To accept I will never look good in a pair of shorts

[Crazyladee]

I'm 5ft 5 and size 10 top and size 12 bottom. Typical pear shape.
However I have absolutely awful legs. Throughout the autumn/winter is great as my legs are covered but come summer I have the same issue. I cannot show my legs. I have been blessed with horrible chunky flabby elephant style knees and chunky calves and thighs. They are also covered in cellulite.
I have tried everything to make me feel less self conscious. I've had sessions with a personal trainer last year, I've had lipo fat freezing on them (which did nothing) and I've tried dry body brushing. Nothing has worked. I had lunch today with my best mate who has legs to die for. She was wearing a gorgeous pair of tiny khaki shorts and looked fab. I sat sweltering in jeans. I think I am going to have to accept that I will never have the legs I long for.
Anyone else in the same boat?

I was like this for 40 odd years me never wore skirts or shorts. One day I decided to try a low carb diet and within a few weeks discovered that I do have ankles and my knees aren’t actually that enormous. I still have chunky calves but not as bad as they were and as there is some definition ie; they go in and out in the right places my legs actually look ok in shorts now. I would always steer clear of anything past mid thigh as I don’t think they look flattering on anyone but am now happy to wear shorts all summer. The fear of returning to cankles and fat knees keeps me eating low carb the majority of the time. I’d rather have ankles than cake.

Omg shorts and I went our separate ways when I was about 12. I’ve never felt comfortable in them. I so envy tanned lean legs. My ankles are ok but knees and up..no.

Size16 legs /boobs here..2ops for severe varicose veins&a shite-crop of threadveins on1leg..any hot weather is a bastad &i workout like f@#k just2keep them looking relatively toned.I stick to super fitted waists with balloon-pant or loose leg or sometimes really wide smoking-pants style,super-thin print materials as my waist is narrow& top quite broad so it ends up looking ok but hell id love to be rocking some shortshorts😉 ..

@TapasForTwo in your opinion they might.

I was just saying that I've never seen anyone who I thought looked good in them.

I must know some people with good legs then Golde

I'm 29 and have hated my legs since childhood. I'm 5ft 5 a size 10 now but I've always had the most horrible legs. I'm as white as Casper, I've got wide knees, chunky legs and cankles. If my legs don't look a mottled pinky colour then I have bruises on them. I'd love to be able to wear shorts or a skirt so I'm not roasting all summer but it never going to happen. I lost over 3 stone a few years ago and thought my legs might improve but they didn't.

I have not bad legs and I find shorts really difficult to wear.

I'm mostly found on a tennis court in the summer and I will happily wear a tennis skirt and think i look OK, but cannot for the life of me find a pair of shorts that don't make my legs look terrible.

Me too... I love long boho skirts and wear these instead if shorts

Get the 'Quick Callanetics' dvd and do the 20 minute leg section of it 3 times a week. It's brilliant for reshaping legs. It's very dated 1980s style but very good.

You have bear legs?

Fake tan ( the gradual moisturising ones have been my friend since the age of about 16!)
... and don't give it a second thought - wear what you want!

I think you either accept them or you don't.
Mine are scarred, mauve/white, mole-y, weird knees, bobbly skin etc.

I still wear shorts
All summer most years

I can't stand being hot and they chafe if I wear a skirt. Plus skirts are impractical.

I have a leg master similar to this

www.amazon.co.uk/Leg-Master-Elite-Ultimate-Workout/dp/B00NU92L82?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I really pulls in your inner thighs. I’ll be using it on my death bed!

I've also got tree trunk legs, but shorter shorts look better on me. But I prefer dresses .... skirts mostly look weird on me too.

Fireman, I have that machine. I am an intermittent user, but when I commit to it the results have been good.

Trouble is apart from one occasion when I used it for a year, the rest of the time I use it a month at a time. Even using it for a month makes your legs feel so much stronger.

Funny enough I am about to embark on an exercise kick and will be using it regularly. I think a thigh gap is out of the question though.

Sarcelle

The first few times I used it I thought it was a killer and I contemplated putting it away but am glad I persevered.

Mine is permanently set up. If I had to get it out each time I would probably lapse.

This might sound silly but I think that the more you have your legs out, the more comfortable you’ll feel as you subconsciously be less self-aware of your perceived flaws, and the better that they’ll look because you’ll probably end up stepping up your moisturising/hair removal/exfoliation game.

I guarantee that there will be thousands of Brits with ‘worse’ legs than yours, that will absolutely insist on having them out! If they can do it, so can you.

Fake tan, the moisturizing one that builds up gradually. Use it straight after shaving/depilation then every day for a week. Then every 5 days or so throughout the summer. It's a game changer. Doesn't make you any slimmer, but it eliminates the pallor and gives you an even tone - basically foundation for legs!

Mesmeri - at what point do you scrub gradual tan off and start again? Or do you just keep on topping it up? When you hair remove doesn't
it come off and go patchy?

Fireman - my problem is I have to set the Leg Magic up, no room to keep it up. I agree, when you first do it, its a killer, but after a while it just becomes a really effective machine. I have even got to the stage where I take my hands off the holding part and it really is my legs doing all the work.

Another vote for gradual tan (Garnier summer body for me- game changer) then I just go for it! They're only legs. Most people have them. Who cares?

I'm a size 16 at the moment but even when I was a size 10 my legs were terrible. I'm only 5ft though which doesn't help.

Maybe start slowly, with pedal pushers?

With menopause my fat legs toned up - the fat moved up to my belly. But hey I'm wearing shorts for the first time in years and feel so much more comfortable in the heat. I'm sure the legs still aren't great, but the other advantage of ageing is that you give much less of a stuff about what people think.