Losing Weight without Losing Inches in the Breasts and Buttocks...

I have loss about 17 pounds in the last 3 months and my biggest problem right now is that all my bras seem to be too big. Sadly, whenever I lose weight, the first thing to go is inches off my breasts.

I have certain women friends who have been concerned with losing weight and inches because they did not want to lose it in certain areas (i.e., breasts, buttocks, hips). This may be compared to “spot reduction” where people SEEK TO lose weight in a certain spot on the body (i.e., “I need to get rid of these flabby arms,” or, “I want to work on losing weight on my thunder thighs”). In the case of NOT wanting to lose weight in certain spots, this may be referred to as “spot maintenance.”

In over a decade of education and training in the health, nutrition, and even fitness arena, what I have learned is that all of our bodies are different in their methods of operation in regards to weight loss, so it is very difficult to tell a person how “NOT TO” lose weight in a certain area of the body when they are trying to lose weight. However, many women (and men) admire certain areas of their bodies and want to keep them in tact, but know they need to lose weight all over for health reasons. What to do?

My biggest advice for the person who wants to maintain certain spots on the body while losing weight is to use exercise workouts to tone the area you don’t want to lose. This way, you may still lose weight in that area, but it will still look great as it may be smaller but properly formed, toned, and proportioned with your smaller body. The biggest way to do this would be to limit the cardio workouts (not eliminate), and focus on strength training to tone key areas. For the buttocks and thighs, toning exercises that work well include the infamous squats and lunges. For the breast area, push-ups and even chest flys work well to maintain breast tone and size.

Now toning alone will not help you maintain your shapely form if you are not eating healthy. Your diet should also be altered. As is in most posts, my advice is for you to limit the fat, salt, and sugar in the diet, and increase your water intake. If you are committed to losing weight, but want to keep and build muscle on certain areas of the body, along with the strength training, increase your protein intake by eating lean meats like chicken, fish, and turkey (decrease the red meat). Even eating 3-4 turkey slices as a snack a couple of times a day can help increase your protein intake in conjunction with the protein you consume during your normal meals.

I hope this was helpful. Until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson