Rant: stomach vs. thigh loss
 

This is something that, I know, is totally shallow and I hate myself a little for how much it's bothering me.

But it is.


It's really driving me crazy seeing women, mostly on reddit, who are losing weight and complain about not losing in their thighs. Well that's where I've been losing quite a bit, and in many ways it sucks.

Don't get my wrong. At my size, I'm happy for any loss, but that's kind of the least convenient area for it for reasons that are both valid problems, and non-real problems that are just totally in my head. To my POV, though...

- I'm getting more chafing now than at my highest weight, because my pants bag at the crotch!

- Nothing fits right now because my pant legs are baggy, but the smaller size still cuts into my waist when I sit down. Also, I look terrible in leggings because you can see my belly rolls in them, and elastic waist bands make me want to cry.

- I'm starting to feel a thigh gap. Albeit a small one. However, feeling any sort when you're still 277 lbs, and in a size 24 is just weird! You even have to start walking differently.

- Thick thighs and butts are in, so who cares that I'm losing in my legs? Whether it was the skinny mini look of the 80s and 90s, or the thicker look of today, everyone agrees that you need a flat stomach. Which, I'm sure, will be impossible for me without surgery!

- Even the medical community agrees having weight in your butt and thighs is better, but, if you have a gut, it's only just a matter of time before you die young! Sucks for you! You're working on losing it? Well that's good, but you'd still be better off if your fat distribution were more feminine!


Can anyone help me put this into perspective?

I can't really help you put it in perspective because, hello, I am a size 20 and 206 pounds but my thighs fit the measurements for Gap's size 4 jeans. Just when you though they couldn't get any more like chicken legs, there you go and they just got smaller than those on your size 2 friend.

I hate it. Husband thinks I'm all sexy, even the chicken legs, but they just look weird to me. Running and swimming help bulk them up and make them a teeny weeny bit more proportional. Oh, and I have no butt, either.

Ok, I am going to admit that I used to be one of those complaining about having large thighs. I am really surprised to see that thick thighs are in when in most of my life I've been shamed for having larger legs(even at thin/ner weights). Most recently as summer 2014, I can remember thigh gap being all the rage and some scandal of some psuedo-celeb airbrushing a photo to make the thigh gap.

I did a little google search. Apparently in 2015, a song celebrating thick thighs came out and now it's popular(?). Much more of my google search showed results on how to slim your thighs down. So to me this is a really recent phenomenon. I am really questioning it. The smaller I get the harder it is to find pants that fit my thighs and don't fall down in the waist. So it still is a cultural norm to have thinner thighs.

I had finally a few years back come to accept that this was just the way it was going to be. So it is really neither here nor there if my big booty and thick thighs are finally in. I really hate body shaming of any type.

I don't know about you but I have been on and off of lc forums since '99 and there are always people who have to have their clothes custom tailored.
I think the clothing biz just only stocks clothing for the majority, and the minority is a actually a large contingent of customers.

I'll just say it. Fashions in bodily proportions are absurd. Our bodies distribute fat differently, thin bodies, fat bodies, bodies in between. We can't force our bodies into the preferred mold just beause the fashion has changed. It's a bother when clothing proportions don't correspond with one's own proportions, but to worry about it beyond figuring out how to get clothes that fit is just an exercise in frustration. Much better to come to terms with how your body is and learn to live with it. As Renee said body shaming is just wrong and harmful, both when someone does it to someone else or when you do it to yourself.

Jean

Yeah, you're totally right.

The root of other people complaining about not losing in their thighs, and me being angry that I'm losing there instead of my stomach, is the same thing...body shaming.

Yes, very true. It wouldn't be such a thing if we all went around naked and didn't have to fit standardized clothes, though :).

Hi, I'm not sure if you're still looking for an input but here's what I have found in my own experience: I wear a size 4-6 (I'm 5'9) and definitely do not have a thigh gap. I think it has to do with bone structure too. You might have the bone structure that gives you a thigh gap at any size but I never will. I lost about 60 lbs with this WOE and strength training. To my surprise I have ended up looking kind of athletic! This means I have strong muscular thighs but my waist is 27 inches. It's an adjustment because I haven't ended up supermodel thin but I think it's important to see what your body wants to do and measure only against yourself.

It is wonderful that your pants are fitting looser and you feel good! Congrats and good luck.

LOL, when I first saw Beyonce on SNL, I thought...that was me at her age! Not much bust (I think she's since enhanced it) but a butt and thighs strong enough to bounce around in heels!

It's too late for me. Mine are back to that size again, but baggy.

Oh, well, I'd rather wear size 8 jeans that hug my baggy thighs than size 12 or 14 that turn them into sausages.

Oh god... I'm always jealous of people like you that can lose your thighs and butt.

Here's some perspective for you: No matter what you've got, you're going to focus on what you don't have. It seems to be human nature.

"thick thighs and butts are in" made me giggle.
I have always had super skinny thighs, and no behind to speak of.....guess what i get constant compliments on......? People love my legs ;)

you have to learn to dress for your body type- i carry all my weight (even when underweight in my belly). So I wear lots of clothes that hide it as best as I can, while accentuating my long, slender legs. For me that is loads of cute short shorts and sundresses when i dress up. leggings with tunics are also great for me.

remember hon, the grass is always greener! trust me, i agonize over if a certain style makes me look pregnant- thin as i am, i get the question all the time if i wear like an empire style. fit and flare seems to look much nicer as my wasit is small, it is my lower belly. you might have luck with that style?

Robin120 Iam built like you. I have very toned legs, even when quite heavy, but my middle is like a spare tire and I have no waist to speak of even when I am at my lowest weight. So, even though I am 61 I wear my shorts and my skirts short. Everyone compliment me on my legs! I camouflage my middle with longer tunics, no belts and not too much contrast in the top and bottom. Works for me. No one ever guesses my weight. No, my body is not perfect but it is mine and I am learning to adore it by feeding it well with real, natural foods. Your body is really only the suitcase that carries your organs which are the most important part of you. And I have found that as I get closer to my goal the fat is coming off my middle without too much effort. Just hang in there, S-Piper, and it will all work out in the end!

Here's some perspective: I have thick thighs and a smaller waist with a flat belly. I have big boobs too, so classic hourglass figure. While this is supposedly desirable, it makes it nearly impossible to buy pants that are appropriate for work. Even "curvy" styles are generally inappropriately snug in the thigh for a business environment if they fit elsewhere.

No matter what my weight, my inner thighs rub together when I walk. The chafing is horrible to the point that I only wear skirts/dresses with Spanx or a split slip underneath. The constant rubbing means that my pants ALWAYS wear out in the inner thigh long before they are really worn out. Leggings and skinny jeans are incredibly unflattering on me.

I have lost some weight in my thighs over the years, but if I gain any it goes right back there as well. That means that I have saddlebags, sagging skin on the inner thigh, and cellulite dimples that you would not believe. I look like a complete disaster in a bathing suit despite the flat stomach, because my legs bulge right out the bottom.

So, be careful what you wish for. :)

I always lose off my thighs first too!! And my middle remains thick to the bitter end. That's why I'm barely into a size 10. Will have to weigh 140 or less if I want to get into a size 8. And then my long thighs will be little sticks lol
Ah well. Good to love ourselves all shapes

We can't win with ourselves, can we?
We can't lose with everybody else, though. Everyone has good qualities but think about this: when was the last time you noticed someone else's figure? Because for me it's almost NEVER. I'm too worried about my stick legs, deflated butt and rectangle shape to notice what's happening to anybody else. :lol: (Why do my butt cheeks have wattle? And can that be a thing next?)

I have to say, I spent about a week in buxom territory though. I've always had decent bosoms but for a golden week, they were still big and everything else was small. WOOHOO! I mean, that's over now of course, but I'll always have that week!