What if I told you that in spite of being over 40, in spite of the indicators that your body is clearly going through some midlife transitions, that neither is it too late nor impossible to achieve, or reclaim, thin thighs naturally? A magical midlife disappearing act: now you see excess thickness; a short time later you don’t. This phenomenon can indeed happen to you, regardless of your body being more resistant than ever to decreasing its size, and all the conventional wisdom telling you it is next to impossible.
No liposuction, weight loss surgery, pills, supplements, potions, fat burners, weight-loss drugs, or any other such gimmicks, hoopla, or shenanigans. I have put together a definitive effective six-step formula, my success story for finally attaining the thin thighs I always wanted in my mid-40s, and maintaining them naturally.
Sharing these healthy strategies for success is my divine opportunity to spread the fairytale potential for transformation that midlife still has to offer. Hence, a call to kindred midlife reinvention-istas seeking a triumphant resolution to their thighest of anxieties, I’m waving my magic wand at you!
1. Static Stretch Your Legs
Stretching of the muscles is defined as the process of elongating or lengthening the muscles. Static stretching of the muscles involves a position or posture that is held for a period of time, anywhere from 10 seconds to two minutes, with little or no movement and maximum control. Static stretching is the best exemplified by the analogy we all learned in elementary school science: a muscle is like a rubber band, and when you pull or stretch a rubber band, it lengthens, elongates, and gets thinner. This was the simple science that I applied, when this former queen of cardio was searching for a solution to decreasing excessive muscular bulk from her thighs, the result of months of prolonged sessions of hard-core, high-intensity cardiovascular exercise. I began to incorporate a great deal of static stretching into my weekly exercise programming. Over the course of the summer, I lost approximately two inches from each thigh by daily static stretching for 20 to 30 minutes per day, in conjunction with limiting my cardio to walking a few times a week (see step No. 3) .
2. Correct Improper Posture
Poor posture, round shouldered and hunched over, will contribute to the optical illusion of chunky thighs. Proper posture, head up and shoulders back, instantly will make you look several pounds thinner and leaner. However, proper posture necessitates effort, attentiveness, and time, until it becomes your natural inclination and tendency. It requires practice to eventually, automatically, fully engage the entire upper body through all ranges of motion: the neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, and upper and lower spine. When achieved it is nature’s core workout. How do you improve your posture, even after decades of slumping? The static stretching previously covered can accomplish this goal! Performing this one exercise routine fulfills two objectives: slenderizing thighs and creating correct posture. Here’s how. While stretching the legs, recruit the neck, shoulders, chest, arms, abdominals, and spine to invoke razor sharp proper posture throughout every stretch. No slouching or allowing your upper body to be lazy while your legs are hard at work! As a result your posture will greatly improve, along with your thighs.
3. Decrease Cardiovascular Exercise
Several, very high intensity, long sessions of cardiovascular exercise per week could be detrimental to the pursuit of thin thighs. Side effects include: a ravenous appetite that’s virtually impossible to ignore on a consistent basis, excessive build-up of muscular bulk, and overuse injuries which may prevent you from exercising at all. Walking for 15 to 45 minutes several times a week is extremely effective for achieving cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, and weight maintenance. As such, it is absolutely not necessary to subject your body to arduous, high-intensity, draining workouts that pose a high risk for injury to achieve cardiovascular benefits or weight loss or weight maintenance. Plus, it’s actually much more conducive to having thin thighs if you don’t.
4. Lift Weights
Upper body weight lifting is absolutely beneficial to the thighs. Muscle anywhere on your body is a calorie-burning machine, not only while you are exercising, but for hours thereafter. Keeping your weight down is systemic, meaning that your whole body will weigh less and be smaller, including your thighs, from upper body weight lifting. Plus, no kidding, the wider and more defined the shoulders, the smaller the thighs appear.
There is no downside to upper body resistance training; it’s a win-win for both your upper body and your lower body. And there’s a whole spectrum of upper body weight lifting which will render good results. For example, upper body strength training can be as informal as using your own body for resistance, lifting your own body weight, with sets of push-ups and planks while you watch TV at home, or as formal as gym workouts with expensive equipment.
5. Stop Eating Refined Carbohydrates
White flour and sugar are no friends to your thighs. These refined carbohydrates cause the pancreas to secrete too much of the hormone insulin. The function of insulin is to transport nutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, and fats - out of the bloodstream and into the cells of the body for immediate use, as well as for long term fat storage. If you eat too many calories, all those nutrients — carbohydrates, proteins, and fats — can easily be converted to body fat. Here’s how it works. As stated, refined carbs, white sugar and white flour, lead to the over-secretion of insulin. If insulin is remaining in your bloodstream after all available nutrients have been stored, you will experience a surge in hunger, particularly an intense craving for more refined carbs. This cycle perpetuates itself with rebound-hunger, and this is why refined carbs have addictive characteristics. The more refined carbs you eat, the more you crave, then you eat them again to satisfy the craving, the cycle repeats, ever more frequently, over and over. As such, insulin is the most important hormone you need to be concerned about in the war against large thighs, and your overall weight status in general. Your body cannot store fat without the assistance of insulin, and too much insulin encourages fat storage. If you control your insulin response with a reduced carb diet that primarily relies on carbohydrates derived from fruits and vegetables, and you exercise, you do control and can greatly reduce your percentage of thigh fat!
6. Minimize Alcohol Intake
There’s no doubt that frequent consumption of more than 1 to 2 drinks a couple of times a week makes weight management extremely difficult. In the hierarchy of alcohol, red wine is the least detrimental to your health and weight management endeavors and sugary cocktail mixes and extravagant concoctions are the worst for health and weight management. Regardless, too much and too often with any alcoholic beverage, including red wine, has the power to potentially wreak havoc on your ability to lose or maintain weight for the following reasons:
a. Alcohol is a diuretic which dehydrates your body. You tend to have a heartier appetite and excessively overeat when you are tired and dehydrated.
b. Alcohol is a depressant which decreases your calorie burning. Your metabolism is slowed down for several hours after alcohol consumption.
c. Your motivation to exercise dwindles when you are sapped of energy. You may skip your usual exercise routines and workouts.
d. Alcohol is famous for lowering one’s inhibitions and decreasing one’s ability to make good choices. Your ability to resist overeating when you are intoxicated is low.
e. Often, the calorie amount of what you drank is almost equal to or even higher than the calorie amount of your average meal. Thus, you could double your dinnertime calories, or even, an entire day’s worth of calories, depending on how much you drink.
A quick final review of the six-step formula for achieving thin thighs all naturally: 1. Static Stretch Your Legs 2. Correct Improper Posture 3. Decrease Cardiovascular Exercise 4. Lift Weights 5. Stop Eating Refined Carbohydrates 6) Minimize Alcohol Intake. Adhere to each one of these principles as dictated and you will see positive results in just a few short weeks.