side fat

[Miari]

Hi, i'm currently losing weight by eating healthier and exercising a bit, but i noticed that my "side" fat isn't moving! And this is the only thing that is keeping me from having a good silhouette. So I wondered if any of you knew a way of losing this unwanted and unflattering fat. If you dont know what i'm talking about here is a pic of what i'm talking about. of course this is not me :P Oh and I also have big calves, is there an exercise to make them thinner?

[debbie]

if you do side crunches it should dramatically help and doing side crunches.
lay down flat on the floor. bend both knees on a side angle put both hands behind your head and do crunches straight up and down. do as many as you can until you can reach 100.
you should feel the muscles called the obliques.
also when you are done do some side stretches. so your not so sore.
good luck

[Lara]

Your sides actually look good, sis. It looks more like you are pointing to your back--even there you look fabulous. That part of your back will be the last part to lose weight because it is vital for protecting your internal organs. This will come off with proper eating. Please keep in mind that you look lean to me and shouldn't really be aiming to lose much of anything. Any body fat percentage under 12% on a woman is unhealthy and almost dangerous if kept that low for an extended period of time.
Also, no amount of crunches will get rid of fat. You can strengthen and build the muscles underneath which will keep your core strong, but not do much aesthetically. Picture this, it's like having a totally fit physique under a fur coat. If you keep the fur coat on, no one will be able to see the fit physique. That's why it's important to eat clean as well as exercise if the goal is to look good as well as feel good. :)

[CreativeAngel]

Beware of side crunches and other side exercises unless you can keep them up forever the "side" muscles are muscles we don't use as often and so when the exercise stops that part will just get bigger.

I have bigger thighs as well.. Lunges with weights, card squats, and plieas' (for lack of better spelling) work wonders on mine. Give great defination!

[debbie]

Your sides actually look good, sis. It looks more like you are pointing to your back--even there you look fabulous. That part of your back will be the last part to lose weight because it is vital for protecting your internal organs. This will come off with proper eating. Please keep in mind that you look lean to me and shouldn't really be aiming to lose much of anything. Any body fat percentage under 12% on a woman is unhealthy and almost dangerous if kept that low for an extended period of time.
Also, no amount of crunches will get rid of fat. You can strengthen and build the muscles underneath which will keep your core strong, but not do much aesthetically. Picture this, it's like having a totally fit physique under a fur coat. If you keep the fur coat on, no one will be able to see the fit physique. That's why it's important to eat clean as well as exercise if the goal is to look good as well as feel good. :)

lara i don't know if you noticed she said that pic was not her. eeek! only i wish it were me! lol

[Miari]

Yeah the picture is not me, if i looked like that I wouldn't even dare saying that I want to change something :p . Thanx for the sides crunches I will try that! Any idea for my calves?

[debbie]

you can do pilates. that really focuses on leaning out muscle. i like jennifer kries.
also you can try doing pliaes. where heel touches heel and your toes are at a 45 degree angle. go slowly up and down. it's a good stretch and it's also great for the quads.
good luck

[Lara]

WOW! I'm such a dufus! LOL. I'm glad to find out it wasn't Miari, I'd have been a little worried! LOL

[Penny]

like lara said, crunches can only tone and strengthen the muscles under the fat. they are great to do, and it will really pay off when the fat starts to come off, but they will not cause the fat to go away. what you need is cardio, and to watch what you eat. its the only way to burn fat. for cardio, all you need is about 20 to 30 mins a day, and its easy to accomplish. jump rope, run, or go to the gym and use a cardio machine for a while. ive read that it take 20 mins to begin burning actual fat and not just what you've eaten that day so i like to do 30 to get 10 mins of pure fat burning. eating right can be a big pain in the butt, i try so hard to do it, but i end up cheating all the time. but like lara says, 80% of what u look like is a result of your eating habits. good luck and keep in mind that you cant target the fat that you want to lose. it will eventually come off, but your body will burn it in whichever order it wants, lol. HTH ;) Penny