Hey All..
Just wanting to know if any of yall might know some good exercises to help tonethe Love handle,and upper leg?.. seem to be having the most problems with these areas.. all help is truley appreciatted.
Tru Luvin

Tru Luvin -- Welcome!! Firstly, Congrats on your weightloss ... Keep up the great work...

As you probably know there is no such thing as spot reducing in certain places such as love handles, legs, abs.... Some of us are just genetically predisposed to carrying more fat in certain places and they are usually the LAST place to lose the fat... Having said this though, you can lose fat from all over your body by eating a balanced meal plan along with an exercise plan including both cardio and strength training. Calories in vs. calories out is the most important...

I just wanted to add some of my favourite exercises for lower body are: squats, leg presses, walking lunges, lunges and more walking lunges ... Work your legs a couple of times/week for a while to see what happens... I've also lost a lot of inches on my legs and butt since I've been running ....

Tru-Lovin how did you loose the weight that fast?? How many cal a day are you eating? I would LOVE to loose 50 lbs in 3 months.

nichole I was just thinking the exact same thing. Do share tru lovin. Also do about 50 side bends a day to tone up the love handles and squats for the thighs

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SPOT REDUCING, SPOTS ARE REDUCED ONLY IN LAUNDRY!!!!!

Hey, Well My body had a lot of water retained so when i started the diet , i lost a lot of that excess water.... I exercised A LOT!! Well. i done mainly NO SUAGR,NO POP DIET! wITH ONLY diet pop, and water, and 1 glass of orage juice a day with flavored water for drinks.. and salads, tuna, so on.. i watched my foods that i took in very carfully.. As for now, i am not really doing that good.. im down to 148 pounds as of this morning.. im happy, but i feel like i could of done better..
tru luvin

please excuse, I was not saying there was a such thing as spot reducing I was saying that side bends tone up the love handle area in which I'm sure it does in tone other areas as well, and squats tone the thigh area as well as the glutes and legs I know that there is no such thing as spot reducing, but thank you for the update.

Hey thanks Mrs Dawson.. What exactly is a side bend if you dont mind me asking?...
off the subject but i used to live in cinny too..
tru luvin

A side bend is when you stand up straight and bend over to your right side to where the tips of your fingers on your right hand atleast comes to the bottom of the side of your knee. Keep you spine as straight as possible. after bending over rise back to starting position and lean over to your left side to where your fingertips on your left hand reach down below your knee level. rise back to starting position and bend again. I usually do this about 50 times which equals about 25 times on each side.

Side bends will not tone up the love handles those love handles are fat. Side bends will make your oblique muscles bigger because if you develop muscles underneath fatty deposits you may actually increase your waist size. Exercise, proper diet and regular cardio will help you loose fat from your side.

Okay Thank Ya.. I will have to try those soide bends tonight and see how i feel.. Thanks Chick..
Tru Luvin

However-if you continue to lose weight and don't have the extra "fat" hanging around the midsection any longer-the abdominal work (oblique and upper/lower abdominal exercises) will create the muscle definition in that area. You have to lose the fat/extra weight to lose lovehandles-but once the fat layer is gone the exercise firm and shape the muscle underneath.

I have found for the best results-to use diet and cardio exercise to lose the fat...and to do the strength training to gain the muscle definition and shape at the same time.

I do side bends as well...but I do one side at a time (not going back and forth) but I hold a decent sized weight in the hand of the side I am bending towards. If you do this you MUST use proper form. Keep your rear end/tailbone TUCKED at all times. But-I also do a lot of abdominal work for the entire area-not just the obliques. I do a ton of upper and lower ab work as well-and I do the cardio exercise to get rid of the fat.

Have you tried to do those crunches where you bring your elbow across to the opposite side of you? Im having a hard time explaining, but thats what I was tought in highschool to keep oof lovehandles. Also, after all that weight loss, purhaps take up some tango lessons?? A Fun way to keep it off!