Whether it’s because of social media, models in magazines, or the tons of reality shows where everyone seems to look perfect, it made us all feel like there is always something we need to fix or change. We see you, ladies, it’s frustrating. However, if you do want to change something, and that something is to shape up your thighs, then what you’re really looking to do is:
- Lose body weight
- Build muscle on your thighs
“Spot reducing” is where you work to target a specific area by losing weight and building muscle. However, sadly this isn’t really a thing. While it’s not possible to choose where you lose your fat, you can work to tone areas that you’d like to be more defined. Then by doing this, you’ll likely lose a few pounds too, so it’s a win-win.
You’re both fitter and stronger when your body has more muscle. So, you’re then able to do more intense workouts, challenge yourself and lose weight even quicker. It’s also possible to lose weight by eating a clean, high-protein diet, which also supports muscle growth. Studies have discovered that those who stuck to a high-protein diet lost significantly more weight than those on a low-protein diet.
Women are at a bit of a disadvantage due to the way our hormones work. Female hormones will cause you to carry most of your weight around your pelvis, butt, and thighs. Whilst this may be great for childbearing, we don’t all want it and it’s not so great for slim thighs.
We’ve got some tricks to help you tone and sculpt your thighs, and don’t worry, some of them are easier than you might think.
So, let’s dive in.
Say no to fad diets
If you’re someone that does have a little extra weight on your thighs, then it’s a good thing to learn that the key to losing body fat isn’t dieting and starving yourself, but instead adopting a healthy lifestyle that you can live long-term.
We’re not under the illusion that this can be solved overnight, many of those crash diets are destined to fail. Alternatively, eating a balanced diet of nutritious and colorful foods will have you on your way to losing weight from your thighs (as well as everywhere else) and keeping it off.
A high level of salt, too much refined sugar, and saturated fat are all things that can tear you down when your goal is slimmer thighs. Carb-filled processed foods are not your friend either, studies have shown that these sorts of snacks can cause you to gain weight in as little as two weeks.
Go downhill
It seems that trail walking and running are the new nature stair stepper. Climbing is a great lower body workout, it’s the perfect workout for your quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes. Although, hiking downhill is also amazing for your thighs as this tones your muscles the most.
As you walk downhill, your glutes and quads need to work constantly to keep your knees and hips stabilized. These muscles are then resisting the force of gravity against your body weight, meaning toning effects go into overdrive.
An added bonus with this one is there is don’t need equipment or the gym, it’s free.
Stay hydrated
Drinking water and keeping yourself hydrated is one of the best ways to lose weight and stay healthy. Studies have found that drinking 500ml of water, roughly a pint, will increase your metabolism for as much as an hour. Having a glass of water every hour will not only keep your body well hydrated but it’ll also up your base metabolic rate.
Another misconception is that when you think you’re hungry, you could be dehydrated. So, by remaining hydrated, you’ll decrease your appetite too. Some researchers have found that drinking water before a meal can lead to a significant decrease in calorie consumption. This then means that in addition to burning more calories, you may also feel the need to consume less.
Also Read: 10 tips to feel more energized
Water is fundamental to functions in the body and without it, your body isn’t able to provide the energy needed to grow muscles. However, it’s not just hydration, a healthy, balanced diet is essential to your success too.
Become best friends with weights
Life is busy so when you haven’t got time for the gym, there are ankle weights. These are a really great purchase for quick home workouts that will destroy your inner thighs.
By wearing weights, your muscles will then need to work harder to shift the extra load, so you’ll tone your legs and gain strength too.
A really good workout to do with ankle weights is bent-leg raises. Start in a chair with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Then, extend one leg out straight and hold it for 60 seconds, then bend the knee 45 degrees and hold for another 30 seconds. Next, lower your foot back to the floor, change legs and repeat. As you start to gain muscle and get stronger, up the weight by ½ lb at a time.
Although, it is important to recognize that you shouldn’t use ankle weights for aerobic exercises, as this can put extra stress on your joints.
Sleep and get slim
If you’ve got a body goal of losing a few pounds, then you’re going to want to make sure you’re getting at least eight hours of sleep each night.
When you’re not getting enough sleep, your stress hormone, cortisol is at a higher level. You’ll also have less leptin, which is not helpful as it makes us hungry. Both cortisol and leptin love to hold onto fat reserves to give us more energy.
Also Read: 15 tips for those struggling to lose that extra weight
Try to avoid caffeine, refined sugar, and processed carb snacks after 3 pm, especially if you have trouble sleeping. It’s due to the fact that these foods can disrupt the downtime of your metabolism, creating fluctuations in your blood sugar and insulin. These may cause you to wake up at odd times of the night.
Oranges are the way (apparently)
According to studies, eating oranges can help shed weight from your thighs. The study found that a diet rich in polyphenols, which can be found in citrus fruits, may work with the bacteria in the intestines to boost weight loss. This could be even more effective when paired with a diet low in probiotics.
It’s also hardly a difficult one, oranges are delicious, juicy, and packed with antioxidants and vitamin C. However, if you’re not a citrus fruit lover, polyphenols can also be found in red wine and dark chocolate.
Squat, squat, squat
So, as we’ve already mentioned, you’re not able to spot-reduce thigh fat. However, there is good news, you can spot-train muscles to make them strong and toned. You may have guessed it already, but yes, squats are a great way to do this. Squats are hard work – but they’re easy to do and rewarding. You can do them anywhere, anytime, whilst dinner is cooking or you’re watching your favorite show on Netflix.
It’s recommended that you start with 40 squats a day, three times a week. Then each week, increase this by 20 so that by week four, you’re doing 100 squats. Once you’ve achieved this you can then try a different variation of squat to keep those results coming. Perhaps you could try adding weight, tempo, or doing a wider Sumo-like squat. You’ll start seeing results in no time and this will keep you motivated and inspired.
Also Read: Too tired to hit the gym?
What is important is to make sure that you learn how to properly do squats. Not following the correct form means that you may not reap the full benefits and could also cause injury. If you really want to feel the burn, you could head down to the gym and try out barbell squats.
The bottom line
So there it is, we’ve given you plenty of advice to get you started on shaping up those thighs. Just as we said, they aren’t really hard (well 100 squats might be) but it will all be worth it.
Make sure you wave off those fad diets, as we mentioned already, they set you up to fail with unrealistic targets and expectations. Instead, a challenging workout routine and healthy, balanced diet will have you well on your way to the thighs of your dreams.
Ready to get the thighs of dreams?
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