The right exercise for weight loss

Hello I am a 31yr. old female about 5'8" 155lbs.  I really don't have much weight to lose other than about 10lbs which seems so hard to do.  But everytime I gain a pound or so it seems to go right to my hip and thigh area and I really notice it in my jeans.  They seem to be tight in that area.  I usually do the treadmill atleast 3times a week and sometimes the stationary bike.  What is the BEST exercise for losing and toning the hip and thigh area?  Thanks

[Tammy girl]

Hi

I have a similar problem with weight hanging onto my hips and stomach. My gym instructor told me to use a cross trainer machine for bum,hips and stomach toning along with sit ups. I try and do my sit ups everynight. work the side oblique muscles too when you do sit ups by pulling centre and then twisting to the side, this will help with the waist area.
Dont give in, it will take about 2 to 3 weeks to start seeing any results but it will happen. Take care.
You could also try cutting down on high carbohydrate food like bread and pasta to see if it my be bloating.

[pumpkin25]

Thanks for the info.  I don't really have the problem with my stomach.  Now dont get me wrong I do have a low pouch that I do work on by doing situps. But my main problems seems to be the hip and thigh area.  Everyone else always says that they aren't big but that's what I see and also can feel it in the jeans.

[RowerLarry]

For a low pouch problem, try holding your stomach in when you can think about it during the day: driving, watching TV, anything.  Hold it as tight as you can as long as you can, but don't hold your breath.  Breathe.  The muscles run crosswise, and are difficult to exercise.

And cut a few fatty foods in your diet.

[fenny80]

For effective weight loss you need to a combination of calorie reduction, cardio and weight training.  While calorie reduction is most important for losing weight you want to be able to tone the muscles with weight training.  This includes using barbells(light weights) as well as doing core training(abwork).  When doing cardio it is not until around 20 minutes at 60% of you maximum heart rate that you begin to hit the fat burning zone.  So i know this is sometimes hard for the beginner to keep a high pace for a long time so start slow and take your time.  If you feel you can walk on a treadmill faster, even jog then do so.  I'd post more but i have to go...hope this helps a bit!!!!