Lose weight but remain curvy

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Luna8919
Luna8919 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all im currently 6 ft all and 186 lbs and female. I wanted to lose about 20lbs but dont want to lose curves is there any excercise or food i should keep eating? Thanks in advance xx
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Replies

  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
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    your "curves" totally depend on your body makeup. Losing weight might or might not affect your natural curves.....
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    Hi all im currently 6 ft all and 186 lbs and female. I wanted to lose about 20lbs but dont want to lose curves is there any excercise or food i should keep eating? Thanks in advance xx

    Start lifting heavy. You may not see the scale move much, but you WILL get/keep curves. When I started barbell squatting in October I had a flat booty--now I have a nice round booty. I only lost 1.4 lbs in December, but I have pictures that show a visible change in my appearance.
  • CornellGirl
    CornellGirl Posts: 30 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)
  • Luna8919
    Luna8919 Posts: 11
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    I have quite a lot of fat on my stomach and thighs which are my problem areas. How can i do squats at home? do i need any weights to do it?
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    I have quite a lot of fat on my stomach and thighs which are my problem areas. How can i do squats at home? do i need any weights to do it?

    start with no weight....then you can hold a dumbbell out in front of you while you do them--the trainer at the gym told me that he does "goblet squats" with a 70 lb dumbbell instead of doing barbell squats ( he has long hair that gets caught under the barbell)
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    Wow, this couldn't be more wrong. Your shape is genetic. I can not create an hourglass shape by cardio just as I can not erase it by doing pilates. Pilates strengthens your core...how exactly does that diminish your hips or butt???
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    This is... I don't even know. It's just full of wrongness....

    Pilates is GREAT for core strength. It also helps with posture which will make your core body look better in general. It has NEVER made my upper body boxy!

    You either have an hourglass shape or you don't. Fat or not.
  • 20shan08
    20shan08 Posts: 219 Member
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    I agree, your bone structure is what makes you curvy. I was 248 pounds when I started and now I'm 160. I lost my boobs and my butt but I still have wide hips. My boobs are gone for good, and it sucks lol. But now I'm "trying" to build up my butt a bit. If you're only losing 20 pounds, your figure probably wot change too dramatically.
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
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    Shape is somewhat pre-determined, but weightlifting can help maintain curves. As for not doing situps and what not, that is purely rubbish, You can't spot reduce and abs are one thing that even on men don't get bulky perse. How it CAN help is by improving posture and preventing that sort of tummy flop out over your hips.
  • R0asted
    R0asted Posts: 83 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    This is... I don't even know. It's just full of wrongness....

    Pilates is GREAT for core strength. It also helps with posture which will make your core body look better in general. It has NEVER made my upper body boxy!

    You either have an hourglass shape or you don't. Fat or not.

    Actually, she has a bit of a point. "Strengthening your core" is great but it WILL make your waist slightly thicker and diminish the illusion of your *kitten* and chest being bigger. With that said, if you're over 20% bf, this isn't going to be noticeable anyways.

    Also, I disagree with only cardio. Weights can thicken your *kitten*, legs, shoulders, back, etc. which can ADD curves.
  • Luna8919
    Luna8919 Posts: 11
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    Thanks all for the advice much appreciated :) i went on the scales at the pharmacy and it measured body fat and it was 30 something %, I have an ab cruncher at home and a steppy but also intend to go on long walks too
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    I am 6'1" and am currently 165 pounds - pretty close to the OP's goal weight.

    I am not sure what you mean by "curvy" as every one has a different definition of that word (and some people get quite volatile).

    Perhaps you can define a bit better what you are looking for in terms of body comp?
    For me, it was long distance slow running and eating within my calories that helped me lean out. The boxing and bodyweight exercises have helped me pack on the muscle.

    Contrary to what some of the other posters have said, I found that doing core exercises (planks to a large extent) - and not necessarily crunches) have actually tightened my waist up and made it a bit smaller.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I haven't lost my curves because I'm a natural hourglass. I was an hourglass at 220lbs (albeit one with a post-baby belly) and I am an hourglass now at 164. I was an hourglass at my slimmest at 147.

    Workout a lot, do a mix of strength training and cardio, and eat lots of protein. That has worked for me at any rate.
  • weightlossdiva1219
    weightlossdiva1219 Posts: 283 Member
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    If you're a natural hour glass, you'll stay that way. Your shape has to do with genetics and your bone structure. If you have curves now because you're overweight, you might not have them when you lose it. But if you naturally have them, then you'll always have curves.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    This is... I don't even know. It's just full of wrongness....

    Pilates is GREAT for core strength. It also helps with posture which will make your core body look better in general. It has NEVER made my upper body boxy!

    You either have an hourglass shape or you don't. Fat or not.

    Actually, she has a bit of a point. "Strengthening your core" is great but it WILL make your waist slightly thicker and diminish the illusion of your *kitten* and chest being bigger. With that said, if you're over 20% bf, this isn't going to be noticeable anyways.

    Also, I disagree with only cardio. Weights can thicken your *kitten*, legs, shoulders, back, etc. which can ADD curves.
    Actually, she doesnt.

    All Cardio:
    photo.jpg
    Heavy lifting at same weight:
    photo.jpg

    If you're losing weight you're not going to gain thickness. Particularly if you're concentrating on progressive resistance training. The more you do that the more of what leaves will be fat, leaving you much thinner. My 25 inch waist on my 5'8 body is pretty thankful of that. And ironically I hated my arms and they didn't start to get smaller until I started strength training.

    It's not weights that thickens things. It's food. Weights just (for the most part) change what comes off (fat on a deficit) or what gets put on (muscle on a surplus). If you are body building on a calorie surplus then yes, you can gain mass. But on a calorie deficit, you're going to get smaller.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    you wont
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    Damn, I thought it was miming that got people stuck in boxes. Not yoga and pilates!
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    old thread resurrected!
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)

    lolwut?
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    Do cardio! Stay away from pilates and yoga which can make your upper body boxy. Although yoga will make you toned.

    Do not do any sit-ups or pilates (this will increase the thickness of your waist and diminish the hourglass shape)
    Are you sureeeee its the pilates? I hear boxes are dangerous for cardio too.
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