The journal "Yale Scientific" reveals that the phenomenon of targeted weight loss, while intuitively appealing, is essentially a myth. Focusing your exercises on your thighs can help improve muscle tone, but it won't necessarily help you lose thigh fat in a hurry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fat loss occurs across the body in response to a calorie deficit. You can create a calorie deficit through aerobic exercise, strength training and a reduced caloric intake. You will need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories for each pound of fat you want to lose.
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Cut Some Calories
People gain fat around the inner thighs as the result of a calorie excess, meaning they're consuming more calories than they're burning off through exercise routines and everyday activities. Cutting calories from your diet can help turn a calorie excess into a calorie deficit. Make a list of foods you'd like to eliminate from your diet. Some easy choices are foods that contain dietary toxins like trans fats, such as processed peanut butter, cans of frosting and some margarines, or synthetic sugars like high-fructose corn syrup.
Start an Aerobic Exercise Routine
An aerobic exercise routine can help you lose inner-thigh fat by burning away fat calories. The CDC recommends a minimum of 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise or 150 minutes or moderate aerobic exercise each week for adults. Brisk walking, taking the stairs and raking leaves are some examples of moderate aerobic exercise. Vigorous aerobic activities include exercises like swimming, running and jumping rope. To start losing fat, you'll likely need to exceed the minimum recommendations.
Do Strength-Training Exercises
Strength-training exercises like pushups, situps, pullups and weightlifting burn fat and tone muscle simultaneously. The CDC recommends completing at least two muscle-strengthening sessions per week. You should do one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions for each exercise. Additionally, chores like digging and hoeing in the garden or yard qualify as strength-training exercises.
Track Your Progress
Keep a food journal of everything you eat and drink for the first week. Plug the specific type and quantity of each food and beverage into an online food calorie counter. On a separate page, record the type, intensity and duration of each of your exercise sessions. Plug your exercise descriptions for the week into an activity calorie counter. Compare your totals. You should be burning more calories than you consume. If you eat more than you work off one week, make a specific plan of action to succeed at creating a calorie deficit for the following week.
- Yale Scientific: Targeted Weight Loss: Myth or Reality?
- The Centers for Disease Control: How Much Physical Activity Do Adults Need?
- The Centers for Disease Control: Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Glossary of Terms
- The Centers for Disease Control: Balancing Calories
- ACE Fitness: Activity Calorie Calculator