The most effective way to reduce saddlebags, tone and shape muscles is by following an integrated training program combined with good nutritional support. Losing body fat will decrease anthropometric measurements. This is made possible through a process called thermodynamics. This basically states that if caloric expenditure is greater than caloric intake, stored body fat will be utilized for energy purposes, thus burning more body fat. Combining proper nutrition with an integrated approach is very effective in reducing body fat and toning muscles. In order to lose weight from your hips and thighs, you will need to attack the problem on two fronts: exercise and diet.
Here are some general exercises for slimmer hips, thighs and butt to get rid of saddlebags:
Swimming
Swimming is a good exercise for your legs. Better swim on your back using your legs alone.
Brisk Walking to Jogging
Join friends and go for at least 3-4 times a week for fast walking to jogging for 30 mins to 1 hour.
Biking
Biking is an example of cardio workout and instead of just roaming around the streets, why not try to go on uphills.
Specific Exercises for Slimmer Thighs
Side Leg Raises
The side leg raise strengthens muscles at the side of the hips and thighs. You can use ankle weights or cable to add some weight for progression.
- Stand up straight, directly behind a table or chair, feet slightly apart. Hold onto the table to help keep your balance.
- Take 3 seconds to lift your right leg out to the side.
- Take 3 seconds to lower your leg back to the starting position.
- Repeat with your left leg
Static Lunges
- Stand with right foot forward, left foot back about 3 feet apart.
- Hold weights on both hands and slowly bend the knees to lower the body.
- Keep your body straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.
Sliding Side Lunges
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and place the ball of your left foot on a plate or glider.
- Bend the right knee, sitting back into the heel as you slide the left foot out to the side.
- Keep the right knee behind the toe, and your body must keep in upright and abs in.
- Press into the plate to contract the inner thigh and slide the left foot back
- This works great on your inner thighs.
Chair Squat
- Place a chair just behind you and stand in front of it with hip or shoulder width apart.
- Contract the abs and keep them tight as you bend the knees and slowly squat towards the chair
- Keep the knees behind the toes as you sit down on the chair for a few seconds
- Contract the glutes and hamstrings to lift up out of the chair and begin extending the legs
- Repeat for 3 sets
- Progression: squat down until you are about to sit in the chair but not sitting all the way down.
Many folks want to know about the best ways to get rid of saddlebags. First, eat a healthy diet. Foods that contain carbs and high calories eventually turn into fat if your body does not use them up for fuel. We all know that carbs are needed by our body to give us energy. So it will end up as a stored fat in the body if not used. Start to change your eating habits. Stay away from fast food, fried foods, sweets and fatty meats when you’re trimming down excess fat. Remember that excess fat will have to go somewhere in your body and most of the time, the targets are your belly, butt and the back of your thighs. Opt for healthy foods like fibrous foods rich in iron like oats, brown rice and whole wheat. Also foods that are rich in proteins like soybean products, chicken and fish – fish oil is a high source of Omega 3 acids. Tofu is also an excellent source of protein. When cooked right, it makes a great substitute for meat. Fruits and vegetables, as these break down fat, can help boost your metabolism. Drink only natural, freshly squeezed juices and also don’t forget your 8 glasses of water daily. Drinking water also speeds up your metabolism.
The first thing you must know about how to effectively remove those saddlebags is that there is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss. You need to be very patient. Saddlebags can be stubborn – so stay with it and don’t give up! You also got to get moving. A fat burning routine for losing stubborn fat deposits is key. It’s not necessary to run ten miles a day (although that would definitely do it), but you need to do something like walking an hour everyday or jog three times a week. A good cardio warm up to start your day makes helps to get rid of those stubborn saddlebags. It’s always been exercise that makes the best way to remove those fats hanging in the buttocks, thighs and hips. Stop making excuses- we all have them, just like other body parts that shall remain nameless. The difference between those who have body fat issues and those who don’t is simple. Priority! Behavior change is inevitable if you are trying to lose body fat weight; you simply can’t continue doing what you are doing and you simply can’t keep making excuses for it either. Losing weight is a psychological process that takes time and energy on many levels, but it has to be done rigorously to reduce any appendage on the body. Excuses will have definitely no results, so STOP making excuses. That’s the only thing that you could do to help motivate yourself.
What are “saddlebags”? Saddlebags are one of a pair of pouches hanging across the back of a horse behind the saddle but on slang word it is define as a bulge of lumpy fat in the outer area of the thigh. The dangling, dimply flaps of flab and fat don’t look very appealing, especially if you wear tight jeans or bikinis that make you look fat. This is very common in women than men. Fat can be deposited anywhere in the body; however, women have a tendency to store it in two or three key places: the abdominal area, the hips or the thighs. Although most women would prefer not to have fat at all, if you have to have it, you do want it on your thighs or hips instead of around your belly. The reason for this is due to the type of fat each body part stores and how detrimental one type is in comparison to another. One type is the visceral fat. It is also called intra-abdominal fat, and refers to the fat that surrounds the internal organs. A person may be within a healthy weight range, but still have too much intra-abdominal fat around the internal organs. This is very much true, they look thin but the saddlebags are surrounding their belly, this doesn’t look good if you have one. Another type is what you call subcutaneous fat, on the other hand, is body fat that is close to the skin’s surface and is considered less dangerous, and easier to lose, than visceral fat. Losing the fat itself not actually the weight (because for some, they want to retain their weight and just get rid of stubborn fats like “saddlebags” and the so-called “love handles”) through proper diet and effective exercise can help reduce visceral fat. How much fat a person eats does matter as studies have shown that those who eat 30% or more of their diets as fat usually have high amounts of visceral fat. Learn to eat less but frequent.
Spot reducing fat around the hips and thighs, or any other area of the body, doesn’t necessarily work. If you tend to store excess fat around the thighs, it may take a little longer to lose the fat there. Your genes and hormones also determine where you lose fat so your best bet is to follow a consistent exercise program, eat a healthy, low-calorie diet and let your body respond to that. If you’re losing inches, even if it isn’t from that specific area, you’re on the right track.
Many believe that belly fat is the most dangerous kind of fat on the human body and we need to know how to get rid of fat. We have all seen people who are overweight in just their stomach region and appear fit in every other place. It is a strange thing, isn’t it? It seems like we are all overweight somewhere or another, and while we all need to keep track of our weight and be proactive about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, those who carry extra belly fat need to be aware even more.
If you think about it, your belly is the area that holds most of your most important organs. Having extra weight in your legs or your hips doesn’t affect the functioning of any major organ, while carrying belly fat can really hinder the work of some of your body’s most important parts. Because it important that our organs work well, we want to do everything we can to protect them and not hinder their work.
I’ll often have clients come into my fitness club and tell me that their most annoying problem is the extra belly fat that they just cannot get rid of. I agree that their belly fat not only is annoying, but it is also dangerous. I am surprised by how few people know the dangers of belly fat, so I am always quick to share with them the facts. It only further increases their motivation to learn how to get rid of fat.
Another large group of clients will come in with the firm belief that there is nothing they can do with their belly fat. They think that it is impossible to trim down, especially the older they get. As a personal fitness trainer, I am convinced that getting rid of belly fat not only is possible, but that it is important enough to be tackled regardless of how hard it is to accomplish.
Losing belly fat happens by a combination of consistent and directed exercise and a specfic diet. It is amazing how certain exercises are aimed specifically at reducing fat in certain areas of the body. Certain types of nutrition plans will also help to trigger excess fat in particular areas of the body.
If you have extra belly fat, you should be intentional about dealing with it. Make an appointment with a fitness trainer, a dietician or a physcian. Let someone help you get on the right track in dealing with your belly fat and making it history.
A friend of mine is a secretary. She is a sweet woman and her face always looks so fresh. But, she often complains about how to lose thigh fat. She feels that her thighs are too fat. She has no confidence to wear a tight gown or trousers because the fat thighs are difficult to hide. Things are getting worse whenever she wants to wear shorts during the summer. She really wants to get her thighs slimmer and firmer. She is not the only woman who complains about fat thighs. One of the reasons women get fat thighs is because they sit too much, especially those who work behind the desk. They rarely move their body while busy doing their work.
There are some tips that can help women learn how to lose thigh fat, but the most essential thing to do is to move around as often as possible. By doing so, you can burn off the thighs’ fat.
If you feel you have fat thighs, here are some activities to slim and firm your thighs:
1. Walking – Once in a while you may have walked to reach the office. This is a good activity to burn the fat in your legs. To be more intensive, do it regularly at least 4 times a week. You can start with normal walk for 10 minutes and go faster for another 10 minutes. Add the time if you want to. Ask your friends to join you to make it more fun.
2. Swimming – All swimming styles are good for the body. But, to firm and slim your thighs, it will be better if you swim on your back by using your legs only. Your legs become active and it will burn off the fat.
3. Skipping – Do skipping everyday or at least do it 3-4 times a week First of all skip slowly using skipping rope for about 10 times and then move faster with more jumps, for about 10 minutes. Try to jump as high as possible during skipping to increase the fat burning.
4. Pedaling– Do your exercise on an exercise bike while you are at the gym or at home. If you do not have one, you may as well use a regular bike. The important thing is to pedal it to burn your fat in the legs. Start slowly and do it faster after about 5 minutes. Change your speed again during the exercise in accordance with your stamina.
5. Joining Aerobic Classes – You can join a local aerobics class in the neighborhood. The equipment and technical instruction help you slim and firm your thighs quite quickly.
