Exercise Advice (Lower Body/Weight Loss Plateau)?

[Anonymous]

I've always had a larger lower half (big butt and thighs) and a smaller upper half. I've lost 25 lbs so far but have hit a weight loss plateau. Lately, I have been hungry more frequently throughout the day. So, I have been trying to get in more protein, drink more water, eat each meal in at least 30 mins to slow my eating down. I've seen some results as far as my lower half. However, I want to slim down the fat/bulk in my thighs even more because I'm not fully satisfied. I've read mixed opinions about whether sprinting and squats are bad if you already have bulky legs. I was just wondering if anyone had tips on diet/exercise that will help me in my process.

[Phoenix98]

Well I'm sorry to say but you can't actually target fat loss on the body, it's not possible. Also if those areas you want to lose weight in don't decrease as your training then they may be the size they are due to genetics in which case there is not much you can do.

My best advice I can give you is consistently exercise and eat healthy DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF and do not diet by only eating very little this is very bad and will have the opposite affect on you.

Also it may not sound like it but strength training is actually a really, really good way to lose weight.

I could also give you some drinks or foods that will help with fat loss.

If you want I can make a macro-nutrient ratio for you telling you how much fat, carbs and protein you should be eating to have a healthy diet. But I'd need some information from you.

[Asker]

Haha I know there is no such thing as spot reducing. I don't know if 1200 net calories a day is healthy or not but that's the goal I try to set because those were the calculations of the fitness app I use. I've lost and kept off weight counting calories up to 1200 net. I'm supposed to have 121 g of protein, 121 g of carbs and 27 g of fats a day. As far as strength training, do you mean train my upper body or also lower body too? I will be adding more cardio because I worry that squats and strength training with only add on to my thigh muscle. Also, with drinks I'll usually blend fruit with almond milk and whey protein powder. What drinks do you recommend?

[Phoenix98]

Ah ok good, well that depends on like your body weight and activity level, and by strength training I mean strength training lol, meaning upper and lower body and middle body (abs).

And you don't want to do to much cardio or spend a really large amount of time on it because it's only effective towards a certain point and then it can't go past that. How much do you do now?

And if you don't want to do squats there are plenty of other exercises you can do for the quadriceps as well as the hamstrings and calves but as a woman you also don't have to worry about gaining large amounts of muscle like a man because women's bodies lack the amount of testosterone that men do. So you don't gain as much muscle or as quickly and I know a lot of women worry about turning into like th hulk when strength training/lifting but it's a myth it's not true, unless you have adverse testosterone levels in your body.

So I would actually recommend strength training.

[Phoenix98]

And that's good but that won't really make you lose weight, I mean it will help but it is protein powder so it's main focus is building muscle and repairing muscle.

Black coffee among other things is very well known to be a fat burner and helps with burning fat, white tea is also very well known for it's fat burning capabilities, also phoenix weightless pills from legion athletics is really good for losing weight, getting more energy and helping you to control your cravings.

I trust this guy to as a professional trainer I'd recommend his products his stuff is incredibly healthy to, and he gives a full rundown of what tests he's done to each supplement as well as exactly what is in each and every supplement he sells.

legionathletics.com/products/supplements/phoenix/

Do you eat a good healthy intake of food? limited or no soda and junk food? but clean healthy foods?

PS: sorry for the late reply.

[Asker]

Thanks for all the info and for taking the time out to reply! I will check out the website. I am making it a point to eat healthy/clean food. I was never a soda fan but drank juices here and there. I have cut all of the sugary drinks now. I used to have multigrain chips (small amount) every so often but I haven't touched any chips or other junk food for about 5 months. And after some extensive research, I'm at the start of a keto diet (not having any pastas, rice, sugary fruit, etc. and eating a decent amount of proteins and fats but having less than 50 g carbs a day [mainly from veggies]) so I'm going to continue to eat low carb meals and really track my protein/carb/fat intakes. Hopefully with this change I can beat the plateau and reach my goal!

[Phoenix98]

Welcome and good luck, FYI just increase your weight and workload to beat a plateau.

[Mydnite]

This is just general advice, and you may probably already know this, but if your goal is to lose fat, you can't really dictate which areas of your body you want to lose it in, it's kinda just how your body reacts to weight loss. If you wanna lose fat overall, the key is cardio, and once you have lost the fat, you can build up particular areas. But if you still have fat remaining and try to work on specific areas, all you are doing is building muscle underneath the fat which will not be revealed until that fat is lost. Again, sorry in advance if you aready know this...

[Asker]

I know i can't spot reduce lol but as far as cardio what do you think is most effective? I have an indoor bike that I use but will that also add to the bulk I already have?

[Mydnite]

elliptical machines are better because they work more areas simultaneously, but any sort of cardio is good for losing fat. Swimming is great as well.

I don't think it will add to the bulk if you are not training with weights. If anything, it will make you trimmer

[Asker]

I'll try to incorporate more of those exercises. Thanks!

[outmyroom]

What do you eat right now?

[Asker]

Breakfast- eggs OR avocado toast OR oatmeal with fruit OR special k cereal with almond milk.
Lunch- salad with only balsamic vinegar as a dressing and some chicken/steak/turkey, red cabbage tomato, and a bit of feta cheese in the salad OR a soup
Dinner- Salmon with sweet potato and broccoli OR Chicken wih brown rice and quinoa with tomato/green beans and hummus. Or meals similar to this replacing the protein, starch, and protein accordingly.
Typical Snacks- PB2 powdered peanut butter with green apple, a mozzarella stick, yogurt, nuts, snack bar, berries, etc.

[Asker]

Before i was eating more red meat and carbs so I've recently cut back on both.

[outmyroom]

Okay. If you're serious about losing more weight you're going to have to do a different diet because though what you're eating is healthy it's not good for your body. Eat different food categories at different times. For breakfast eat only protein, then for lunch only fruits and veggies, then for dinner only raw carbs (no toast) such as oatmeal or quinoa. Throw out special k cereal. Eggs only should be boiled and so should any meats. Go for white meats instead of red. Try not to munch in between meals. Also look up what kefir is. Try only drinking it for 3 days that should jumpstart your diet.
Every month I do something where I drink only kefir for three days, then eat only boiled chicken for three days, and eat only green apple for three days. It really helps to clean up the body and is great for making my belly look nice but more importantly making me healthy. Message me with any questions.

[Asker]

Thanks, I will definitely try this!

[outmyroom]

I hope it works

[Asker]

Me too!! :)

[Xfitchick]

Without a pic its difficult to judge. It all depends on the combination of bone structure (you cannot change), muscle mass and fat. If you reached a plateau it may not be wise to go even lower in fat, because it will make you loose curves. Training your legs (squats, sprints, will increase your leg muscle mass). I would suggest you train your upper body so you get wider shoulders and muscular arms. That will bring your body more in proportion and still stay female.

[Asker]

I have a short and petite frame except for my thighs/hips/butt lol. I will add more arm workouts to my exercise to balance it out though. Thanks!

[Xfitchick]

Don't worry. I am not that big either, only 1.65m. I am now 61 kg and don't want to go lower in fat either, because I want to keep the curves I have now.

[Alex88F]

squats
sex
swimming