Hyewon, Jihee, Eunjin

Foreigners who visit Korea usually say that Korean women look slim and pretty. It is generally true because there are few women who are obese. However, many women are dissatisfied with the appearance of their lower bodies. Especially, lower body obesity has been blamed for low self-esteem. The most difficult part is that dieting alone can’t target particular areas of the body for weight loss, so specific strategies are needed. We will explain three ways to solve this problem.



Dieting your way to a slimmer lower body

1. Vegetables (pumpkin, corn, potato, sweet potato, cabbage and adzuki beans) - These are vegetables which make the lower body slim. Potato makes people feel full and satisfied and a cabbage helps sodium excretion. Also, pumpkin helps the body relieve swelling and sweet potato, which is Fiber-rich, helps relieve constipation. Adzuki beans have been used for relieving swelling for a long time.

2. Beverages (hot Americano, green tea and other hot teas) - Why don't you try to drink green tea and hot Americano instead of iced Americano? Hot drinks speed up metabolism.

3. Dairy products (cheese and yogurt) - Eat cheese and yogurt rather than ice milk. These make the body warm. It can increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

4. Fruits (apple, peach and kiwi) – Some fruit has calories and makes your body cold. In particular, avoid grapes, melons and bananas because they have high calories. On the contrary, apples and peaches have lower calories and are “warm” foods. If you eat warm foods, it will help you reduce lower body obesity.

5. Meat and fish (Chicken breast and salmon) - Chicken breast is better than pork, because it has many proteins and a warm nature. But, pork makes the body cold, so we should avoid it as much as possible. Also, salmon is recommended because it promotes good blood circulation.                          

Changing your daily habits to avoid lower body obesity

First, avoid wearing tight clothing. Excessively clothing also causes which circulatory problems and the fat will accumulate.

Second, avoid foods which contain a lot of salt and caffeine. When you eat too much salty food, your legs will become swollen. Instead, eat fruit such as watermelons and oranges. You’d better eat fruit, vegetables and grains rather than salty food or fast food. Also, avoid beverages which contain caffeine such as coffee, coke, and black tea that affect lower body obesity.

Third, stay warm. Before you go to bed, have a half bath. It is good to maintain your health. If your body temperature decreases more than 1°C, your basal metabolism will decrease by 12%, which affects your lower body obesity. Low body temperature also slows blood circulation and may cause edema.

Fourth, don’t cross your legs. Crossing your legs is usually a sure way to get lower body obesity. Rather, try to maintain a straight posture rather than being in one position and avoid sitting or standing with incorrect posture for a long time. Moving your legs frequently is very helpful to remove the risk of edema in your legs. When you sit on a chair, attach your back and puff out your chest.

Finally, don’t sit and stand for a long time. Maintaining the same posture is the biggest cause of circulatory slowdown. This restricts blood flow to the feet which may lead to edema and lower body obesity. To avoid leg edema, from time to time, stretch your body.

Exercise to build slender legs

 First, if you have a lower body with excess fat, you need to do aerobic exercises that burn fats effectively, such as power walking, jogging and cycling. There is also a famous exercise called 'sky cycling'. (*First lie down on your back and raise your left knee and right knee alternately just like when you ride a bicycle. Keep your abdominal muscles tense.)

 If you have a lower body with excess muscle, you must avoid powerful exercises like cycling. You should also avoid yoga, pilates, and strong stretches which promote the development of muscles. Only light stretches and massages are recommended for this type of lower body. Here is good example of light stretches that can be done on the stairs. (*Stand on the end of one stair and pull your heels and return to normal state. Repeat this procedure, as many as you can.)

 For those of you who already have lower bodies with edema, you ought to concentrate on the circulation of blood. You have to do yoga and various kinds of stretches. The most important thing is to have frequent foot baths with hot water which is helpful for the smooth blood circulation of your lower body. Let me introduce you to a massage that stimulates the acupuncture point for vigorous blood circulation. (*Confer the picture below.)

In summary, we checked the list of diet ingredients, bad habits and proper exercises. To remove lower body obesity or prevent it, we recommend that you follow our suggestions. Try to eat healthy foods that were mentioned before and also avoid bad habits which cause lower body obesity. If you already suffer from lower body obesity, be sure to check what kind of your lower body obesity is before undertaking exercise.

Now that it is almost the beginning of 2014, how about trying to get your legs slimmer for this year? You can do it! If you follow our suggestions, it’s more effective than just exercising in a fitness center. If we start with practicing very small things, we would be able to achieve our goal.