newbie girl needs new thighs

[hotwheelz4]

hey there. I am a thirty something mother of 2. trying to change my lifestyle to extremely healthy. I have always been alittle heavy in the lower end of my body. but now am finding that i am making progress with my upper body but my thighs are getting bigger. I weight train 5 days a week, pilates on off days and cardio 30 minutes and abs everyday help me please.

 

[Seanp156]

I know someone will ask, so I might as well... What is your weight training routine? Five days a week of weight training is probably too much. Also, what does your diet look like? How tall are you, weight, BF% etc? Oh... and cardio/abs EVERYDAY is overkill as well.

I'm by no means an expert, only been in the game for about 17 months, so don't take my words as absolute truth. I'm just trying to help with what I know and have read around here.

I'm sure Jodi/Emma/Wolf and other mods will help you out.

 

[hotwheelz4]

okay seanp156 here goes. I am 33 weigh in at 147, am 5foot3 with about 29% bf. I try and eat quite healthy, lots of salad, tuna, chicken, fish, lots of greens, 2L of water/day and soy with every meal. my work out schedule is pretty basic. 30 minutes/day on the treadmill,@5kph uphill most of the time. 20-40 crunches/day except on pilates days.
Mondays Chest and legs and pilates
Tuesdays Back & abs
WednesdaysOnly cardio and abs
thursdays Shoulders and legsand pilates
fridays Bi's tri's and abs
Sat & sun 30 minutes cardio and pilates on sat

 

[Seanp156]

okay seanp156 here goes. I am 33 weigh in at 147, am 5foot3 with about 29% bf. I try and eat quite healthy, lots of salad, tuna, chicken, fish, lots of greens, 2L of water/day and soy with every meal. my work out schedule is pretty basic. 30 minutes/day on the treadmill,@5kph uphill most of the time. 20-40 crunches/day except on pilates days.
Mondays Chest and legs and pilates
Tuesdays Back & abs
WednesdaysOnly cardio and abs
thursdays Shoulders and legsand pilates
fridays Bi's tri's and abs
Sat & sun 30 minutes cardio and pilates on sat

Diets sounds good overall, but a breakdown of each individual meal in the day would be ideal . Breakdown of totals for the day would also help (total calories, protein, carbs, and fats).

I thought you said you were doing cardio everyday? It looks like 3 times a week looking at your routine, which is fine.

I'm partial to ~15 minute cardio sessions(mostly biking/elliptical) of extreme exertion, but there are different methods for doing cardio.

It also looks like you're weight training 4 days a week instead of 5 like you said, which is fine as well. I'm partial to upper/lower routines in general, but again, there is no "right" routine, you just want to make sure your workout sessions aren't much longer than 90 minutes or so, and total sets generally shouldn't be over ~18 depending on intensity (weight used).

Do you have any specific questions about your routine or diet, or just want general feedback?

 

[hotwheelz4]

if you look properly it says i do cardio everyday. Just like a man to only see what he wants to see LOL.J/K. Also i do 3 sets of 12 and when the wright gets too easy i up it by 5 lbs
my diet consists of
Breakfast.glass of soy,oatmeal, and my vitamins
snack about 21/2 hrs later yogurt, fruit, 1/2 bagel nuts, any one of these
but usually just a low fat yogurt and an apple
Lunch.glass of soy tuna sandwich on 12 grain bread, and a salad with low fat italian dressing
snack same as above but usually almonds and a 1/s a bagel (because almonds do not contain whole proteins they lack lyosiene so if you eat a grain with then=m they become whole proteins)
Supper is usually fish,chicken or turkey with veggies or a salad, and some form of carb(baked potato or w/w pasta with low fat marg and a little parm.
after dinner/before bed snack is usually a granola bar(my treat for the day)
i am trying to take in between 12 and 1500 cal/day with 20 g of good fat 25 g of fibre,120g carbs and 100 g of protein. is this ok or do i need to modify my diet too. i am probably doing everything wrong and need to revap everything.

 

[hotwheelz4]

i am unable to bike due to an old knee injury. I do not have full ROM in my left knee. But really enjoy the treadmill. eliptical is hard too cuz i have a leg length issue. My right is longer than my left cuz of the old injury. Makes it hard to train the left cuz my right overcompensates for it.

 

[Seanp156]

if you look properly it says i do cardio everyday. Just like a man to only see what he wants to see LOL.J/K. Also i do 3 sets of 12 and when the wright gets too easy i up it by 5 lbs

Your original post says everyday, the one with your routine posted only lists 3 days a week as having cardio .

Diet's not HORRIBLE overall, but some things could be improved... Bagels and breads aren't the best source of carbs... Sweet potatoes/yams, brown rice, and pearled barley are better choices. Also, I'm not sure soy is a good choice, I believe it has estrogen in it which can be counter-productive to getting rid of bodyfat (mods correct me if I'm wrong). Also, some EFA's and healthy fats along with some meals would be a good idea (fish oil caps, olive oil, flax oil etc).

You'll also probably want to up protein to somewhere around 140-160g , and MAYBE lower carbs to about 100g. 1200-1500 should be about right for you I believe.

Also, with the knee issue... It's fine with the treadmill? That's odd, I avoid the treadmill and use the bike/elliptical b/c of that.

What do you do on leg day if you're having knee trouble?

 

[hotwheelz4]

i do squats with my husband spotting me, i do leg extensions and leg curls and standing calf raises. i do take evening primrose oil everyday and i take 4g of conjugated linoleic acid (made from safflower oil everyday plus a nega multivitamin. ANd there is another problem, i cannot stand sweet potatoes, yams or rice of any kind.so there i am screwed.And hey i just started this so maybe after awhile i can actually make my self eat these things. But seriously I am just an overweight house wife who really wans to make these incredible life changes. I am never gonna be a body builder or a fitne3ss model so i do not think that i have to be so restrictive and regimented. DO I. BUT I DO DO CARDIO EVRYDAY. ISNT THAT THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE FAT. AND I WEIGHT TRAIN TO KEEP FROM LOSING THE MUSCLE.

 

[Seanp156]

You don't have to do cardio every day if you're diet's in check. To lose fat/weight you just have to burn more calories than you eat, if you eat less, you don't have to do as much cardio, but you also need to take in the calories your burn throughout the day, not just during cardio. Your muscle grow while resting, not while in the gym, so more isn't necessarily better, but 4 days a week is fine.