Squats have been making my butt smaller... Help?

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IfePakpao
IfePakpao Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi my name is Alexis! I'm excited to join this community and to finally get fit! I'm transitioning from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one- and I know it will be a long journey but it will be worth it!

So I do have a question though, has anyone had the issue of LOSING THEIR BUTT FROM SQUATS?

I used to have a sizable , plump butt but no muscle and started doing squats to make it bigger. I also run - and I've noticed its getting smaller??

I want it to either return to its old squishiness w/o having to stop exercising or to increase in volume.

I've heard that I should try eating more fatty foods to gain more fat in my butt again but how can I balance that out and stay trim everywhere else?

If anyone has conquered this problem please let me know because it's a serious issue for me.

Thank you! :)

Replies

  • gin82
    gin82 Posts: 1 Member
    edited January 2016
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    You have to build the muscle while losing the fat. Great ideas for glut exercise can be found on body building . com. I personally like the stair mill, squats, and hip thrusts.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Are you eating at a calorie defecit

    Are you using progressive weights in squats? What other weight bearing exercise are you doing

    Muscle is tighter, firmer and takes up less space by weight than fat

    You should look into bret contreras book Strong Curves
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Yep, if you are looking to build muscle it's the same as building other muscles, so you have to do the bodybuilding thing to at least a certain extent.

    If you are looking to just firm up the shape, that can be done with exercise without putting on muscle.

    But I think you are disappointed with fat loss in that area, and I hear you! I really liked the last inch I lost in my buttocks, but my tummy isn't right (to me) until after I lose that darned hip inch or two. It sucks. I ended up getting the inch back through the whole weightlifting thing (including a higher protein diet, etc) but the inch of fluff was just so much easier, lol.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Congrats on your firmer, tighter, and healthier booty. What the problem is?
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    a lot of butt size and shape is just genetics
  • marcelo_templario
    marcelo_templario Posts: 653 Member
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    Alexis, not trying to make you down but squats grow some muscle and get your butt firmer, but it won't increase its size at all. Now, believe me, a tighter behind is veeery attractive, once your body fits the size of it you ll be ok.
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
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    I wish I had this problem... For some reason my bum has remained the same size throughout my weight loss and adult life... Meaning I have remained the same pants (underwear) size forever. It seems like the only thing that is a constant between growing up and weight loss/weight gain.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Doesn't look like OP came back for this, so i'll post just hoping she does. :)


    You state that you're coming from a sedentary lifestyle to an active lifestyle. I'm assuming you're also losing weight. Congrats on that! I've got some sad news... and that is... we don't get to choose where on our body we store or lose fat. This is what's called a "body type". Do not misunderstand, i am not saying that some people are just "fat" and thats their body type. No. I'm saying it comes down to genetics on WHERE you gain fat and WHERE you lose fat.

    different-types-of-body-shapes.jpg

    So depending on your genetics you may gain in your hips/butt but have a small upper body. Or maybe you have a large belly but thinner legs/arms. I personally am a pear and gain all my weight on my butt/thighs and have small breasts/arms/lower legs.

    In addition to not having control of where you GAIN, you do not have control of where you LOSE. When you lose weight your body will determine the areas from where to use fat FOR you. Some women lose in their legs/butt first but lose the weight last in their stomach, and so on. This is not something you can control.

    So what CAN you do? Your only option is to continue to lose weight all over and eventually once you have lost enough body fat you will have achieved the "look" you are going for. Even still, better not to have unrealistic expectations. You cannot choose or spot reduce fat from one area nor can you gain fat in one area WITHOUT the intervention of liposuction/fat injections.

    Now onto the topic of squats. Be under no illusion... squats cannot make your butt go from this to this:
    Kim-Kardashian.png

    That is surgery.

    Squats strengthen, "tone", and firm your booty. It can also grow bigger but only from adding MUSCLE. A more realistic squat butt transformation will look like this:

    Squats-%E2%80%93-Before-and-After-004.jpg

    So you've got two issues going on. You can either have a big butt that is the result of just body fat. Or you can have a butt thats much smaller (since you'll have to lose weight all over) but which allows the muscle you have to be visible.

    Right now you've got some muscle which you've been working out but it's covered in body fat.


    As far as the diet is concerned. No. Dietary fat that you eat is not the same as fat that is on your body. You can eat all the fat in the world, but it comes down to CALORIES. You again cannot choose and nothing you do will make your body choose to gain or lose fat in one area.

    Believe me, i would have ginormous boobs if that was the case. :)
  • rosema1268
    rosema1268 Posts: 6 Member
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    You maybe not eating enough calories as well as good protein, fat and carbs to build those booty glute muscles also how much running do u do. Too much cardio is counterproductive in gaining a bigger booty. You need to eat more, to build muscle , focus on many glute exercises while also working other muscle in your legs.. And try running less with time doing HIIT (high interval training ) if you want fat loss as well as muscle gains
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    IfePakpao wrote: »
    Hi my name is Alexis! I'm excited to join this community and to finally get fit! I'm transitioning from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one- and I know it will be a long journey but it will be worth it!

    So I do have a question though, has anyone had the issue of LOSING THEIR BUTT FROM SQUATS?

    I used to have a sizable , plump butt but no muscle and started doing squats to make it bigger. I also run - and I've noticed its getting smaller??

    I want it to either return to its old squishiness w/o having to stop exercising or to increase in volume.

    I've heard that I should try eating more fatty foods to gain more fat in my butt again but how can I balance that out and stay trim everywhere else?

    If anyone has conquered this problem please let me know because it's a serious issue for me.

    Thank you! :)

    You cannot change drastically your body shape. If you want to lose fat, you will also lose fat from the butt. Unless you plan to have surgery, you cannot keep the fat on some body parts of your choice and lose it everywhere else.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Why is that Kardashian butt a thing?

    It's like The Emperor's New Clothes ...don't get it

    That other shot is great
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Doesn't look like OP came back for this, so i'll post just hoping she does. :)


    You state that you're coming from a sedentary lifestyle to an active lifestyle. I'm assuming you're also losing weight. Congrats on that! I've got some sad news... and that is... we don't get to choose where on our body we store or lose fat. This is what's called a "body type". Do not misunderstand, i am not saying that some people are just "fat" and thats their body type. No. I'm saying it comes down to genetics on WHERE you gain fat and WHERE you lose fat.

    different-types-of-body-shapes.jpg

    So depending on your genetics you may gain in your hips/butt but have a small upper body. Or maybe you have a large belly but thinner legs/arms. I personally am a pear and gain all my weight on my butt/thighs and have small breasts/arms/lower legs.

    In addition to not having control of where you GAIN, you do not have control of where you LOSE. When you lose weight your body will determine the areas from where to use fat FOR you. Some women lose in their legs/butt first but lose the weight last in their stomach, and so on. This is not something you can control.

    So what CAN you do? Your only option is to continue to lose weight all over and eventually once you have lost enough body fat you will have achieved the "look" you are going for. Even still, better not to have unrealistic expectations. You cannot choose or spot reduce fat from one area nor can you gain fat in one area WITHOUT the intervention of liposuction/fat injections.

    Now onto the topic of squats. Be under no illusion... squats cannot make your butt go from this to this:
    Kim-Kardashian.png

    That is surgery.

    Squats strengthen, "tone", and firm your booty. It can also grow bigger but only from adding MUSCLE. A more realistic squat butt transformation will look like this:

    Squats-%E2%80%93-Before-and-After-004.jpg

    So you've got two issues going on. You can either have a big butt that is the result of just body fat. Or you can have a butt thats much smaller (since you'll have to lose weight all over) but which allows the muscle you have to be visible.

    Right now you've got some muscle which you've been working out but it's covered in body fat.


    As far as the diet is concerned. No. Dietary fat that you eat is not the same as fat that is on your body. You can eat all the fat in the world, but it comes down to CALORIES. You again cannot choose and nothing you do will make your body choose to gain or lose fat in one area.

    Believe me, i would have ginormous boobs if that was the case. :)

    I wish we could favorite posts because this is a keeper.

    giphy.gif
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Losing fat on your butt is a good thing. You need to do WEIGHTED squats to help develop the "butt muscle."
  • tstewart1102
    tstewart1102 Posts: 1 Member
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    Check out Ashley Horner's "SWEETCAKES" program! It's strictly to achieve a nice bum! Not for those who want to tone but only those who want to achieve, grow or increase their bum size
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    That other shot is not the same girl before and after. There is no way she built that butt in 6 months, and the tattoo isn't the same.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited January 2016
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    SonyaCele wrote: »
    That other shot is not the same girl before and after. There is no way she built that butt in 6 months, and the tattoo isn't the same.

    regardless, this is a more realistic expectation of an "amazing" butt transformation. No matter the time it took her to acheive it. My point was that your butt cannot go from being normal and flat to a giant kim kardashion fat injected *kitten*.
  • jennjenn760
    jennjenn760 Posts: 36 Member
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    You need to do a well rounded glute and leg program. Bodybuilding has many programs from some of my favorite fitness girls. Unfortunately to gain mass you cannot be in a caloric deficit. Your muscles need fuel and so finding your maintenance calories then adding in 200 calories will put you in a nice little surplus. Also your not saying what your diet looks like, in a deficit you need at least 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. In a surplus you only need about .08 grams since you eat more carbs. Genetics also play a role but it doesn't mean you should give up, you just have to work harder. Good luck to you!
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
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    Squats make my butt smaller too, but that's okay. At my age, having a Kardashian butt doesn't make you sexy, it just means you have a fat *kitten*.

    Regardless, in the human female body having a plump squishy butt generally goes along with having a plump squishy everything else. Short of medical intervention, that's just how it is. All I can tell you is to adjust your expectations.
  • rosema1268
    rosema1268 Posts: 6 Member
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    Glute exercises less cardio and eating right makes a butt and yes you can do that in 6 months if you do strictly just butt exercises 4 days a week..

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