busting my butt for 8 weeks. I recently kicked my workouts up to 1.5 hours per day. I think I'm going to try cutting out sugar and junk for the most part for the next month. I just couldn't believe what I saw today. I feel very sad and upset. It's like one minute I feel like I'm making progress, but then reality strikes and I realize I still have a very high body fat percentage. Yes, I am in a healthy weight range, but the level of fat on my body is far from healthy. And honestly it's probably still high because I have insisted on having lots of my calories from "treats" this entire 2 months. This is a just a rant..just needed to vent a little. I just feel so embarrassed that I have told my significant other, my friends about how good I'm looking and they are going to see me soon and think I was lying or something. I'm ashamed and so upset that I still have so much body fat, despite working pretty hard. Uhhhh my horrible eating habits have caught up to me again.

I need some hope. How many pounds/inches do you think are possible to lose in 4 weeks if I walk/jog 1.5 hours per day and eat minimal junk?

Does anyone else ever feel pretty good sometimes, but then they look in the mirror naked and realize that they have a long way to go?

Ps. Does anyone know of a way to make legs, especially inner thighs shrink quickly?

[Veloria]

I SO hear you. The closer I get to my goal, the more I hate my body. I'm going down in sizes and look so much better in clothing. But naked? Ick. I think part of it is the tendency to judge ourselves harsher and see our flaws more than others do. I know that doesn't make it easier.

I have no quick solutions, unfortunately. I think it just takes time for our bodies to look better as we lose weight, and exercise and strength training helps. I heard somewhere that diet makes you look better in clothes and hitting the gym helps you look better naked. Hang in there and keep doing what you're doing.

[alaskanlaughter]

i'm pretty critical of myself too and then find that I look better in photos than I expected to look....as for the inner thighs, I had great success with that when I started doing the inner thigh abductor machine at the gym with as heavy of weights as I could handle

[gymrat05]

I feel you. I felt great at 155 and looked great in clothes...and then I'd see myself naked and just cringe. I wanted to lose about 15lbs more and instead had some hormone issues flare up and started gaining instead. Now, a good bit heavier than I was, I would give anything to be back at a comfy 155 where all my clothes fit nicely.

Nobody is ever going to be as critical of you as you are of yourself and I'm sure you'll look great at your event. Accept the fact that your body won't change drastically (appearance-wise) in a few weeks, and you probably won't look drastically different if you lose 4lbs or 10lbs. Only you will notice. So don't kill yourself trying to get there.

[SparklyBunny]

Definitely cut the junk food and sugar, but do not exercise 1.5h per day and eat nothing. Eat plenty of protein, plenty of vegetables and a low to moderate amount of fats like olive oil and coconut oil. I know that I'm much "tighter" when I'm eating proper foods and I become clearly more "jiggly" in a not so appealing way when I eat junk food and sugar.

I would also suggest to heading over to bodyrecomposition.com and reading the articles on weight loss. Lyle also has a sale today (Monday) on his books. His books do not come with pretty marketing speeches, but he has a lot of good information on stubborn body fat. You don't need to buy the books though, just read the articles. There's a lot of technical stuff there, but it helps you understand how fat loss works.

On a less scientific level, you could also try body wraps before your event. They obviously don't get rid of the fat, but they seem to do something. Also, take care of your skin and do dry brushing.

But above all else, just cut the sugar :-)

[pnkrckpixikat]

Something to keep in mind: what is inside the skin is shrinking faster then the skin is. For many people they will have more hanging "fat" after they have lost alot of it because when you lift you leg the fat that is left will settle into the pocket of skin. This will just take time to tighten up. strength training can help it look alot better because the muscles make things look tighter. also make sure to moisturize and take care of your skin to better you chances of it tightening back up over time.

for the thighs I would advise different types of squats as well as the machine alaskan recommended

[krampus]

Lift weights and strength train! Defined waist, firmer appendages, smaller pants, more forgiving metabolism. Best results with a high protein diet and lots of nutritious food.