If you're unhappy with the appearance of your thighs and butt, you're not alone. Many people, especially women, find that fat seems to settle in their lower body, and it can be tough to get rid of. Reducing fat on your thighs and butt, or anywhere else, comes down to burning more calories than you take in; modifying your diet and increasing your activity level can help you lose weight and get a slim, toned lower body.
Dietary Changes
The quickest way to create a calorie deficit is to reduce your daily calorie intake. Start by writing down the calories in everything you eat for three days and averaging your total daily intake; subtract 500 from that number to find the amount of calories you should limit yourself to every day. Rather than follow a strict diet that forbids your favorite meals or restricts you to just a few foods, focus on getting most of your calories from nutrient-dense foods, which are those that are relatively high in nutrients compared with their calorie contents. Good examples include fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, beans, low fat dairy, lean poultry and seafood. If you have any calories left over after filling up on these foods, allow yourself a small nightly dessert, or save up your extra calories all week for one indulgent meal. Including these treats in your diet will keep you from feeling deprived and make you more likely to stick with it long term.
Fat-Burning Exercise
Diet plays a major role in reducing fat on the butt and thighs, but burning calories through daily cardio exercise will make it much easier to slim down your lower body. Opt for 30 to 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio five to six days per week; running, high-impact aerobics and rollerblading are a few examples of high-intensity exercise, but you can choose anything you want, as long as it forces you to work hard and get your heart rate up. You can't target only the fat in your butt and thighs since the fat reserves all over your body are used to fuel your workouts; however, focusing on cardio that utilizes your thigh and buttock muscles will force your workouts to perform double-duty by firming these areas while burning fat. Step aerobics, stationary biking, jogging, walking at an incline and climbing stairs are good choices for strengthening your thigh and butt muscles.
Muscle-Building Exercise
Even if you're already doing cardio that works your lower body muscles, try adding three 30- to 45-minute strength-training sessions to your weekly workouts. Building your thigh and butt muscles will not only give them a firm, toned appearance, but your increased muscle mass will speed up your metabolism, so your body burns more calories. Your workouts should target all your major muscle groups to avoid muscular imbalances, but take care to focus on moves that strengthen the lower body, such as a variety of lunges, squats and plies with dumbbells.
Changing Routine
Finding one type of exercise you love is a great way to ensure you stick to a workout routine, but make sure to add in new exercises every few weeks. If you do the same thing day after day, your body will adapt to the routine and start using fewer calories to do the same thing, reports FitDay. To keep losing fat from your butt and thighs, you need to challenge your body by forcing it to work in different ways. So if you usually hit the treadmill every day, try an aerobics video at home or a kickboxing class at the gym. Include new activities in your routine every two to four weeks, or anytime your usual workouts start to feel less challenging.
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