Get Thinner Thighs

Do you want skinny thighs? Are you feeling like your lifestyle needs a bit of a makeover and some new inspiration? With hard work, a healthy diet, and perseverance, you may be able to change the shape of your thighs, but results can vary. You'll need to deploy the right combination of diet and exercise, and if you're consistent, you'll see results. Read on for more information on how to get thinner thighs.

Steps

Exercise

1. Get a pedometer. A pedometer is a counter that keeps track of how many steps you've taken each day. You can usually fit it on your hip, and nowadays, you can get pedometers that no one can even see, so there's no excuse not to get one.
   • Shoot to take between 5,000 and 10,000 steps each day. That may seem like a lot, but it's less than you think. (5,000 steps are a little more than {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.) Find excuses to walk places. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Walk to the grocery store instead of driving. Getting to 10,000 steps takes a little practice, but once you get there, it's worth it.
2. Try running up and down some stadium stairs. Motivate your inner Rocky and bust up and down those stairs. If you feel your muscles burning, it is a sign that they are getting a good work out. Also, try using the stairs instead of the elevator in a building!
3. Try interval training. Interval training is when you exercise really hard for a short amount of time, followed by longer periods of light intensity training. For example, if you're running around a track, you could jog for three laps and then go as fast as you can for the last lap. It'll kick your butt, but that's kinda the point. Right?
   • Interval training has been scientifically shown to burn more calories and improve aerobic capacity. Start by replacing a couple of your regular workouts with interval training, ramping up from there. You'll see results faster if you stick with it.
4. Do jumping jacks. Instead of jumping jacks alone, which can be a little boring and not feel very effective, try doing jumping jacks after you're totally tuckered out from another workout. After you've run a mile, swum 20 laps, or biked your heart through your chest, get up and do 20 jumping jacks at full intensity. It's a nice way to really put your workout regimen over the top, and you'll feel it in your thighs.
5. Target your inner thighs and abdominals with scissor kicks. This is a great exercise that you can do practically anywhere, without needing any special equipment. Lay on your back with your hands underneath your glutes, raise your feet into the air, and start kicking back and forth with short controlled movements. Remember to point your toes out and move one leg back as you move the other forward. For a more intense workout, leave your hands out to the side instead of underneath your glutes.
   • To target the thighs specifically, extend the legs wide and quickly pull them back together. This is similar to a jumping jack movement while lying on your back.
6. Dance along to music you like or join a dance class. This is DIY fun, and it can be a really effective way to work out because you're having so much fun. A dance class has the added benefit of working you for a set amount of time, not just until you don't feel like it anymore.
7. Do an organized sport. You may not be much of a "sporty" person, but there are hundreds of sports to suit all different kinds of people. So you don't like basketball; engage in tennis. You don't like tennis; engage in soccer. Competition can break up the monotony of a workout and make it into something really fun.
   • It's also possible to burn more calories during an organized or intramural sport than it is working out alone. If you're playing soccer for an hour, you're likely to burn around 730 calories. If you're doing Hatha yoga by yourself for an hour, you're likely to burn only about 200 calories. That's a big difference.
8. Do lunges, if you want to build toned muscle. With a dumbbell in either hand, lunge forward with one leg while simultaneously lowering the opposite knee until it's about an inch above the ground. Step back and continue with the opposite leg.
   • Bodyweight exercises like lunges are ideal if you want to avoid bulking up but still want to build healthy and lean muscle.
9. Understand that you can't just lose weight in one area of your body. The myth that you can just lose weight in your thighs, or in another part of your body, is called "spot training." In other words, you have to lose weight from all over in order to lose weight in your thighs.

Diet

1. Take in fewer calories than you burn during the day. Want to lose weight? This is the only reliable way to do it. Since one pound contains about 3,500 calories, you'll need to burn approximately 3,500 more calories than you eat as food in order to burn one pound of weight.
   • Don't get daunted by these numbers. 3,500 calories is a lot to lose in a single day. Shoot at first to lose around an extra 250 to 500 calories a day.
   • Get in the habit of counting the calories you eat. A lot of people don't know how many calories they consume until they actually start writing them down. Carefully measure your portion sizes, and make a list or a calorie counter journal to keep track of all the food you eat during a given day. Like a budget, this list will help guide and inform your weight loss program.
2. Eat more food in the morning and afternoon than at night. Eating a balanced meal in the morning to start off the day is important. It gives your body the energy it needs to perform essential tasks. But eating a whole lot of food right before you go to sleep isn't good for you, not because your metabolism slows down, but because the types of foods you are likely to eat right before bed are often bad snack foods.
   • Studies have shown that animals that eat exclusively during their "right" cycles — that is, when they are most active — do better at weight loss than animals that eat during their "wrong" cycles — the night for humans, or daytime for mice. Eat late, risk putting on weight.
3. Eat the right kinds of foods. In order to get extra weight off your whole body generally, and your thighs specifically, it's essential to eat the right kinds of food. Scientists and doctors routinely recommend going with a combination of:
   • Lean protein: white poultry meat, soy and dairy products, fish, etc.
   • Vegetables and legumes: spinach, kale, broccoli, carrots, peas, lentils, beans, etc.
   • Fruits: citrus fruit, bananas, apples, kiwi, pears, etc.
   • Whole grains: whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, etc.
   • Nuts and seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, almonds, walnuts, etc.
4. Stay away from the wrong kinds of food. Overly processed foods, foods with the saturated or trans fats, and foods that fit into a high-glycemic diet are ones that doctors recommend staying away from. These foods include:
   • Refined sugars: candy, cakes, sugary drinks (sodas), etc.
   • Simple carbohydrates: normal pasta, white bread, etc.
   • Saturated and trans fats: butter, solid shortening, lard, margarine, etc.
5. Drink lots of water. Drink water to keep your body hydrated, your organs happy, and to partially help trick your body into thinking that it's fuller than it is. If you're really hungry, drink an 8 oz. glass of water before you start your meal. You will feel fuller, and you won't end up eating as much. This is because people often confuse hunger and thirst signals from their body.

Making Lifestyle Changes

1. Reduce stress. When you are stressed, a hormone called cortisol is released. Cortisol can increase your blood sugar and cause you to gain more weight. If you have an extremely busy lifestyle, you might try to find ways to cut out stressors from your daily life.
   • "Mindful" exercise such as Tai Chi or yoga can help release stress while letting you exercise at the same time.
2. Get plenty of sleep. Aim for seven or eight hours of sleep a night. The amount of sleep that you get can affect how much hunger hormones are released into your body. Getting less than six or more than nine hours a night can cause you to eat more.
3. Don't starve yourself for a quick fix. Starving yourself actually has a negative effect on weight loss, funny enough. When you deprive your body of essential energy, it believes that it needs to start saving up energy to prepare for a period where it might not be getting as much food. In other words, your body prepares for hibernation. Instead of losing fat, you're likely to lose muscle and other lean tissue. That's not a good recipe for real weight loss.

Tips

• Drink plenty of water while you do this; it helps you keep going for a lot longer.
• Everything takes time. Don't expect results in 2 days.
• Running Is very good for you, and if you want to lose weight in your thighs, run about two miles 6 days a week, and one resting day.
• Don't sit on your bum all day, get out there and do something. Sometimes it is hard to do that when you have a desk job. So try exercising in your chair, like keeping your blood flowing by moving your arms and legs.
• Go for a less intense Cardio workout. Running long distances helps to lose fat while sprinting may cause muscular gain.
• Schedule a few visits with a personal trainer so that you can learn proper technique and avoid injury while working out.
• Another good leg exercise is lying flat on the ground and lifting your legs about an inch, keeping them together, for as long as you can hold it. You should feel a burn in your thighs.
• Try running on a treadmill when you cannot go jogging.
• Peddle with your legs at least for 15 minutes a day on your bike.
• Start out slowly if you aren't good at running, then work your way up. That's better than hurting yourself by trying to run 3 miles the first day.

Warnings

• If your body aches a little bit, that means it's working. If it does not, you may need to try a little harder.
• If you feel extreme pain while doing these exercises, stop immediately and visit a doctor or take a break and return after the pain is over for a good amount of time.

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• Get Smaller Butt and Thighs Without Exercising

Sources and Citations

See also

• Improve Your Fitness With Proper Sports Nutrition
• Do Water Aerobics
• Cross Train
• Choose a Personal Trainer
• Get Exercise Outdoors
• Do Core Exercises
• Measure Your Thighs
• Wear a Fitbit
• Switch from Treadmill Running to Outdoor Running
• Burn Fat at Home

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