Exercise for big legs

[DancerOnIce]

I don’t exercise (except running around after the children, up and down the stairs with washing etc!)
I really need to start. My waist upwards I’m probably a size 10-12. I’m eating better and losing weight so will hopefully mainly just need to tone up.
However my legs and bum are a different story. They put me into size 14-16 (probably 16) and I’m just so embarrassed of them. I went swimming today and my swimming costume looked ok, but my legs literally looked like they were bursting out of the bottom of the costume.
What would be the best exercise to slim them down? A lot. Each one is probably double the size it should be. They’re so out of proportion with the rest of me. I don’t get much time to myself (clingy 1 year old) so something simple would be great

Following with interest.

You can't lose fat on a specific area, but you can tone up, what about an exercise dvd, Davina does some good ones, or ty youtube? Or spinning if you can get to a gym.

I'd go for weight or resistance training. Building muscle will help change shape.

You can't target fat loss to specific areas. You just have to keep losing fat and it'll come off there eventually. If those are your problem areas, unfortunately it'll probably be there that'll drop fat last.
And fat loss will predominantly come from diet, not exercise so you just have to be patient and keep chipping away.

'Toning up' isn't a thing either.
It's either fat loss or building muscle. The 'toning' look comes from less fat being around the muscles and bulking those muscles.

So just walk lots.
Keep swimming.
Weight training over cardio will see visual results faster and give you better shape.
But most importantly, you just have to keep dropping fat.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe they’re looking worse at the moment as I’m losing weight, and judging by the above comment it may be coming off other areas first which were already smaller, so making me feel my legs look even bigger :-(

Any exercise will make you lose fat overall, rather than in a specific area. And if you're naturally pear-shaped, you're pear shaped!
But for me, running (a lot) and lifting heavy weights (a bit) has transformed my legs. I still have a massive arse and thighs in comparison to the rest of me, but my bottom half is now a 8-10 and looks good in teeny tiny running shorts. Whereas once, there was no way I could've run in tiny shorts as my thighs were huge, wobbly, and had no gap between them.

'Toning up' isn't a thing either.
It's either fat loss or building muscle. The 'toning' look comes from less fat being around the muscles and bulking those muscles.

Wise words and so true

Walking with clingy child in pushchair or in pouch. Ditch the car and walk. Take dc for a fast walk in one direction for 15 minutes and then turn round and walk back, start twice a day and see how much further you can get in 15 minutes by the end of the week

I'm a pear shape. Running and yoga are good for keeping well defined curves on my lower body. It's never going to be "lean" but my legs and bum are clearly strong and muscular and an attractive shape in their own right. I'd rather have the firmness of an extra inch or two of muscle than less muscle but be flabbier down there.