i know you've probably heard it all before but i have too much fat on my bum and upper thighs! the thing is, i'm a healthy weight, i work out regularly (about 3hrs cardio/wk and 4hrs weights/wk), and have been for the last few years or so and am perfectly happy with the rest of my body; i have relatively good muscle definition everywhere except my lower half! i'm not out of proportion at all- my chest is slightly larger than my hips/bum area so i'm not exactly a 'pear' but i have a good few pounds of cellulite there! :moon:
just wanted to get a general consensus; can i rectify this or am i pretty much stuck with it for life?!

You can change it. They say that spot fat reduction is a myth, but body recomposition through targeted muscle training is not impossible.

It took me a while to shift some of my body weight to my upper body, but I'm pretty happy with how the distribution finally ended up. I lost about 15 pounds my first five months as a member of JSF, but I felt I was too thin at that point. So, I tried to add width to my lats and chest, and add muscle to my shoulders and biceps to build a bigger upper body. Since I didn't want my legs any larger, I focused my leg workouts on glutes and hamstrings (and only a little bit on quads). Then, I kept my calories in a maintenance/cutting range while still lifting heavy, which lowered my body fat percentage, bringing out more definition. The same kind of thing might work for you.

Note: It wouldn't have to take as many years as I took, but I don't mind slow progess.

back (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=346676&25#post346676) and front (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=371421#post371421) (I'm 5'5")

thanks so much for the advice, i now have some hope to cling to! not to mention your pics; very motivational! i really admire your figure. i calculated that if i lose 8lbs of fat (so long as my lbm remains roughly the same) i should (hopefully) get to roughly the same bf as you... christ knows how long that's gonna take though! do you have any particular dietary advice; macro ratios etc? i really appreciate your help :)

thanks so much for the advice, i now have some hope to cling to! not to mention your pics; very motivational! i really admire your figure. i calculated that if i lose 8lbs of fat (so long as my lbm remains roughly the same) i should (hopefully) get to roughly the same bf as you... christ knows how long that's gonna take though! do you have any particular dietary advice; macro ratios etc? i really appreciate your help :)
My diet was optimized for health benefits and general well-being, not for body composition, so it wouldn't necessarily give you the same results. My goal is to follow a diet very similar to the superfoods diet in my signature. Every day I try to eat at least
one tomato
one cup broccoli
one cup spinach
one sweet potato
one cup yogut
one orange
one cup berries
one cup oats or other whole grains (especially ground flax seeds)
one serving tofu or other soy
one serving turkey or other lean meat
one small serving of nuts
And I try to eat salmon or tuna and beans at least three times per week.
My macronutrients work out to about 50% from carbs, and about 25% each from protein and fat. It works for me because the high carbohydrate intake it manages to satisfy all my cravings, allowing me to stay on plan. If I try to aim for a higher protein intake, I find myself stealing cookies at odd hours of the evening.:o

You could also browse some posts by causticmuse. She's made a similar transformation, and I believe she usually sticks to 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat. Her sticky in the recipe section has some great meal plans in it, with recipes included.:tu:

I'd suggest that you choose to focus alternately on short programs of mainly muscle building, then mainly fat burning. The most dramatic changes happened for me after mini-cycles (4 to 6 weeks) of cutting or bulking, in between maintainence periods. Taking photos at the beginning of a phase really motivated me to show a difference in the after. In my cutting cycles, I cut back lifting to twice a week, and bumped up the cardio to 4 cardio days per week while in a slight caloric deficit, and in the bulking cycles, I cut cardio back to twice a week and did heavier than usual lifting 4 days a week with a slight caloric surplus.

When you figure out a plan, post it up in a new thread asking for critique. :gl:

i know you've probably heard it all before but i have too much fat on my bum and upper thighs! the thing is, i'm a healthy weight, i work out regularly (about 3hrs cardio/wk and 4hrs weights/wk), and have been for the last few years or so and am perfectly happy with the rest of my body; i have relatively good muscle definition everywhere except my lower half! i'm not out of proportion at all- my chest is slightly larger than my hips/bum area so i'm not exactly a 'pear' but i have a good few pounds of cellulite there! :moon:
just wanted to get a general consensus; can i rectify this or am i pretty much stuck with it for life?!

Keep working with the weights and you will probably one day notice that you don't have very much cellulite, if any, left!

I don't really think I have any left, at least that I notice, which is probably the most important part.:lol: And I would bet it's probably not even as bad as you think it is, because we tend to magnify our own flaws when we look at ourselves. At least, most people I know do that.:D

I have not been as good with nutrition as guava has, and I have made much slower progress. I think you can't go wrong to follow her advice!:tu:

Persistence and patience...

thanks so much for the advice, i now have some hope to cling to! not to mention your pics; very motivational! i really admire your figure. i calculated that if i lose 8lbs of fat (so long as my lbm remains roughly the same) i should (hopefully) get to roughly the same bf as you... christ knows how long that's gonna take though! do you have any particular dietary advice; macro ratios etc? i really appreciate your help :)

what does your diet look like now? half the battle is diet... post up a typical day... w/ times and amounts and we can help... IF there is anything to help with... Guava is right on though... patience is the key... you CAN melt that fat off, it just takes time.

one other question... you said how often you do cardio and lift... but at what intensity? reps/sets, type of cardio? have you been hitting the weights hard? are you making progress or just doing the same thing every time? these are important questions to ask yourself if you aren't progressing... you need to challenge your body to get results ;)

Hey guys thanks for the advice! I think you're right that the diet's the problem...I find it really hard to stick to a diet plan, I guess it doesn't help that there's a constant supply of chocolate/white bread/ice cream/the list goes on! Which unfortunately I have no control over; I've tried speaking to them about it but to no avail... My eating's completely erratic; sometimes I don't eat much and other days I'm continually eating. I know most people recommend eating 5/6 smaller meals throughout the day, which in theory, I'd love to do. The thing is, I've found a real problem knowing what to eat in them; how to include enough protein and things that are quick and easy to put together when I don't have the time to cook. The exercise I have no problem with; I love working out but the diet needs to change! I'm generally always changing my routine; at least every 4 weeks. I've just started a new one so haven't been able to judge the results yet for myself; 2x HIIT (15mins) per week, 2x running (30mins) per week, 2x strecth sessions (30mins) per week, 4x resistance (30mins) per week. It probably sounds like a lot but each workout lasts about 40mins in total, 5-6times per week...sorry it was so long!

You sound just like me. No problem working out. It 's the eating. Sugar, junk, more sugar. I have always been like this. I was just beginning to get the feeling of-"OK, REALLY enough is enough, get it together" and I actually felt like I could do it. I wish I knew what to do to help you, but as I am in the same postition it is impossible. I think that if you REALLY, REALLY want it enough, you do all you can do get it. I was getting that feeling, I think. But now I am pregnant, so I am trying to get it together even more, and of course, failing. BUT!, I still have that "gut' feeling that I will achieve it soon. I don't want to gain the 60 lbs back I worked so hard to lose.
Sorry if this doesn't make sense. Baby brain, :lol: .
Good luck to you. I think the key is to believe in yourself and you will achieve it.:tu: