big thighs caused by running?

maupat

Hi,

I started running about 3 months ago and really like it. My only gripe at this stage is that my thighs have become a lot bigger - so much so that I've gained 4lbs since I started running. I know this is muscle but was shocked when a pair of jeans I tried on recently wouldn't fit past my thighs!

I guess my question is will I reach a plateau when my thighs will become toned as opposed to big...? I'm loathe to give up running so I'm hoping there are some other ways to reduce the size of thighs....

jive

maupat wrote: »

I'm hoping there are some other ways to reduce the size of thighs....

I don't mean to be harsh but eat less/better or exercise more. The 4lbs you gained isn't likely to be muscle assuming that you've been running and not weight training. Some of it is, most of it isn't... the rest is probably a combination of water/fat.

If you want to look toned (as they say!) then eat a bit less or exercise a bit more. Once you find a sweet spot for steady weight loss then it will be a breeze, just be sure not to lose too much too fast.

Burkatron

jive wrote: »

I don't mean to be harsh but eat less/better or exercise more. The 4lbs you gained isn't likely to be muscle assuming that you've been running and not weight training. Some of it is, most of it isn't... the rest is probably a combination of water/fat.

If you want to look toned (as they say!) then eat a bit less or exercise a bit more. Once you find a sweet spot for steady weight loss then it will be a breeze, just be sure not to lose too much too fast.

All of this!

Have you changed your diet at all since you started running??
If the answer is no you should be maintaining/losing weight! I'm gonna hazard a guess & say you've started eating more since you started training? This is a trap people fall into quite often & endup putting on weight eventhough they're excercising more!

How far are you running out of interest? Anyway, you're excercising now & you seem to be enjoying it which is a big piece of the puzzle! The next step is to start chipping away at your diet! Find your maintenance calories, eat clean! (says the man with a lollipop in his mouth, It was free It's not super sour like it said on the wrapper though ) Read the nutrition stickies & take it from there!

maupat

Thanks for the replies guys.

That's the thing - my diet hasn't changed and it is a good diet. I eat the same quantities. I do a little weight training and run 5km (approx.) 2-3 times a week. Prior to this I went swimming 2-3 times a week with no change in thigh size.

cc87

What is your diet?? A good diet is somewhat open to interpretation
What are your portion sizes like?


Whats your 5km time like?? is it a time thats somewhat tough for you or easy??

Also if your jeans were somewhat tight before you started running, a small increase in thigh circumference could make a huge difference to putting on your jeans

maupat

cc87 wrote: »

What is your diet?? A good diet is somewhat open to interpretation
What are your portion sizes like?


Whats your 5km time like?? is it a time thats somewhat tough for you or easy??

Also if your jeans were somewhat tight before you started running, a small increase in thigh circumference could make a huge difference to putting on your jeans

My daily diet typically consists of the following;

Breakfast: porridge with fruit and honey, multi-vitamin fruit juice.

Lunch: sandwich (e.g., chicken, lettuce and tomato) on wholemeal bread, low-fat natural yoghurt and fruit (banana and strawberries)

Dinner: chicken stir fry including carrots, broccoli, garlic and mushrooms with soy sauce and brown rice.

Fairly generous portion I guess - I add plenty of veg.

I drink around 3 litres of water each day (this should prob be more). I also drink 2 cups of herbal tea most days.

I can run 5k in 30 mins. That requires extra effort but isn't extremely difficult for me.

Donelson

I would think that your jeans have shrink. Unless your a sprinter.
4Lb equal roughly two litre, so for an average leg that's only a 1mm radius increase.

Satanta

I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that someone starting a new exercise will not add some muscle as an adaptation to a new stress. The op already said their diet hasn't changed. Whether its good or bad... it hasn't changed. From my experience running causes new stresses on the entire leg, as well as lower back. Someone that hadn't been using those muscles would expect to see some new growth surely?

However I do agree that if you want to loose weight you need to adjust your diet as well as exercise.

Jimmy Bottlehead

maupat wrote: »

cc87 wrote: »

What is your diet?? A good diet is somewhat open to interpretation
What are your portion sizes like?


Whats your 5km time like?? is it a time thats somewhat tough for you or easy??

Also if your jeans were somewhat tight before you started running, a small increase in thigh circumference could make a huge difference to putting on your jeans

My daily diet typically consists of the following;

Breakfast: porridge with fruit and honey, multi-vitamin fruit juice.

Lunch: sandwich (e.g., chicken, lettuce and tomato) on wholemeal bread, low-fat natural yoghurt and fruit (banana and strawberries)

Dinner: chicken stir fry including carrots, broccoli, garlic and mushrooms with soy sauce and brown rice.

Fairly generous portion I guess - I add plenty of veg.

I drink around 3 litres of water each day (this should prob be more). I also drink 2 cups of herbal tea most days.

I can run 5k in 30 mins. That requires extra effort but isn't extremely difficult for me.

Knock the bread and rice on the head and you'll see a difference.

maupat

Satanta wrote: »

However I do agree that if you want to loose weight you need to adjust your diet as well as exercise.

Nope, not looking to lose weight nor do I need to (thankfully) I agree - it is not completely out of the question to find an increase in size in a particular part of the body when taking on a new form of exercise.

maupat

[/Quote]
Knock the bread and rice on the head and you'll see a difference.[/Quote]

Tks for the tip. I'll look into cutting these out. What suitable replacements to bread (the sambos!) and rice would you recommend...?

Burkatron

maupat wrote: »

Knock the bread and rice on the head and you'll see a difference.[/Quote]

Tks for the tip. I'll look into cutting these out. What suitable replacements to bread (the sambos!) and rice would you recommend...?[/QUOTE]

For bread use Meat! So if you're having a burger, instead of 2 buns just use 2 more burgers!! For rice mince up your meat!! I'm cooking dinner #2 at the moment so I'm starving!! :pac:

If you're not trying to lose weight why are you cutting rice & bread?? Your diet seems fine! You could do with bit more food in it, a couple of snacks (nuts fruit etc) through out the day & a bit more protein & it would be spot on! But it's not the worst!

Oryx

OP. Three years ago my thighs were 21 inches around. Today, after tonnes of running and other stuff, constantly training, they are 20.5. But they have more muscle now, and the layer of fat has reduced. Overall my measurements haven't changed much but my body composition has. To be honest, I would give your body time to adapt to your running, and not stress too much that youre getting bigger. Youre not really, but you are probably changing and gaining muscle. If you stick with it and watch your diet so you don't overeat when hungry after training, you won't need to stress about bulking.

LauraLoo

Hi OP, I dont think that knocking the bread and rice is your answer unless you are eating excess and/or trying to lose weight which you are not.

Muscle is compact so it is hard to consider that your gain is muscle unless you are over doing it on the protein or taking supplements for muscle gain- which you haven't mentioned so I assume not.

you haven't mentioned your gender as women gain and hold onto fat a lot faster than men just as men build muscle easier than women- eostrogen/ testosterone effect plus everyone is different in hormonal ratio as well.

I find it interesting that your gain is specifically on your thighs. If you were gaining fat I don't believe it would settle on our thighs when you are running three times a week, it is the last place I imagine it would be stored as your thigh muscles are like furnaces at this stage.if you were eating too much th fat would be stored elsewhere.

I (woman) have a prominent ass and thighs in comparision to my waist, chest and shoulders. My glutes got bigger when I started on the stair master in the gym, especially when combined with specific weight training targeting that area. An instructor recommended that I cut out the lower body weight traing as the running and gym work (stairs/cross trainer) were doing enough for those muscles; considering my lower body muscles developed much faster than my upper body muscles. And then I focused my weight training on my upper body and core. Since I have made this change my glutes and thighs have really slimmed down and my upper body is just toning as opposed to growing. I think this is because my body shape is out of balance (I am a pear shape) and can report that these changes have put me into better proportion. So maybe if you do the same (if you are already doing a lot of strength training on your lower body on top of running) and replace your lower body strength training with some LB focused yoga postures which are a more gentle way of strengthening the muscles without tearing them (it is the tearin of muscles n ST that make hem grow).

Hanley

LauraLoo wrote: »

So maybe if you do the same (if you are already doing a lot of strength training on your lower body on top of running) and replace your lower body strength training with some LB focused yoga postures which are a more gentle way of strengthening the muscles without tearing them (it is the tearin of muscles n ST that make hem grow).

Ok no, that's so incredibly incorrect.

LauraLoo

Explain how it's incredibly incorrect and make your comment worthwhile as opposed to random flaming.

Hanley

LauraLoo wrote: »

Explain how it's incredibly incorrect and make your comment worthwhile as opposed to random flaming.

A stairmaster won't cause significant muscle growth.

"strength" is the ability to control load, it doesn't necessarily require "tearing" your muscles.

It sounds like you've gotten instruction from people who don't know what they're doing, and in a form not suitable for you. Which isn't an inherent problem with resistance training, just a problem with the trainer not knowing what the hell they're doing.

When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Any muscle growth outside of the beginning stages is a function of nutrition anyway. So unless you were eating excess kcals it's unlikely you generated much growth, the simple solution to that is to eat according to goal...

...which brings me onto the final point, which is confirmation bias, and something anyone who's trained any amount of people will see - people immediately start to see changes as a result of their training, especially the type of change they expect to see. Even tho, objectively, nothing may have changed. Tell me, did you take before and after measurements? What did they say? There's a serious chance you only saw what you expected to see.

And I'm so voracious about the defense of all of this because so many people have been sold a lie by people trying to sell them something (a training program, style, whatever..), and there's a lot of people who read this stuff on here and happily accept the information because, again, confirmation bias says they should expect to get big and bulky because of weight training, so once they see someone, anyone, say it, that's their mind made up and they've missed out on the chance to do something hugely beneficial as a result. And they tell friends. And friends tell friends. And the myth propagates... etc etc ad infinitum

Fingers crossed that was worthwhile enough for you!