Grocery Shopping and Traveling

So I went grocery shopping in order avoid fast food altogether while I'm here in Dallas.  I have the tiniest kitchen ever and did not feel like cooking, so I bought several lower calorie frozen dinner and some fresh ingredients for salad.  I do not prefer eating frozen dinners, over fresh food and I plan on cooking in a few days.  But I think it's better than eating fast food.  Also I picked up this magazine:

An issue completely about GLUTES!! I can't wait to read and hopefully learn some new information about the gluteals.  So far my only exercise has been walks to the grocery store, but I'm hoping to find a gym around here when my bf gets back from work.

My Before and After Weight Loss Pictures

Although my goals today are to gain more curves, that wasn't always a problem.  I used to weigh 167 lbs and now I am between 130-133 lbs, depending on my diet.  After losing almost 40 lbs, I had lost some of the curve appeal I actually enjoyed.  If you need to loss weight, I suggest losing the excess fat before trying to gain glute mass.  It's easier to lose weight first before attempting to shape your body with weight training.

3 weeks without lifting weights

I've spent the last three weeks on a trip to France.  I had no access to a gym and I was a little concerned about losing muscle in my glutes.  I tried to salvage my gluteals buy doing body weight exercises (hip thrusts, squats, lunges) and also by taking advantage on the hills in the French countryside.  I also did not count calories, but I did try eat as much protein as I could.  Before I left I was on a little junk food binge and had gained about 7lbs in pure fat, thank goodness I lost this while I was there.  Question is: did I also lose muscle? Yes, unfortunately I can see the loseness in my thighs and butt. But, on the bright side, I didn't lose inches on my butt.  Here are my measurements before and after my trip.

May 18, 2012              July 7, 2012

Waist-26 in                 Waist-25.5 in

Thighs                         Thighs

  upper-22.5                    upper-22.5

  middle-21                     middle-21.5

  lower-18.5                     lower-19.5

Butt-36.5                     Butt-36.5

I lost around my stomach, but my thighs are slightly larger, something I do not want.  My fitness goals for the next month are slightly different than before.  Instead of gaining more muscle mass in my glutes, I am going to try and maintain their size, while cutting down fat on the rest of my body.  The difficult part about that is I am going to be moving around and staying in hotels.  So, I'll write another post on staying in shape or losing weight while traveling.  Feel free to leave any questions or comments!

Fit and Curvy Body Shape

     Most fitness magazines show the same type of "fit-looking" women.

         Some, though, show women who are figure competitors.

                      But my ideal body type is more like this.

I want to have the six pack AND the big, full glutes.  The hard part for some women (who arenot blessed the genetic material to have full, round butt) is to chisel away body fat while keeping  their curvy parts curvy.  It basically comes down to weightlifting and diet, depending on where you are at with your body shape.  For example, women with a body similar to the first picture (average fitness mag cover girl) would have to incorporate more food into her diet.  She would need those extra calories to build up the muscle she is lacking in her lower body.  For someone who needs to lose weight first would need a different weightlifing plan and diet to achieve the same look.  It all comes down to hard work, but more realistically genetics.  But you can change the shape and size of your butt! More to come about diet and exercise to get a bigger butt!

New Topic for Blog Posts!

From now own I will be focusing on exercise and healthy living tips.  I am going to give advice for getting the body you want.  Send me questions and I'll answer them.  My body goals are stay curvy while achieving a toned, fit look.

Mission: Second Day Hair

Now that I have came to peace with my curls, I want to find a way to preserve my hair at least for an extra day.

Attempted techniques:
1) High pony--so far the best method, but leave bangs and other parts a little frizzy
2) Satin cap--hair still becomes frizzy and alters curl shape, flattens curls

Another issue with second day hair is working out.  Pulling hair back + sweat usually means I must re-wash. I am going to figure out what works best for me over the next week or two and I'll keep you posted and also post pictures.

Thoughts and Pictures on Ouidad's "Rake and Shake" Technique

"Rake and Shake" is a technique developed by Ouidad that helps defrizz and define curls. 

Learn more:
http:www.ouidad.com
Although I use a modified version of their technique, depending on time, I go back and forth between using a modified "Rake and Shake" and styling my hair another way that is faster.

I've posted two pictues of hair, one done with and one done without the "Rake and Shake" styling method.

                 How do you style you curly hair?