Why do the ankles stay fat?!

[BrainInAJar]

Hey all,

I'm a yoyo dieter (although hoping Wegovy will end all that!)

Whether I'm 9 stone or 15 stone, I still have fat ankles. Cankles, really, ie no definition of an ankle at all, it just merges into the rest of the leg.

Now I am chunky of leg anyway (have to buy wide fit in wellies even when thin) but I've noticed that this is common with many people (inc celebrities) who lose weight - they retain the ankles of a much heavier person.

Anyone have any thoughts on this terrible first world problem?!

thanks

For me it’s water in my lower legs and the only way to lose it and get defined ankles is to not eat refined carb products like biscuits and bread. It’s a sacrifice I find worthwhile, I had fat legs all my life until I tried low carb and it was literally a life changer.

Bugger, I'm already doing low carb. Could not tell you the last time I ate bread, pasta, rice or potatoes. I do have the occasional digestive though so maybe need to go hardcore.

I suspect more exercise may be in order for me!

How big are your wrists? I read something years about about using wrist size to adjust the BMI calculation to be more accurate as someone with larger wrists just won’t be able to get their weight down as much as someone with small wrists. I assume ankles are similar and will just be how you’re naturally built underneath.

It's more likely that it's just your leg shape. My friends is tiny and very slim but has chunky ankles. I am taller and very much overweight but my ankles are slim and shapely (which cannot be said for the rest of my body!). We often remark on it.

It’s definitely water retention. I’m pregnant and have put on a bit of weight but not much. My ankles have varying degrees of puffiness though.

Do you eat a lot of salt or have high blood pressure?

@Minewasthesame my wrists are very small! I'm fairly small up top but have heavy legs. It's actually easier to look thin that way round imho rather than having a fat face/bust/arms and slimmer legs. A pair of wide-leg black trousers does wonders!

@DuploTrain no, I eat very little salt and never had any issues with high blood pressure. I'm pretty inactive though so I wonder if it's fluid retention from lack of use of my legs!

Just your body type and nothing wrong with it. Some people have thicker legs and ankles.

Try massage and placing your feet up when resting, should help get the fluid moving in the right direction, might not completely take them away but help a bit

I’m overweight, but have thin ankles and wrists. It’s just body shape.

Body shape and I think water retention/circulation also plays a part.

I have the opposite problem. Let me tell you, while a delicate ankle may look lovely on a slim leg, it is faintly ridiculous on someone chubby with a mum tum (me). In fact, it makes me look like a Mr Men character truth be told, especially as my hands are also quite small.

Google Lipoedema. Does it sound familiar?

Yeah my cousin has lipodema. Maybe it's genetic and I have it at a low level.

I was about to suggest lipodoema too.

Yep sounds like Lipoedema.

My teeny weeny sil has lipodema so even at a size 6 couldn't get boots that fit her calves comfortably. In the end she got liposuction for it and was very happy with the results.

I massage my feet and ankles every evening and then lie with my legs raised for 10 mins. Well, I do when I remember! It makes a real difference

I am trying this now - only on 2nd day so holing it works!

I know what you mean, I've noticed people who have lost very large amounts of weight often seem to retain a larger jawline/chin for some reason. Unfortunately I'm one of them! I sometimes wonder if it's because a large chin/jaw maybe accompanies being largely built/having a large frame, which maybe disposes people to obesity? Or my other thought is it could be related to growth hormones in some way.

In any case once you've noticed it you keep on noticing it!

@waistchallenge aye exactly - observational bias! I actually have a tiny little wattle under my chin now from losing and gaining weight. Like a turkey. I doubt anyone but me would notice.

I think I actually had lipodema before I started low carbing as I have always had the issue since my teenage years. I had a very small waist and upper body and all my weight was concentrated below the waist but with normal size feet. I ate a carb heavy diet because that was the norm in my family but even when I lost weight my bum, knees and legs were disproportional to the rest of me. Going low carb initially was a revelation and I’ve kept it up for nearly 20 years now with the odd time where I’ve given in to temptation. I can now eat some sugar and potatoes now without adverse affect but anything with wheat flour in particular, rice or pasta gives me puffy legs again.
There is no definitive answer to why people in particular women get lipedema but I think if they were encouraged to try low carb it could honestly be life changing for many.

It doesn't matter how thin I am, I always still have thick ankles. I don't think it's fat. I have naturally strong, muscular legs and that seems to extend to my ankles. I accept it now and focus on the benefits of having strong legs and ankles. And thank god for wide leg trousers!

@TreesWelliesKnees thus us exactly how I always was. One day I decided to try low carb and within a few weeks had dropped a load of water, suddenly had knees and ankles and have never looked back. If I eat bread now I will retain upto 5lb of water overnight and within a few days my lower legs will be noticeably chunkier again. Posh sourdough has the least effect but even that is a treat not a regular thing. Rice does a similar thing but potatoes seem relatively ok now.
I don’t know why it is I only know that finally in my fifties I have definition in my legs and ankles that I’m happy to wear skirts with.

My legs used to be pretty much the same size from lower thigh to ankle, proper cankles with fat knees and a pad of fat on the front of my leg just above my knee. Totally different to my siblings and made me very self conscious. You never saw me in skirts or shorts ever. Personally I would try a low carb approach rather than just assume it’s incurable but you have to do it properly not just cut back for your body to be able to release long held stores of fat/fluid.

Is it definitely fat? People are just built differently

As a teen I used to wish for smooth legs with no protruding ankle bones 😂 I deeply wished for “cankles” as it looked nicer to me than weirdly bony ankles and knees (that I had)

anyway, I digress, it could just be body type? I studied it in depth as a teen 😁 and it did not have to do with fat, but just build , mostly (I resorted to ankle boots to hide my ankles)