Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning Out Your Legs

L

lorajc

Cathlete
Hi Everyone,
I'm in my last week of the Sept rotation "Butts & Gutts". These are my problem areas. I am thin on top and carry most of my weight in my butt and legs (as well as lower abs). While I did notice a slight amount of increase in my leg definition this month, I am no where near where I'd like to be. I'd love to lean out my legs and create a lot of definition. I would love to hear your story in regards to how you achieved this. I am especially interested if you have a similar body type. I welcome all suggestions!! I realize everyone is different and that a clean diet and aerobics are a big part also. (I'd love to hear about lower ab definition also). I am open to rotation suggestions, traditional and non traditional exercises and certain food "no no's".
 
Leanness Lifestyle (www.leannesslifestyle.com). I went from about 25% bodyfat to my current 14.5% bodyfat and have maintained it for 2 1/2 years. I also run (just did a half marathon on 9/18) and have a full marathon on 11/20.

Kathy
 
Kathy,
What are the basic principals of leanness lifestyle? Is it pretty much Body For Life? I am a vegetarian and found body for life terribly limiting. After I began having nightmares about eating cottage cheese, I decide I'd had enough.
Heather
 
I "nightmare" about eating cottage cheese is more like a DREAM for me!!!:7 :7 :7 I like mine with pineapple and mandarin oranges!!!

Kathy, You look GREAT!!!! What a gorgeous transformation! You must be so proud of yourself...you are GLOWING!!!
 
Kathy,
Alright, I just saw your before and after's, I'm impressed. You look fantastic! I want more info on your eating plan! The web site didn't go into many details. So if you don't mind....details please!
Heather
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

I love cottage cheese too! I eat it EVERY DAY!!! It's a great L/F protein source for me!

Kathy-yes, you look great!:)
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

Kathy-That is truly awesome! Do tell us more about the rpogram and what you ate and workouts etc.

Thanks

Terri
 
I'm a pear shape also . . . I use Body for Life for Women as a guide and started eating extra clean a month ago today. I no longer use heavy weights for my legs but have been trying to work them at least four times a week. I decided to do this because of all of the praise for freestyle training. I do the floor work with ankle weights a lot. I also try to run at least two times a week. I do aerobics at least four times a week. Anyway, in the last month, I've lost three pounds, lost over a half inch in my thighs and almost an inch in waist. I am also seeing cuts in my legs that I never had before. I only work my abs 1 to 2 times per week because that's never been my trouble spot. While I've been very happy with my results this month, I am afraid of hitting a plateau and so I am going to be watching for other responses to your post. Good luck, fellow pear shape.

Gretchen
 
I am also with Kathy on Leanness Lifestyle. I saw this post and immediately thought of LL.

If you want more idea about LL you can go to the home page and download a sample of David's book. I am an exercise physiologist and it is the most sound body transformation program I have come across.

My proof is also in my results - I am currently 50lb lighter and bodyfat of about 15%.

Liz N
 
Adding more protein was what did it for me. If you don't get enough protein, your body cannot build the muscle.
 
Wow Kathy! What an awesome accomplishment!

Your stats make me curious about something. I'm 5'3" and weigh about 115 lbs. and whenever I have my body fat measured (some kind of machine they use at spas) it says I'm 27-28% bodyfat. Kathy, Sarah, and others in the know, do you think this means that my ideal weight should be a lot lower? Or are those machines totally out of wack? There's not that much that jiggles on me except a bit around my midsection. I inherited naturally lean legs from my father.

I hope you don't mind my butting in, Lorajac. Maybe I should start my own thread with this question.

-Nancy
 
Miss Nancy -

I don't know if this helps - but anytime I've been measured with calipers, my reading has been lower. So you may want to consider getting measured by someone who knows how to use calipers.

Just Do It! :)
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

Awww...thanks! :) I feel great and I'm glad it shows. ;-)

Yes, I agree...bio-impedence bodyfat measurement doesn't seem accurate (i.e, Tanita bodyfat scales, Omron hand held's, etc.) I have a personal trainer measure me with calipers and while it may not be a perfect bodyfat measurement (depending on the experience of the tester), it's usually within (+ or -) two percent.

It's hard to nutshell Leanness Lifestyle but I'll try to give some basics. The eating is a suggested 40% carb/40% protein/20% fat. The exercise is vigorous which is defined as at least 70% maximimum heartrate for cardio and challenging weight training. You only have one splurge meal per week (versus the splurge "day" of BFL).

The website also has tools that help you determine the amount of calories you need to consume to lose a certain amount of weight. For instance, if you want to lose 1 lb. of weight...you input personal data (gender, height, age, amount of exercise you'll do for the week, etc.) and it will give you a staggered calorie allotment for the week.... There's an activity log that helps you determine your calorie burn for exercise, and several other helpful tools. There's also very personalized help available from the creater David Greenwalt. You can instant message him through Live Help (when available) or PM him.

It's a very comprehensive program that's hard to describe in a short message here...lol, but the program is not that complicated once you learn the basics. It's become a "lifestyle" for me and I find it easy to maintain. :) HTH. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try to answer them (or hopefully Liz, who's doing superb BTW, will jump in ;-) ).

Ooops, came back to add that I do a wide range of exercise. I do Cathe DVDs, lift weights at a gym, and run. I love variety and I've lost the weight and maintained it by varying my workouts. It's not so much "what you do" but consistency and challenging yourself that counts.

Kathy
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

Thanks Honeybunch and Kathy. I think I'll buy some calipers. I know my body fat isn't as low as Kathy's, but it's hard to believe it's as high as it's been measuring.
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

Looks like this thread has taken on a mind of it's own. Doesn't anyone have suggestions for me??
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

So sorry, lorajc. Tell us more about what you eat daily, how much exercise you normally do each week (break down of cardio/weightlifting), how much weight or bodyfat you hope to lose, etc. It'll be easier to see what areas to address. I hate to say it, but a good sound nutrional plan is a HUGE part of success.

Kathy
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

I eat several small meals a day....snacks and meals. I eat cereal or oatmeal for breakfast with LF yogurt, snacks are almonds and lowfat granola bars. Salad for lunch with mozzarella cheese and another LF yogurt. I eat 2 pieces of fruit in the afternoon and dinner is usually a LF cheese sandwich or half of a roll and baked tortilla chips (low fat) with salsa. I measure at servings of cereal, almonds, etc. I eat a DQ sugar free fudge bar for 50 calories for dessert at night. I drink tons of water. I do cheat daily and eat 3 small caramel creams (I have a wicked sweet tooth and i'm not willing to give these up....it equals about 150 calories). Sometimes dinner will be a cheese sandwich and vegetable soup. I only cheat on the weekend with a DQ sundae. My only thing that I think I do wrong is I eat too often. I get REALLY hungry and if I'm hungry, I shake and become very irritable.

I workout 6-7 days a week for an average of 1 hour to 1 hour and 45 minutes a day. I do Cathe's rotations (have been since February). I don't need to lose much weight. I'm 5'7" and weigh 124. I'm very small boned (wear children's glasses). My ideal weight would be about 117. I just did the hip to waist ratio test and ideal is 0.80 and mine is 0.82 so I only need to lose a little weight, but a little makes a big difference on my frame.

I also have a hard time building muscle in my upper body (ectomorph top) and I carry all of my weight from the lower abdomen down.

Please don't tell me to try zig zagging calories. I doubt I could do that. It's way too much work and I get way too hungry to eat 900 calories one day and 2000 another day. Right now, I eat about 2100 to 2200 calories a day (maybe a bit more -- I'm estimating).
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

I usually don't like to discuss diets, but, just my personal take on what you've listed. I'd suggest:

-adding more protein
-cutting way back, if not out all together all the processed food (cereal, granola bars, tortilla chips)
-limit salsa (I don't know how much you eat, but it's very high in sodium)
-remove one yogurt and switch to low fat cottage cheese.
-fruit should be low glycemic when dieting. It's good to have your almonds with fruit!
-try cutting out your cheat snacks (try every other day have a caramel, then every three days...) It's not necessarily the number of calories, it throws off your body chemistry by putting in that extra sugar/chemicals.
-add flaxseed oil into your diet. I will add some on rice.
-have more protein for breakfast (egg whites) with some oatmeal

Another thing I might suggest is, you listed your dinner is "usually a LF cheese sandwich or half of a roll and baked tortilla chips (low fat) with salsa" Maybe try a lean protein with lots of vegetables and some brown rice.

A calorie counting website that may help is calorieking.com
 
RE: Please Share What Has Worked For You With Leaning O...

Thanks for the diet advice. A couple problems are that I don't eat meat (can't stand it). I also don't have a working stove and cannot cook any "real" food like rice, etc. I don't know if I could cut the caramel creams out. I have a very addictive personality (recovering drug addict) and I've given up so much (i.e. that, plus coffee, cigarettes, caffeine)...I doubt I could give up sugar without really feeling severely deprived, depressed and then some. I'm not kidding either. I know it's sad, but I need some pleasure in my life.
 
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