Things and Hips

Three weeks of working out isn't long enough to see results! (How long did it take you to GROW those hips and thighs? I'm positive it took longer than three weeks!)

Keep working out AND make certain you are eating healthy, well-balanced meals! You'll get there.

Diet is 90% of this! Exercise is great, but if you are not changing your eating habits, it just ain't gonna work for ya. You may notice a slight change for the better in the way your clothes fit as your body begins to firm up. However, you need to include dietary changes as well. Lots of good suggestions on here. Drink LOTS of water, eat whole foods, cut back on processed snacky stuff, the basics. Remember, if you don't change the way you eat, your body won't change too much either! :)

Hi J.,
Congratulations on setting a goal and having the motivation to go for it! That is half the battle. There are many factors that go into losing weight. www.shapefit.com is a website that I have found interesting and helpful. It is full of information on nutrition, diet, recipes, exersizes to work different parts of the body, personal testimonies with before and after pictures with the people telling the tips on what helped them the most in getting into shape. I do not think they are trying to sell anything, if I remember correctly, it is just jam-packed with fantastic information on losing weight and getting into shape. Good Luck! T. B.

Hi J..
The only thing that has worked for me is cutting back on wheat and dairy. I found I was retaining a lot of excess bulk from the food I was eating. Make certain you are eating foods your body can digest. I eat sprouted grain bread, spelt tortilla's and spelt, quinuoa and kamut pasta. It is all very tastey surprisingly enough. I haven't been able to excercise regulary, which I know would have an enormous impact of my body but the conscious food choices have helped tremendously. Oh yea, I cut our coffee and cut back on sugar. It is a lot but it is working for me. I find pilates stretches, just 15 min/5 days a week really lengthen and slim my thighs. Do you have twins? I am a twin. I love being a twin. I wish you the best of luck, and happiness in your body. Your body has been busy making babies and it took me two years to get my size back. I was 34. Someone told me to be very patient because it can take a long time for your body to remember it's normal proportions. I didn't believe it, but mine did remember eventually. Oh yea and drink water!!!!!

Hi J.,

You don't really want to get rid of your thighs and hips, now do you? You need them to walk! Just kidding.

Seriously, give yourself time. It takes months to really see results. It helps if you can do at least 30 minutes -5 times per week - of intense walking, followed by at least 20 minutes of targeted leg lifts, squats, etc. And don't forget to stretch.

Some of us have slower metabolisms and have to work at it harder than others. I have a tiny house with no room for anything, but I made room for my used ($80) treadmill, a small "stepper" I just picked up at Big 5 Sporting goods for $39, and one of those "Red" twister things that I paid too much for, but I use a lot to twist as well as sit and do dumbell reps. I also invested in a good thick floor pad (Target- $20). That is my mini gym, available whenever I can find time (difficult!) and energy (even more so!).
My favorite thing to do for excercise is to crank up the jams and flail around in what could loosely be interpreted
as "dancing". I can only do this when I'm alone, however- it's just too embarrassing...but oh so fun!
I hope this helps!
Keep at it, kiddo!
~D.

Honey give your self a break! You didn't grow those hips in 3 weeks, what makes you think they will go away that fast! Keep doing what your doing, leg lifts, and for inner thighs, hold your top leg up and bring the lower one up, this will hurt the next day but it works!! Enjoy your baby, you'll be fine! R.

Ahh J.,
Keep up the work and it'll eventually pay off. Your doing great so far! REMEMBER it DOES take time! Although, I don't want to hear that either - I want instant results!! Anyhow, love ya and see ya soon!

As the others have said, it takes MUCH longer than 3 weeks to see results. Figure that you should start seeing results at a minimum of 1 month, to at least 2 mos. Also, make sure that you're including strength training in your workouts, cardio is great, but strengthening and building a little muscle will burn many more calories since muscle burns a TON more calories than fat does. If you are still nursing, just be sure you continue to take in enough calories (and water!) to sustain what your body needs to produce quality (and quantity) milk. Some people if they work hard and consistently can see great results in 12 weeks (my husband did), for myself, I'm not as commited, it took me almost 2 years to get to where I wanted to be. I just depends on the person. Good luck!

Give yourself time, and think of it this way, you aren't just working out to lose those thighs etc, but you are setting up a new habit of exercising, something that you will have to do for the rest of your life if you wish to stay healthy. So this is just the first 3 weeks of a lifetime love affair with feeling fit, and capable of achieving your goals.
To really see benefits I think you need to be consistent for about 2 months. And don't forget to watch your diet and avoid simple carbs.
Enjoy and find something that you love to do so it sticks, if you can find a mentor or workout buddy. That has made a huge difference in my ability to commit to regular exercise.

Hi J. ~

Have you heard about low-glycemic eating? I came across a program called the Genetic Key Diet and Lifestyle and in 12 weeks, I lost 10lbs and 32 inches! I have always had struggles before when I wanted to lose wt. and this program was so easy!

If you are interested in checking it out, go to: www.gkforlife.com I put together a website in order to help others suceed with wt. loss/fat loss also.

I have had 3 children and with each pregnancy, I would put on another 5-10 lbs...not anymore! It was so easy!

Blessings
Amy Jo
PS - you must consider that you are under a year from having a baby. If you are breastfeeding, the fat makes for better milk. You can still lose fat, but keep that in mind.

Hi J.! This is J.. Well...you're in good company! I
put on the weight after having four kids in five years, and do I know what you're going thru! Be patient, keep doing those work outs, and DON'T STOP. It is so easy to get out of shape, and takes steadfastness to get back into shape, but you can do it!
We're into better weather now...do you have a bike to ride?
I find varying the workouts a bit...some indoor, some outside
walking or riding my bike...works the best. Also, keep in mind that getting back into shape takes revving up your metabolism.
This takes not only exercising, but taking a really good organic vitamin that's fresh...not from the store where it's been on the shelf for months! The best I've found is from
____@____.com
This girl, Sarah, is very knowledgeable about losing weight
and keeping it off. She has helped me a great deal, and the
vitamins gave me energy to really rev up my system to burn that fat!
I hope you'll write me and tell me how you're doing. If you
live in the Post Falls area, maybe we can get together and ride bikes someday. We have some wonderful bike paths.
:>) J.

NEW COMMENT My 7 1/2 yo granddaughter, just today told me that I had very little in my brain and that I'm fat. I laughed. Every once in awhile she makes that observation. She is serious. After I laughed she said, "but I love you. You are the best grandmother in the world."

At 3 your son hasn't learned the social niceties. He also has had no experience to know
that it takes time for most women to regain their figure. I'm wondering why you're turning what a 3 yo says into a judgemental statement. It does take quite awhile to get rid of that tummy. Your uterus and your skin were stretched and stretched. Even after your uterus has returned to it's normal size your body still has to get rid of the extra tissue that was built to hold that baby. And how long it takes depends on each one's body. My daughter still has the extra tummy flab after nearly 4 years. Her sister's tummy was flat in just a couple of months.

I will repeat you are beautiful just the way you are! If you can love yourself as you are even tho you want to lose weight or inches then what your 3 yo says will not be discouraging. You do still look pregnant. He still loves you. And you've lost inches around your thighs. There is nothing in his statement to say that you won't be able to eventually make changes in your body.

First post:

Her, J., you cannot expect to see change in 3 weeks. All those ads are just ads. In fact they say in the fine print that the advertised results are unusual. I'm guessing it's like 1 in a million that see improvement that fast.

I'm guessing that you have the same shaped thighs and hips that you've had since adulthood. Perhaps you've gained weight with each pregnancy but the shape of them are the same, just larger. And the way that you make them smaller again is to eat less and exercise more for many months. It took months to add the weight and it'll take months to take it off. Each one of us adds weight in different places depending on our genes.

If you're wanting to change the actual shape of your thighs and hips I doubt that you can do that. The reason that I'm saying this is that you haven't mentioned wanting to loose weight in your abdomen or arms or ......

I have a close friend of many years and both she and her sister put on proportionately more weight on their thighs and hips than on the rest of their body. They can lose weight and be small at the waist and above but they've always had large hips and thighs. They accepted this years ago after trying many exercises and diets.

What should you be doing? Eating healthy and exercise moderately while your body recovers from the c-section. Believe that you are beautiful just the way you are.

Three weeks? Keep going. It could take months to see results but they will eventually come. It took me a year to get to what I wanted after my son was born. If you give up, it will never happen but exercising is always a good thing. Don't expect quick results. You really need cardio if you're going to really burn off fat. If you do a lot of stair stepping, leg-lifting kind of exercises, you'll gain muscle there which is good but at first, you'll feel bigger, not smaller. After a while, if you're good with how you eat, you will see that the fat will burn off and reveal beautiful cut muscles. You'll be more toned. Cellulite, if you have it, most likely won't go away without some expensive procedure, unfortunately. But yeah, three weeks won't do much of anything on the surface. Underneath, though, you have this wonderful muscle waiting. Be patient. Never give up.

Keep exercising it will pay off and it makes you feel great. The thing that works for me is dieting and exercising. Cut your calories if you have to. Here is a website that I visited that help me cut my calories safely and gave me lots of info. http://www.freedieting.com/

Good Luck!

I know how you feel. I was just informed by my Mom that the hips/thighs "gene" runs in my family!!

I've found that if you get a plyometric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometric) training workout that emphasizes A LOT on squats, lunges, and ballet moves like: plies, and releves- standing on your tip toes- you will see big results.

I have REALLY enjoyed the CRUNCH series of workouts. The one I like for the backside is: 10 Minute Buns- for obvious reasons. It's a great addition to your regular workout. I usually do it last because the muscles are a little more fatigued after a workout and working through it gives them more of a workout. I've also REALLY LOVED The Biggest Winner workouts. Jillian's is my favorite. She has a KILLER workout for the backside and it only takes 28 minutes. It's sooo... intense and you can definitely feel it later!!!

Then on my off days I try to do a few plyometrics when I am getting ready in the morning. I do standing ab work: hold abs in for 5 seconds and release for 5 seconds counting up to 100. I do Kegels & squats with the same counting as the ab work. I do each of these rotating about 2 or 3 times and I have seen a HUGE difference in my hips and thighs.

I had my little girl in December and I was able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes by the beginning of February.

Just remember to mix up your workout! Keep challenging your body and see what it can do and put up with. Make sure to do the poses correctly so as to minimize injury. If you don't know if you are doing the poses right consult an online workout site like self.com.

If anything KEEP AT IT!!! Doing anything is better than not. Our bodies go through hell when we have children but it's important to not let the body take over. YOU ARE IN CONTROL!!!

Hi J., what type of excercise have you been doing?
I would suggest joining a free fitness website such as fitness.com (there are pop up ads, but tons of great workouts too!)
Cardio a few days a week, and strength training at least twice a week with weights is what I've been doing and have gotten great results! I also stopped eating all the same food as my 3 year old, including the portions he couldn't finish!

Remember you also have to change up your routines every 4 - 6 weeks to keep your muscles from becomming too accustomed to the routine and therefore your results will plateau.

One great excercise for the outer thigh/saddel bag area is to tie a resistance band around your ankles and side step. Keep the resistance the entire time you step your foot out and bring the other foot in to meet it... step to the left 20 times, right 20 times, then do a set of 10 each side, then 4, then singles for as long as you can. And I can't say enough about lunges and squats with weights!
Also highly recommend the Pilates leg excercises (well all of the pilates excercises really!) you should be able to google that and find some routines, also try searching for routines on the fitness.com site I mentioned earlier.
Best of luck, have fun!

I know that everyone's body is different, but this is what worked for me... The 'Good News' is that I got my weight off after 4 of my babies. The 'Bad News' is that I had to push myself past the point where I thought I was going to drop, during my work-outs. I also cut out almost all 'goodies' and ate as many 'whole' foods as possible. Eat the orange instead of orange juice. Make your 1/2 cup of rolled oats in the microwave with 1 cup water (on HIGH for 2 minutes)... better for you AND soooo much cheaper. Drinking a cup of water before you eat, then eat your portioned size meal that is right for you, then drink a second cup of water before even thinking about going back for seconds. Brush your teeth after eating, it will help to get the food taste out of your mouth (I was surprised at how much this one helped me). NO sodas or any other 'calorie drinks' (I do drink milk). Have 1/2 can of salmon or tuna for lunch with a salad and some rice. Chew sugar free gum, it keeps you from putting other foods in your mouth. Make sure that you are getting the calories that you need, ESPECIALLY if you are breast feeding your baby. One day a week (and only one) is a 'free day' where you can eat what you want and not exercise. This was a HUGH help to me The book "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips, is what worked for me! Have you ever seen the show 'Biggest Loser'? There are some good 'trainers tips'. Also, the 'Biggest Loser' workouts, on DVD, are REALLY good, especially the 'Cardio' one! I'm still on 'level 1' so I can't say how the rest of the workouts are. My bottom and legs are STILL sore after 3 days, so I KNOW it's working! I had baby number 5 about 8 months ago & still have 30 pounds to still get off (this one, and the first, were C-sections), but I've already dropped 50 pounds. I was all over the place here, but I hope it makes sense and that maybe some of these things that have worked for me can work for you too! ~G. C.

check out The Insulin Resistant Diet by Cheryl Hart (local author) I recommend this to everyone!

Sounds like you are on the right track...keep it up with the exercise...what are you doing on the food end of things....lots and lots of water....on all the diet shows on TV the participants work soooooo hard, but they always have a few weeks of low weight loss before a big one...the real question is how do your pants fit????

Keep moving. :o)