Mindset

Burning Desire

If you’re looking to completely lose or even just slightly reduce thigh fat, this is one of, if not the MOST important tip I can give you guys. Most people FAIL at losing weight because they do not have the right mindset and do not set goals. When I say “mindset,” I’m referring to how you view losing weight. You have to really WANT to lose weight.  You must have a burning desire.

It’s not just a matter of “maybe.” It’s not just a matter of “it would be nice if I could lose weight.” NO! You have to want it and you have to want it really bad. Then, and only then, will you succeed in achieving your weight loss goals.

Set Goals

In addition, you must set goals. You’re way, way more likely to achieve something if you set a goal. How much weight do you want to lose in 1 month? How many inches off your thighs do you want to lose? When do you want to fit in your favorite pair of jeans?

If you have the correct mindset and set goals properly, it’s only a matter of time before you start shedding those unwanted pounds.

Believe in Yourself

As cliche as it may sound, you have to believe in yourself.  It’s not enough to merely have a “burning desire” or set goals.  There’s plenty of people who set goals and possess a really strong desire to lose their thigh fat, but end up failing miserably.  

A big reason why many people fail is because they simply don’t believe that they can do it.  Sure, they might temporarily believe. They might believe in themselves for 3 months or 6 months.  Eventually, however, limiting beliefs start infecting their mindset.

We have a tendency to start fabricating excuses in our mind.  We begin to use bad genetics, a busy schedule, family obligations, work, and school as reasons why we’re not prioritizing our health and fitness goals.  And, as crazy as it may sound, we sometimes try to justify to ourselves that we never even wanted to lose weight in the first place.  

The concept of belief, on the surface, may seem rather simplistic, but it can be very complicated.  Our belief can fluctuate based on a variety of factors, so therefore, we must constantly work on it to improve our capability to believe in ourselves even during our most trying bouts of adversity.  

Understand that Spot Reduction is a Myth

As much as you want to get rid of that disgusting thigh fat, we have to remember that spot reduction (losing fat on a specific area of our body and not other areas) doesn’t fully exist. When your body is burning fat, it will naturally choose the spots that become smaller. We do not have complete control over which body parts become skinny first.

In other words, if you want to get rid of the fat on your belly before you get rid of the fat on your chin, the chances of that happening are very slim. The good news, however, is that all these techniques that help to get rid of the fat on your thighs, will work on other areas of your body as well. In fact, as you’re losing weight, you’ll likely be burning fat on multiple body parts.

With proper exercise, however, you can make certain parts of your body look more tone and/or more muscular. If you want thighs that are both small and very defined, then leg exercises can certainly help.

Accept & Appreciate Your Genetics

Keep in mind that everyone is a bit different. Unfortunately, life is not fair and some of us are genetically predisposed to putting on more weight on our lower body. Not everyone can eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and still look like a twig.

Even people in the same family can have different body types. For example, in my family I have 5 siblings. Out of the 6 of us, I have the most natural tendency to put mass on my lower body. No matter how much my other brothers eat, it’s a lot harder for them to put on weight, especially on the their lower body (this goes for both fat and muscle).

Understand that certain methods will work better for you than others. You have to be accepting of the cards you’ve been dealt and work with the diet and exercise habits that resonate most naturally with you.

Nutrition

Burn More Calories Than You Consume

Keep in mind that to burn fat and lose weight, there should be one goal to be striving for and that’s to burn more calories than you eat or drink. A lot of people out there say that it’s not about calories and that it’s just about eating healthy. I think that that’s a bunch of bologna.

Yes, it’s important to track your macronutrients. You want to be eating high-quality foods, but that comes secondary to calories. If you want to burn fat, you have to burn more calories than you take in. Period. End of story. That should be the goal with which you design your exercise and meal plans around.

I recommend going online and looking up a calorie calculator. You can find one pretty easily online. These are simple calculators that allow you to enter in your body statistics and it’ll calculate the number of calories you should be eating each day in order to lose weight by a certain date.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is one of the best ways to burn fat.  This is especially true if you want to get the job done FAST (no pun intended) and potentially reduce thigh fat in as quickly as 2 weeks, 10 days, or even 3 days!  

If you’re not familiar with intermittent fasting, it basically means fasting (going without food) for short to moderate periods of time.  It’s an excellent way to create a large caloric deficit and help keep your body in a state of ketosis (fat-burning state).

Back in 2015, I was able to lose 18 pounds within a month largely due to aggressive intermittent fasting tactics.  There’s a variety of strategies on how to approach intermittent fasting, which I will not go into, but one of my favorites is simply skipping your traditional morning breakfast.

By waiting until 12pm or later before you eat your first meal of the day, your body will remain in a fasted state and will be better positioned to start using your body fat for energy, since your glycogen stores will likely be used up.  

I don’t think that fasting is a tactic that can be truly enjoyed by everyone, but for someone like me, who isn’t a huge fan of meal prep and likes to keep things simple, it works wonders!  

Minimize Bad Carbs

This is a tip that most people know, but it’s a very vital tip. If you want to get rid of your nasty thigh fat, eliminating carbs is one of the best ways to do it. This can be tough, but I guarantee that it’ll pay dividends. I’m referring especially to simple carbohydrates like sugar, candy, cake, chips, etc.

Avoiding certain complex carbohydrates like bread, rice, pasta, and cereal is a good idea as well. Eating certain vegetables, however, is encouraged. Certain vegetables like broccoli, garlic, onions, carrots, and green beans, are rich in nutrients, contain little calories, and don’t mess with your blood sugar levels.

If you can eliminate bad carbs all together, great.  If not, some weight loss experts recommend trying your best to keep it below 30g per day to see some great results.  

Eat a lot of Protein and/or Fat

Protein is one of the best nutrients to ingest when trying to lose weight. Not only does your body need it for basic health functions, but it helps you burn more calories and enables you to build some muscle.

By building more muscle, your body will automatically burn more fat and your metabolism will increase. The FDA daily recommendation is about 50 grams per day on a 2000 calorie diet. If you’re active, you’ll certainly need more, depending on your goals.  

On the other hand, in order to see much faster results, many fitness and weight loss experts recommend eating 1 gram of protein per pound of how much your body weighs, per day.  For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, strive to consume 200 grams of protein per day.

Also, consuming good fats will help provide you with more energy and turn your body into a fat-burning ninja. The whole ketogenic diet and plethora of keto products on the market are based around the concept of a high-fat diet.

Snack Between Meals to Prevent Overeating

Although I personally follow more of an intermittent fasting style of dieting, snacking can be a great method for some people to lose weight. Instead of eating 3 BIG meals, it’s better on your metabolism to be eating 6 smaller meals (assuming caloric intake is roughly the same or less) per day. This also prevents you from eating too much and helps you feel a lot more full throughout the day.

Drink More Water

I don’t think anyone in their right mind could argue that water is bad for you! We NEED water to stay alive as it provides so many benefits to our body. In addition to keeping us alive, water enables us to burn fat and lose weight!  It does this by supporting our overall metabolic rate, burning more calories in our body, making us feel more full, and flushing out unwanted wastes.

Exercise

Lift Weights

There are a lot of people out there who think that lifting weights will make you big and fat. Although I’m somewhat generalizing here, I think that this mindset is especially true for many women. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Lifting weights is one of the FASTEST ways to burn unwanted fat. When you lift weights, you are working your muscles, and when you work your muscles, your body goes into fat burning mode. If you’re a woman, lifting weights will help IMMENSELY! If you’re a woman and afraid that you’ll become all “big and bulky,” don’t worry! You have nothing to worry about because it’s much, much harder for women to bulk up than men.

In fact, I’d say if you’re very limited on time and have to choose between lifting weights and doing cardio, I’d recommend lifting weights. There are a lot of different exercises that you could do, but some of my favorites are bench press, deadlift, squat, goblet squats (one of my all-time favorites), and lunges. I’m a big fan of doing 3 sets of 12 reps.

Elevation Exercises

I think just about everyone should know that exercising is great when it comes to helping you burn fat. One way to take things to the next level and get the most out of your time is to utilize elevation in your exercises. For example, if you’re used to walking on the treadmill, it might be a good idea to consider walking on the treadmill at a slight incline.

Lower Body Exercises

If you’re looking to burn thigh fat specifically, it’s a great idea to really work on your lower body. It’s a pretty ridiculous cliché, but DON’T SKIP LEG DAY! A lot of our fat and muscle is stored in our lower body. Therefore, if we work our lower body more frequently, it’s going to help accelerate our fat burning.

For men that are not looking to put on extra mass on the thighs, try to avoid lifts that build mass. Stick to lower-weight-high-rep-type workouts. I’ve always been a fan of 3 sets of 12 reps.  Women have a harder time building muscle, so this should not be as much of an issue. Some great lower body exercises include alphabet tracers, burpees, goblet squats, deadlifts, and lunges.

Increase Cardio

Cardiovascular workouts are definitely a great way to lose weight and shed excess thigh fat. Cardio workouts will vary in terms of how effectively and efficiently they reduce your weight, but every little bit of cardio will help.

Cardio helps you burn a significant amount of calories which ultimately leads to burning thigh fat. There are so many different exercises, so I won’t go into too much depth, but some of my favorite exercises are burpees, jumping jacks, steam engines, and good ole’ fashion RUNNING!

Take Supplements

Fat-burning Supplements

I don’t think there’s any easier way to accelerate your weight loss and hit your goals than investing in a fat-burning supplement. There are TONS of supplements out there, so it can be hard to find one that you’re completely satisfied with.

My suggestion is to just try a bunch of different weight loss supplements and see which ones fit your budget and sit well with your body. Fat burners are a good way to accelerate your progress without costing you any extra time.  

Be mindful, however, of potential side effects with some fat-burning pills.  They’re not suited for everyone, especially those who suffer from certain medical conditions and have physical sensitivities.

Protein Bars/Powder

As I stated earlier, protein is one of the most important nutrients to help accelerate your weight loss.  Sometimes constantly eating protein-rich foods can become tedious. Let’s face it: eating chicken breast every single day gets old super fast.

Supplementing with protein bars and protein shakes is a great way to add some variety to your diet.  They’re easy to carry around with you and require minimal prep time.

Keep in mind that many protein supplements can be high in sugar and heavily processed.  If consumed consistently in heavy amounts, protein supplements may or may not have a negative effect on those fat thighs of yours!  

Multivitamins

I realize that some people are against vitamins and other supplements, and prefer to just get all their nutrients from food.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but I truly believe that no one has a perfect diet.

Even the most analytical and meticulous eater will fall short of eating a perfect diet every single day.  To make things even worse, some experts say that our overall food quality in fruits and vegetables is declining due to the depletion of nutrients in our soil.  

That’s why I highly recommend everyone to at least take a multivitamin, regardless of whether or not you’re trying to lose weight.  If you’re trying to get rid of your thigh fat and lose weight in general, then I highly recommend getting on a multivitamin.  

Losing weight can be very hard on your body.  Your body will need adequate levels of vitamins and minerals in order to function at optimal levels.  This is especially true if you’re looking to employ more intense diet tactics like intermittent fasting.  The last thing you want to do is deprive your body of nutrients when you’re eating a lot less than you’re accustomed to.  

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Although not an absolute necessity to burn fat, omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most highly recommended supplements out there.  Omega-3 fatty acids have a large array of health benefits which affect your heart, eyes, brain, blood pressure, joints, and of course, ability to lose weight.  

That’s the main reason why I’m personally such a big fan of omega-3 supplements and take them regularly.  They have such a vast diversity of health benefits, many of which are strongly supported by science.

Track Your Activity

Record Your Meals

Taking proper notation of each of your meals will give a better understanding of what you’re putting in your body. It’s a great way to give an objective perspective of how healthy you really eat.  In fact, one particular study showed that people who tracked their meals 6 days per week, lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t!

Record Progress

As I stated earlier, setting goals is vital to your success.  One of the best ways to ensure that we actually reach our goals is to track our progress.  Without actually tracking our progress, weeks and even months could pass us by.

One method of tracking progress that’s worked really well for me is to weigh myself every morning.  That’s right. Every single morning. Every morning I weighed myself without any clothes on and wrote the date and my corresponding weight on a sheet of paper.  

Although the number on the scale can be discouraging and even deceptive at times (in the end, body composition trumps weight), weighing yourself everyday can add an extra element of accountability to your journey.  

Coming face-to-face with your weight can motivate you to push yourself even harder toward your goals.  As you shed pounds off your body, you’ll gradually start to see the number on the scale decrease, which will provide further motivation and fuel your momentum.  

Also, if you’re looking to reduce thigh fat specifically, it certainly doesn’t hurt to measure your thighs on occasion.  I don’t think it’s necessary to measure your thighs every day, but it couldn’t hurt to measure them every 2 weeks or even every month.  Use a tape measure to get an accurate of reading of your thighs and be sure to measure the same spot every time so that your numbers are not skewed.

Sleep

When you’re trying to lose weight, few people ever think that you could sleep your way to success. If you’re a big fan of sleeping, well, I’ve got some good news for you! Sleeping will help you burn thigh fat!

In order for our body’s metabolic processes and hormonal balance to function properly, we need sleep. Our bodies need time to rejuvenate so that they can operate at their prime. Everyone’s body is different, so you have to figure out what works best for you, but the typical suggestion is 8 hours. This is definitely a MUST if you’re very active.

Love Yourself

Last, but certainly not least, just be happy with yourself. There’s enough fat-shaming going on in the world. We don’t need more of it. Give yourself more credit that you’re worth. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight and be more healthy, but it’s very important for us all to be happy with who we are.

You’re an important person no matter what number you see on the scale. If you’re not 100% satisfied with the number on the scale and the reflection in the mirror, understand that you’re in 100% control of changing. You can make a positive change in your life, but you have to love yourself first and believe that you can do it.  Now take these 8 steps, go out there, and make it happen!