Hey there!

I know you can't spot train, but I've noticed in a lot of marathon pictures, runners just seem to not have any saddlebags.

Aside from obviously being fit, is it just the high amount of calories/overall fat burning runners do that helps strip down stubborn fat stores in the saddlebag area?

thanks!

~ tea

For me, I had those saddle bags right up until I hit goal. It was the last 5 pounds of weight loss that did it. Which definitely makes sense, it was one of my trouble spots (concentrated fat) and that's where the fat was hanging on to, so as a got closer and closer to goal it had to come off of somewhere. And it did.

Just like if I put on that extra 5 lbs - right to my saddle bags.

I'm not a runner, but Tea, I think it just may be that marathon runners don't have much fat anywhere on them - saddlebags included.

As you get closer and closer to goal, you too will see your "trouble spots" shrink. You will be shocked what even those last itty bitty 5 pounds can do.

When I was heavier, I was a pear. Now that I lost weight ... I'm still a pear, just a smaller one! I'm a runner, and there's no doubt that running has helped to tone up my lower-body muscles. But any excess fat I have still sticks stubbornly to that half .... I just have less fat overall than I used to so it all looks better!!

Oooh..the dreaded saddle bags! I am still working on mine but they have definitely gotten smaller. I hope as I approach my new goal they will disappear! Robin is so right in saying the last few pounds is what did it. I have seen such a difference in my overall body once I got under 145.

I run--anywhere between 3 and 5 miles most days. A woman said to me the other day--"you know, your legs don't look like a runner--they are very feminine." She is sort of a "frienemy". I wonder if that was supposed to be a slap or something. Ahh well, who cares! LOL!

Hey, I also want to mention the deep lunges that are in Jillian Michaels 30 DS--well, they are killers! But they work very well!

I run 3 miles everyday (it's all I have time for) and while my saddlebags have gone way down they are still trying to hang in there I have hope that they will keep going down as I get closer to goal!

Since it's a stubborn fat I think it just takes you being stubborn too ....it certainly wouldn't hurt to tone the muscles in that area. I love the 30DS and Yogini by Ellen Barrett lower body workouts!

I agree with rockin robin-- as far as marathon runers you see in pictures, they dont have fat ANYWHERE, that is just their body composition, and one of the things that makes them successful AS runners....I too am a runner, and i too, have saddlebags.. running definitely tones the legs, but the only thing that is going to help those "concentrated" fat zones is overall reduction in body fat.....

Yep - it's all about runners having low body fat, which means they lose their fat stores even in their most stubborn fat stores. There's nothing about running in particular that does it.

It definitely helped me lose the saddle bags. That said, I don't really store much fat in my hips so there isn't a lot to lose. I am a tummy-gainer.

MBN--I want to tell you this: Your avatar picture is an inspiration to me. I want my hips and legs to look as slim and fit as yours do in your picture. I'm doing C25K, and sometimes it's hard to keep running because I'm still pretty heavy! But I picture the fat melting off as I'm running, and pretend that my hips and thighs are as slim and fit as the girl in the picture (that's YOU), and that helps me to keep going. So yeah, it all looks better!

True, I've heard that runners have way less body fat.