Need some Clarification Please!!!!
 

Hello there! I am a hard-core workout fanatic, and I am trying to loose about 20 lbs. I am currently at 5'6 and 150lbs. I have been working out about 6 days/wk doing bootcamp classes, kickboxing, spinning and weright training.

My question is I don't know why but I feel like my legs are getting bigger. I DO NOT want this to happen! I thought that the more you work out that you get smaller, women don't have the ability to "bulk up" but that's what I feel like I'm doing. I am very careful with my caloric intake (ava. 1300-1500).

Why are my pants fitting tighter around my upper thighs? In the classes we do a ton of squats, lunges and the spin classes are killer on the legs. Any advise??? Thanks!

Hmm....it could be that you're doing too much exercise focusing on the legs? At least that's my initial impression from reading this...Anyone else wanna chime in?

i do elliptical, spinning and weight training and i've noticed the same thing. My thighs are nice and firm, but i def think they've gotten bigger. Even if it's muscle, i dont want them bigger! I dont wanna switch to like treadmills for cardio though b/c spinning and elliptical burn so many more calories....

Gosh, I've been having the same problem. I really notice it in my quads. Instead of going straight up and down, they almost bow out on the sides. And I noticed that I'm measuring a 1/2 inch larger in my thighs, and the legs of my jeans feel tight! I do the elliptical, cross ramp and tread climber 6 days a week. I usually mix it up, but end up doing about 45-55 minutes a day. For strength, I do lunges (with medicine ball side to side), hack squat machine, squats on bocu ball and other exercises for my legs several times a week. I was starting to wonder if I should keep it up or revise my routine.
Thanks for bringing this up Yogachick.
Pam

Yay! That's muscle and SHAPE. Your legs aren't supposed to go straight up and down.

I guess that not what you wanted to hear...tip toeing out....

Mel

Thanks, Mel. That's good to know that they're supposed to look like this and I'm not overdoing it. I guess it's just so strange because not since high school have I ever done any kind of exercise other than walking. I do like how my legs feel so hard and strong. But the fact that they're bigger, I don't know. Everyone says women can't bulk up but I'd say that we can bulk up a bit. Do you agree?
Pam

I would much rather see bigger harder muscles in my legs than jiggly flabby thin legs, I don't like the thin flat look of a skinny leg like some models have... I do love the legs of the fitness models in magazines like Oxygen and Shape.

I don't have that problem though, when I loose the fat on top of the muscle, my jeans do get looser, my butt gets higher and rounder and jeans look really good ... I bought a size 7 jeans tonight, they looked pretty good, another 4-5 pounds they'll look even better :dance:

WoooHoooo! You go girl! I haven't worn jeans since 1992! I can't wait for the day!!!!

Well I am happy to hear that I am not alone and crazy about this increase in leg mass! I too don't know what to do about this. I have a strong feeling that this increase is due to the 3 days a week that I do spinning. It is almost all lower body quads, hamstrings and calves work. All I want to do is get into a size or so smaller pants, but at this rate it's not going to happen!

As for the poster comments about having strong, shapely legs- this is true but if you feel like total s**t about your body, pissed off and frustrated you're not going to be showing anything off....

I don't know if you've also taken into account that your legs could be retaining water. After I exercise, I do notice that I'm a bit bigger and it is really just water retention.

It might also be that your leg fat is being a bit stubborn. So maybe you are creating nice shapely legs but there is fat that needs to go away before you recognize it?

Yogachick, I can understand the frustration, but at 5'6" and 150 lbs, if you are muscular, you should look pretty darn good. If you really feel that way about your body, maybe you need to rethink what it is that really bothers you. Do you know your body fat %? If you are a hardcore workout fanatic, that number is much more important that your scale weight. If you are very muscular, your body fat % has to stay pretty low or you will just look bigger. Do you have a small, medium or large frame? Is your goal of a smaller pants size realistic or would you be emaciated to achieve that? I know Suzanne just put up a warning thread about e-books, but a good one for you to read would be Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle".

I've written this a zillions times, but I started lifting HEAVY, doing a bodybuilder split after I hit my initial goal weight of 135. At the beginning of my adventure into heavy metal, I wore a size 6-8 jeans. My bodyfat was 27%. I did a LOT of exercise while losing- ran, played tennis, circuit trained, bodypump classes. Ater 12 weeks of hardcore lifting and intense cardio, I'd dropped to a size 4, gained 2 pounds and my bodyfat went from 27% to 19%. According to the scale, I was a failure...but I much prefered my size 4 jeans and no fat thighs.

When we say that women can't bulk up, that doesn't mean that women can't build muscle :o That would be a disaster! Lack of muscle is a much bigger problem for most women, especially over the age of 40 and beyond. We certainly can build muscle, just not HUGE muscle naturally. The whole point of weight training is to build muscle. Most of you call it toning, but it's the same thing.

Hey there Mel-

Thanks so much for your feedback. I am not sure what my current stats are since I am terrified to get on a scale or be pinched to figure out how much fat is still hanging on... I am basing my weight from my last doc's visit about a month ago. I also primarily go by how my clothes fit, and they have been fitting a lot tighter around the thigh. hip area lately...

In most pants I am about an 8/10/12 depending on the maker since sizes vary so much between stores. I do not feel comfortable in my skin and am not happy with the way I look.

I am really at the end of my rope since it seems that it doesn't matter how much I workout or the intensity since I don't feel my clothes getting looser. I am feeling very depressed and like a total failure right now. I just want to give up and not care anymore since it doesn't seem to matter.:?: