From The Inside Out Mag.
For Personal Healing, Spiritual Growth & Development

I often come across people who only want to lose weight from certain parts of their body, and my answer is always “you can’t spot train and why would you want to?”  Proper weight loss comes from the right nutrition along with cardio and resistance training. Everything has to come into play in order for you to lose weight effectively and losing weight effectively means losing body fat throughout your whole body-not just one body part. A weight loss regimen takes time and patience and plenty of self-discipline.

However, there are certain exercises that will assist you in fat loss and toning of those thighs, hips and buttocks. But first let’s examine why women are usually more susceptible to body fat in those areas moreso than men, especially with age.

• Gender difference begins early in life: From birth up to age six, the number and size of fat cells triple in both boys and girls, resulting in a gradual, and similar, increase in body fat. Between six years of age and adolescent, there is little or no increase in fat cell number, in healthy-weight children. In obese children, however, the number of fat cells can increase throughout childhood. 
• During the adolescent growth spurt, the rate of fat increase in girls almost doubles that of boys:  It is marked by more and larger fat cells, and it is seen mostly in the gluteal-femoral area--hips, buttocks and thighs--and, to a much lesser extent, in the breasts. This general acceleration in body fat accumulation, particularly sex-specific fat, is attributed mostly to changes in female hormone levels. After adolescence, the accumulation of sex-specific fat more or less stops, or decreases dramatically, in healthy-weight women, and there is usually no further increase in the number of fat cells. As most women know, it is more difficult to shed fat from the hips, buttocks and thighs than it is to trim down other areas of the body. 
• The fat stored around the hips, buttocks and thighs of women appears to act as reserve storage for the energy demands of lactation: During lactation, however, sex-specific fat cells are not so stubborn. They increase their fat-releasing activity and decrease their storage capacity, while at the same time fat storage increases in the mammary adipose tissue. This suggests that there is a physiological advantage to sex-specific fat. The fat stored around the pelvis, buttocks and thighs of women appears to act as reserve storage for the energy demands of lactation.  

But this advantage brings one annoying disadvantage that many women experience: it’s the orange-peel-look on the hips, thighs and buttocks called cellulite. Cellulite appears as body fat is gained and more of it is packed into existing cells. (Remember, new cells are not normally formed after adolescence.) These packed cells then swell and, when large enough, become visible through the skin. Adding insult to injury, as the skin gets thinner and less flexible with age, the puffed-up fat cells become even more visible. (Unfortunately, no cream, massage, vibrating machine, injection, pill, whirlpool bath, rubber pants or other gimmick will get rid of cellulite. The only help is general weight loss, with a sensible diet and regular exercise, which can reduce the effect.)

So here are a few tips and exercises that will help you lose that unwanted body fat.

Eat Properly: With any type of exercise to lose fat, ideally you should also eat properly otherwise you will find it so much harder to see the results to want.

Try to burn off more calories than you eat. 

• Cut down on sugar, cakes, biscuits, processed meals, alcohol and fast food.   If you eat a lot of sugar, your body will produce too much insulin which will make you hungry and tempt you to eat more food, more often.   (Does this cycle sound familiar?)
• Cut out saturated fats and replace these with unsaturated fats like olive oil.
• Choose healthier complex carbohydrates like whole grain foods, dark green vegetables, tomatoes, citrus fruit and other fruits high in water content.
• Don’t stop drinking milk. This is a mistake many people make. Calcium helps keep your metabolism working efficiently. Just change from full cream to low fat or there is also lactose, soy or casein free milk.

Cardio: Your heart rate will improve which will strengthen your heart muscle.  Your metabolic rate will speed up which will help burn off excess body fat. Pick any type of cardio exercise and stick at it: 

• Aerobic exercises like Zumba
• Running
• Brisk walking
• Swimming
• Rowing
• Cycling
• Yoga or even stair-walking. 

Ideally, you must do cardio exercise for at least 20 – 30 minutes, 3 times a week.   Have rest days in between so that your body can recover from the exercise. (Cardio also depends on the person. Do what you are capable of doing and once you find your body is adjusting, change your routine. Always keep your body guessing.)

Resistance Training: Below are a few leg exercises that you can do in your home or at the gym.

• Leg Press, Leg Extension, Hack Squats, and Multi-Hip Machine. These are just a few leg machines you’ll see at the gym. If you don’t have access to a gym, try  doing leg lifts, lunges, dumbbell squats/lunges, walking lunges, side-lying leg extension, leg squats and wall sits at home.

Remember, change takes time but if you don’t give up you’ll get the results you desire!

This website and its content are: NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR YOUR PHYSICIAN OR THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY LIFESTYLE CHANGE, EXERCISE OR DIET PROGRAM

By Debra Flowers

More Featured Articles