Men tend to carry extra weight in their stomachs, women in their hips and thighs. But when it comes to getting rid of fat, our bodies are equal opportunity losers. We lose fat all over, not necessarily where we wish. But targeted exercise along with a healthy diet can help you fight heredity and build the shape you desire.
Effects of Improved Diet and Exercise
If you eliminate 500 calories a day, you will lose about a pound a week and reduce your overall size. Improving your diet by including lean protein and complex carbohydrates in every meal will help you build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less bulk. If you add muscle to your body, you will reduce your size even if the scales don't indicate a drop in pounds. And, because muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat, building lean muscle will help you keep thin. Exercising specific parts of your body will tell it where more muscle and less fat are desired.
Hip and Butt Exercise
Fitness trainer Jill Barker says exercises for your hips and butt will not only make you look better, they will also improve posture and eliminate back pain. She recommends an exercise called the hip lift and walk. For beginners, she says, "lie on your back, feet flat on the floor, arms outstretched palms down on the floor at shoulder height. Position the feet hip distance apart and look straight up." Then, slowly raise your hips until your knees, hips and shoulders are aligned. She recommends "Keeping the knee bent, lift one foot off the floor and bring the knee toward the chest. Lower the leg to the floor and repeat with the opposite leg" and repeating this five to eight times per leg.
Tone Thighs
If you want to improve your thighs, squats are a great exercise, says Jane Taylor, a personal trainer and fitness expert. According to Taylor, it takes six months to sculpture your legs, but that you will beginning working your muscles---improving tone and burning fat---on your first workout. A squat involves lowering yourself from a standing to a sitting position. Your legs, rather than a chair, support your weight. She says the simple exercise requires no equipment but recommends getting advice from a trainer so that you don't strain your back with improper squatting.
Tighten Tummy Muscles
Stomach and abdominal exercises can give you a flatter tummy or even a six-pack. You will also improve your back function by removing pressure on your spine, according to Sam Pearce, a fitness consultant in the United Kingdom. He suggests beginning with cardiovascular exercise---running, speed-walking or any activity that leaves you out of breath but still able to hold a conversation. Then do sit-ups---almost any variation will do. Another fitness consultant, Melanie Kalay, says resistance training combined with yoga or pilates also helps strengthen and shape abdominal muscles.
Reducing Breast Size
Aerobic exercise may help you reduce your breast size. A six-month study conducted by Thailand's Public Health Ministry found that aerobic exercise helped large-breasted women reduce size. Dr. Pennapa Supcharoen, of the Thai Traditional Medicine and Alternative Medicine Institute, claims aerobic exercise of all kinds has proven effective in helping women with large breasts achieve smaller, firmer breasts. Conversely, women with small breasts find that aerobic exercise augmented their size.
References
- "The Gazette"; For Posterior's Sake; Jill Barker; 2010
- "The Express"; Perfect Legs in 14 days; Sophie Donnelly; 2010
- "Birmingham Post"; Get Into a Sweat for a Six-Pack; 2001
- "The Nation"; Keeping Abreast of Size; 2002
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