The booty.
I know, I know. For some reason, it seems like you can never escape booty talk.
“I need to do something with this booty.”
“My booty is perfect – I don’t want exercise to ruin that.”
Listen for long enough, and you’ll eventually hear “I need to get off my booty and do something.”
No matter what, this topic always comes up. And while I can’t help but be tickled, I’m also a little saddened by it.
More often now, I wind up having fitness-based conversations with people who “knew” me before and “know” me now, only because they’re trying to poke and prod at my understanding of what I want for myself. Much like the people who insisted that I “should be trying to get a man” instead of focusing on myself, I get people who want to talk to me about my booty.
Let me explain – I had a “giant booty.” I mean, giant. I was a size 28 – I didn’t have much choice except to have… a “giant booty.” And while in some circles a booty that large is “just wrong,” in other circles a “giant booty” is something similar to carrying a pot of gold on your back down the street. Everyone’s looking, wondering if you’ve got more in yours than they’ve got in theirs, if yours is better than theirs, wondering if they can get what you’ve got. And depending upon who you’re talking to, it might be worth just as much AS a pot of gold, for crying out loud. I’m sure you know what circles I made sure I stayed in, then – the ones that made me feel better about me and my,well.. giant booty.
As a woman, my weight is supposed to concentrate closer to my hips and thighs – it’s supposed to help protect our reproductive system. The extra fat keeps your eggs and various other goodies warm. (This is where the notion that “women with larger hips are better child birthers” or whatever comes from.) And while I cannot completely share the history of every bloodline in existence and how their bodies adapted to their environments… I can certainly share mine.
As a woman of color, I was blessed with being predisposed to a curvaceous, well-built figure. Meaning, if I treat my body right, the curves have no choice but to come. As my ancestors come from a place where countless generations built their muscle in certain places to help their bodies do what they needed to do to tend to their villages, my bloodline adapted – full hips and an ample busom to help me deliver and care for my children; strong calf, booty and thigh muscles; powerful neck and shoulder muscles. As a woman, I was built to be… well, built. Well built, to be exact.
And in a society where everyone makes money off of making life easier, I have to go out of my way to maintain that… build. I don’t have to work as hard as my ancestors in order to accomplish basic daily tasks.
January, ’10
Somewhere along the line, any “giant booty” became acceptable. And as women, I often wonder if we ignored the fact that our frames were increasing because we were getting compliments on our derrierres. I mean, we were still getting complimented – we must be doing something right, right?
Let me mention a few important things that have to be a part of any resolution to be healthier:
First, just as being skinny is not an indicator of good health, neither is being or having fat. There’s no way around that – there is very little in the way of physical appearance that can gauge a person’s health. While we can talk about anorexics and the “super obese” as exceptions, the vast majority of us don’t fall on either end of the spectrum – we sit closer to the middle. So no, “getting a bigger booty” doesn’t mean “you’re doing something right.” It means you’re doing something, but “right?” I can’t call it.
Secondly, again – we have to stop basing our judgments of ourselves on what other people say or think. Thinking that I don’t have to “do anything” because other people like “how I am” is just an excuse to not consciously think about “how I am.” Almost like it’s putting the responsibility of “thinking about me” onto other people. Can I really trust other people to think about me in a way that’s best for me? If I could, I might’ve never been so overweight in the first place. Ownership. Gotta take it.
I had a lot of thinking to do. When I think about myself, am I happy with what I have? Regardless of your weight, I hope you are. You are you, and you should be happy regardless of what you have. But take it a step further – am I healthy? If not, am I willing to risk “what I have” to claim my health?
Lastly, and this is most important – our bodies are complex. With as many muscle groups as there are… you think you can’t build and rebuild and rebuild what you’ve got? You can do just about anything with your body if you commit to it AND commit to you.
Let me talk about my booty for a minute. When I started losing weight, the very first thing I lost WAS in my gut and booty region. I was so happy about the gut that I didn’t recognize that my booty was slipping away. Not until I started weight lifting that I realized it was deflated! Gone. Vanished. The case of the disappearing booty. I was gonna have to hire a PI and put out an APB for it.
So.. I had to do something. I mean, some serious body mapping. I had too much fat in my thighs to have an actual curve to my booty at the point where it met my thigh. I had a spare tire that was hiding the slope from my back to my booty. I needed to actually build a booty of muscle… which meant no more crease between my booty and my thigh, causing those saddle bags. I had work to do.
Since I was already burning the fat, I needed to work on rebuilding. Booty and thigh exercises on deck. And please believe, the squats are necessary. It is absolutely possible to rebuild yourself a fit booty – one that sits high, curves just right, and doesn’t cause skin to fold and protrude at the hips. If the fat was going to melt away, it needed something to conform to, in my mind. So, off I went muscle building. It’s working well for me.
All of this is to say… I need to make sure that I don’t cling to someone else’s perception of what I “should” look like, especially when that perception would bind me to an unhealthy lifestyle. I need to not believe that I can’t rebuild something like a booty in a much healthier way than cornbread and sweet potato pie. I need to resolve to be comfortable with who I am, and understand that wanting something else for my body doesn’t mean that I believe something is wrong with who I am. And lastly… a fit booty is a thousand times better than a booty I got through unhealthy means.. ’cause I worked for it, earned it and deserved it.
Who else out there is working on their fit booty? Let’s hear it!
(You might also want to check out my post on belly fat!)
110 comments
Thank you for being so honest and calling attention to the way we accept an unhealthy lifestyle because of external comments! In the past I often let myself slide into unhealthy behaviors because I got feedback that my ‘thick’ thighs and behind were in keepin with our cultural norms. I appreciate you returning the conversation to how WE should feel about ourselves and our health!
Oh, please believe… that “thick” phrase is the bane of my existence right now. It makes me want to punch a hole in something. If I could figure out a way to touch the issue without firing random shots at people (and without it being 2300 words long), I would.
We’ve just… we’ve got a long way to go.
Erika I love your post! Can you please share your workout routine and diet plan with me I really want to get a fit butt the healthy way! Not by eating a lot because I don’t want to gain stomach weight too. I’ve tried to google some workouts and stuff and I cant seem to find anything that really works, all see is squats, and more squats lol. But what else do you do? because squats alone are not doing it for me. Thanks, I’d appreciate any feedback!
Well, the meal plans that are available for sale on the blog are my very own plans that I use. And squats definitely work, that’s for sure…the challenge is that they don’t work overnight, LOL.
I am!!
I’m working on a fit booty AND body – abs, arms, back, chest, legs, and of course, the booty! I want it all!! LOL
Shoot, me too! LOL!
When I started spinning, my booty disappeared! My leg muscles formed beautifully, but the first major change I noticed was what wasn’t there. lol I then learned exercises from a friend that would help with “re-forming” my behind (squats, etc.) and they’ve worked well thus far. I fell off the fitness bandwagon, but am back to working out 3x/week and I hope to increase it soon.
Btw, i’ve been reading your blog for about a week now and Soror, you’ve been a great source of inspiration. Keep up the great work! 🙂
LOL So you could feel my pain, too? I was crushed, LOL. Those squats are the absolute best, though. You do ’em right, and you can reap benefits forevermore. LOL
I’m glad that you’re back on the right path! And thank you so much – that means the world to me. 🙂
I just want to thank the creator of this site….it has really encouraged me to get back on my weight loss journey. I was working out using P90X for five weeks and it’s a 90 program. I started to get bored with it, and there were a lot of the routines/exercises that I couldn’t do…for those that have never used it, it’s like bootcamp to the 100th power. My husband bought me a bike yesterday, so that’s motivation to get some bike riding done, but this site and seeing the picture of Erika is very encouraging. I just need to stay motivated to lose 30 lbs and then maintaining afterwards.
Aww, thank you so much! P90x tends to turn people off because it is quite the rigorous workout. All I can tell you is to just try to stick it out. I think it might be the monotony of sticking a DVD in and knowing what you’re going to get that might drive you nuts. Why not do something else WITH P90X? Use your new bike! Take a class! Pile on the activity, and I’m sure you’ll get your 30lbs in. 🙂
In regards to P90X, there’s a reason Tony says to do your best and forget the rest. As you get stronger, the workouts you couldn’t do (ie “the rest”) will eventually fall into place. And there’s always Power 90, the less extreme older brother of P90X. It’s still fairly challenging, but without the overly extra crazy stuff. When I realized there was NO way I could do “The X” I checked out Power 90. It’s been a few years, and I’ve forgotten how much weight and how many inches I lost, but it was enough that I went down a couple of dress sizes.
To be very frank I can’t buy into the booty building thing. If I am wrong, tell me how. Most women that I have seen with nice butts were born with them. Some of them look a little unsightly when the woman gains a lot of weight but for the most part most women with big butts look nice. But it is natural.
I myself was not one of the black women who was born with it. I don’t know if I took more from the white side (that I recently found out is in my blood)of my family but I’ve never had a boom-boom. I’ve done booty exercises. All it did was to lift it up a little and put a slightly more tone look at the bottom of the muscle. I don’t think this can change for women with little to work with. Even the lady in this article HAD a booty but she lost it . She had something to work with. It just went into hiding.
Also, do you have friends with little booties that have been able to pick them up with your advice and exercise?
LOL If a woman gains fat and it doesn’t naturally deposit into that “boom boom” type booty, then she needs to rely on building the muscles in those specific places to give her the curve she wants. It’s not my job to “prove” that to you – any anatomy book outlining how muscle lays across the body will SHOW you what you have to work with. It’s up to you whether you remain patient and continue to put forth the effort.
My question to you would be, what kind of “boom boom” are you wanting? Because a “fit booty” and a “phat booty” are not the same in any capacity. A woman whose fat naturally deposits into her hips and booty area (where, as I explained, it’s supposed to go) is going to develop that unsightliness when she collects too much fat. That’s just how it is. So sure, I had a giant behind, but I also had a giant front and large thighs to go along with it. Realistically, I’d take my fit booty over the one I had any day.
Do I have friends who started off small and grew with this advice? Actually, a dear friend who maintains her booty THROUGH these exercises put ME on to game a year or so ago. This is not “new” or “novel” stuff, here – the facebook page for this site is full of women sharing details of working on and with their booties. It’s not just me, mama. When you see that you’re getting “a little” of a lift, you KEEP GOING. Once you get it, you have to WORK to maintain it.
So know this – I hear you, but you need to hear me too. You can’t stop just ’cause you see a little work. You have to keep at it in order to keep it, lol.
I love reading this…….Im too is really working on my booty I work out like crazy cardio weights but my booty looks the same, wide, I have a tire around my waist from the front it looks big . I want a big booty that sits high. You ladies motive and inspire me so much.
Thanks,
Well, I am not sure how the whole fat going towards your booty and hips helps with childbirth. The reason I say this is because I am one of 4 sisters. We were all blessed to give birth to our own kids. However, all of my sisters are curvy and have what we call “junk in the trunk”, but they all had complications with their pregnancies, having to have their babies early to keep from having a miscarriage and they had to have C sections with all of their kids. When I, the last to become pregnant who was getting close to age of 30’s door finally did get pregnant all of my sisters and other family members were nervous. They were concern about how my skinny body was going to carry a baby and push out a baby. They figured just like I did that I was going to have to have a C-section because they all did (genes right). For the record, I have always been skinny. Every pregnancy I started off weighing 95 to 98 pounds, all skin and bones. For months me and others wouldn’t have known I was pregnant because I didn’t have morning sickness and I didn’t start to show until around 6 to 7 months but of course I knew I was pregnant the moment “my flow didn’t go.” I had the perfect pregnancies and the perfect deliveries. I pushed all my babies out vaginally with no problem. My longest labor period was 6 hours and some change with my last baby. I believe the most fat or the only fat deposit I have is in my brain. What you said maybe true and I just maybe that rare case that goes against the grain of normality. I will say unlike my sisters I was pretty active throughout my childhood whereas they were not and have always been on the healthy side as far as what I did or did not eat. I’m guessing what is on the outside of the skin and bones is not a sneak peek of what is under the skin and bones. My mom said the way I pushed those babies out you would think I had booty and hips for days. I believe your health has more to do with it than anything else. After every child my body went back to its pre-pregnancy size within 2 months. With that said I am just thankful for my three kids and your article is very inspiring, I maybe bony but I need to keep my body in tip top shape as well as. Unfortunately, I have used my kids as an excuse to not keep my body in tip top shape and have begun to eat things I usually would not eat but I’m still skinny (because of quick metabolism) but unhealthy unlike I was before having and a year after having my kids. So thanks for this, I mean girl you have really inspired me to get off my bones and workout. Like you said your outside or external should not be an indication of how healthy you are, big booty or skins and bones does not equal fit or healthy. Just being healthy equals being healthy by working out, eating right and staying stress free. Thanks so much Erika.
I think we should always remember that there’s always multiple factors and components that contribute to something like fertility and pregnancy complications, and that doesn’t necessarily change the fact that it’s widely known (though not 100% proven and accepted) that fat deposits on the healthy female body track with reproductive organs and procreation.
Not only that, but without looking at your chart and talking to your doctors, we could never understand the full context of your particular pregnancy and circumstances… so we could never go into specifics, nor do I think that’d be right. We’re all different, lucky and blessed in some ways, cursed and less fortunate in others. It’s complex. But I’m so glad you shared. 🙂
I, like Ella, get bored with workouts very easily (especially Dvd’s), so I am always looking for ways to incorporate something “fun” with it. I am on Week 2 of P90x and I found several things that helped me. #1. I already had a gym membership (I was up to doing 10 classes a week…Zumba, etc), so I decided to incorporate the gym into P90x…I’m paying for it anyway!! I converted it and downloaded it to my IPOD and I workout at the gym with it (kind of memorized the moves…lol) I can honestly say that it keeps me moving and I workout HARD! I also get use of their pullup bars and weights so it’s a great transition for me!
Thanks so much for this insite! LOVE IT! I was just saying that I don’t want to lose my booty just the gut. Do you have any other suggestions for losing and toning the stomach region? It’s so hard to do and I feel like I’ve tried most everything.
The best way to “lose” is to be active – run, walk, bike, dance, whatever – since you can’t lose weight in ONLY one particular area of your body. I wrote this a while back – https://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/exercise-101/battling-belly-fat/ – that may help you out a bit. 🙂
ok thank u
You are so cool & smart!
I have lost & built so much this past year, but where my butt used to stick out kinda cute, now it looks like old skin just hangin’.
Very informative article. I believe that like WHOCARESIA, I have inherited some traits from my white ancestral background. I have what I call a black/white girl booty. It has some white traits as well as some black girl tenancies coupled with a few bouts of cellulite. Ugh.
I will just keep it real here. I ultimately am in the in-between stages. I want a phat booty, but I also want a fit booty. I want a nice round, fit, sexy, cellulite free, bang boom pow booty…..much like the woman in the video, “I like the way you move” by Outkast. I guess I am scared to lose what little booty I have and this is the main reason why I stop exercising when I see that it is dwindling away. I have already lost my boobs and now my booty? I am really not taking likely to this.
This article is an inspiration, but when I saw the author’s before and after pictures, I would prefer to have the before than the after, but that’s just me. Everyone shouts SQUATS, SQUATS, SQUATS but if I squat my booty to non-existence, I will not be a happy camper! The purpose of exercise is to promote better health, but let’s face it, WE WANT OUR BODIES AND BOOTIES TO LOOK THEIR BEST!
I want to build my booty up. My question is, how to build without losing it. What other exercises can I do to build it up?
Thanks for listening.
Chocolate
By definition, you cannot “squat your booty to non-existence.” It is not possible. You squat, you lunge, you use the muscles by performing the exercises and they have no choice but to grow and develop the shape. You would rather have a fat booty that developed from an unhealthy lifestyle – sagging, dimply and paired with saddlebags? Then really, I don’t have anything for you, my dear.
The silly thing is to think that it “cannot be done” just because it doesn’t happen overnight. Building a great body takes hard work. The same work we SHOULD have been putting in on ourselves all this time. Now, all of a sudden we want to act right and it’s supposed to happen overnight? It’s not going down like that. LOL Not ever.
Everyone is saying squats because squats WORK. They make use of all of the sets of muscles required to make those booty muscles grow. Clenching and squeezing your cheeks, lunges, frog hops… there are a few booty exercises on this site that can help you. But there’s no possible way that a “fat booty” is your body “looking its best.”
I’m sorry, but all of this “I don’t buy it, I don’t believe it, I don’t think” conversation just sounds like a slew of excuses to me. It’s another reason to not work. *shrug* If y’all want to skate on your workouts to cling to some perception of your booty, then by all means.. have at it. Just don’t expect me to coddle that. I just cannot… and I say that with love.
Okay, I got it. I hear what you are saying. A bunch of excuses and a bunch of bull is what I just fed you. To be perfectly honest, my previous post was full of a bunch of excuses. At one point, I was doing an excellent job, exercising and eating clean, but lately, I have been slipping…BIG TIME. Now, I just need to get off my unhealthy “BOOTY” and do something! Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it.
I’m just sayin’… so you recognize that you’re giving me excuses instead of being about the business of your health? So get back on it. Seriously. 🙂
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for this. I have always had a curvy shape with most of my weight being concentrated in my hips, thighs, and booty. I’ve always had a big booty, but it wasn’t always a healthy one. After having my son and gaining a bunch of weight due to poor decisions, of course it got bigger but NOT in a good way. Matter of fact, since my thighs, hips, and waist got bigger my booty lost its shape! As I started to work out and relearn how to treat my body, I knew that it would possibly leave, but I just wanted to be healthy again so it didn’t matter. Matter of fact, due to working out, squats, lunges, jump squats, and those evil frog jumps my butt is better shaped now than it EVER was before. I still have a long way to go, but I’m excited about where things are going including the booty!
I have hope in YOUR as well as Kenya’s answer. I will do this and I am ready to get back in.
Of course we all want a fit AND phat booty…because no one can make a pair of jeans look good like US!!!
And while yes, squats and lunges are the way to get there the fastest those are also hell on your knees. Ask any orthopedic surgeon (I work in an operating room). Or person recovering from an MCL/ACL tear such as myself. My physical therapist has BANNED me from squats and lunges.
So has anyone developed a workout routine that will work those same muscle areas without the pressure on the knees?
Also, I’m not sure those are before/after photos? Because the chick on top looks just fine to me. No spare tire, her leg muscles are defined and yes the booty got it goin’ on! I’m thinking it is two different folks and they both look good!
Those aren’t before and after photos – the photo on top is Serena Williams, lol. I didn’t realize that the previous commenter was referring to THAT as a “before” photo. LOLOL
The exercise section of this website has different exercises that can help build your booty without so much knee-bending work. 🙂
When I was young I was really fit I played soccer all through college so my legs were fit and I had what you would call a fit booty. I was 120 at that time so I looked more musculuar. I Had my son In 2005 and went from 130 to 150 and ever since then I have been yoyoing from 150-180 It is crazy. anyway gain quite a booty, but I went down to about 140 at one point and completely lost my booty I am wondering what happen too all those years of building a fit booty. I don’t know I think proption wise maybe it seem gone cause everthing got bigger as opposed to when I was 120 my booty was the biggest thing on me. I want to get back in shape but I don’t want to loose my fit booty!
WOW…If only I had “back.” I got the hips but not the “back.”
I don’t want to look like Serena Williams, because I am not Serena Williams. I want to look like the fit version of who I am, and that is what I plan to do. I am also not going to allow videos to define how my booty should look, because I will know how it should look once I keep losing weight and doing what I need to do. It is still somthing very unhealthy when we look to others as a “yes, that is how I want to look”. The founder of this site is constantly speaking of best practices for herself, not based on what some celeb will do. If you are a pear shape you will be a pear shape, if you are not you are not. So enjoy a healthy body, and clean eating, not wanting to look like someone else. Focus on looking like the best YOU, the fit, clean eating and living you!
That’s wonderful Natch, but that isn’t the point. We just want a nice booty regardless. It is okay to wish we had a J-Lo booty, but I say just make YOUR booty the best it can be.
Don’t worry Mama, her comment sparked a whole new topic for me in regards to body image – to what degree should one “view” the bodies of others. Because I honestly don’t see anything wrong with saying “Oh, I want legs like that!” as long as it’s not “Ugh, I hate my legs, I want hers.” It’s not the admiration of others that’s the problem – it’s the commending OTHERS AT THE EXPENSE OF yourself that is bad. I’ll get more into detail momentarily, lol.
I think we’ve said similar things. I still feel as I do and completely respect your opinion. I ask you to consider if we all used the same dress or outfit to determine our success what that would look like if that dress isn’t for your body type. It’s the same with financies, education, and how we choose a life partner. If everyone was hoping for this homogenous look, none of us would be unique. Being the best self is about looking only at yourself and being satisfied in that. Can we look up to people, use them as an example or model, of course, but who we are should be taken into consideration at a much greater level than looking at someone else. For example, yesterday I was talking to a friend who is her ideal weight and size. She commented to me that she has never been able to do the stationary bike for 12 miles. Now, I could look at her and say wow, then if I want to look like you I don’t have to bike, not exactly. She is obviously maintaining her weight but my lifestyle is not the same. Though I am not my ideal weight, she still looks to me as an example to work out consistently. Follow me here, that is not to say that she shouldn’t try to get in more cardio or that I should do less, though we could both admire each other. There are some people who have great skin but don’t work hard for it, there are others who work hard for great skin. People can work and work and work for the perfect booty but if they are not shaped like Serena Williams it won’t look like hers. Even her equally fit sister, Venus, does not have the same body type as Serena but an equally amazing bottom. I am sure it may appear that I have belabored my point, but I want to be understood, even though if I am not agreed with. Happy Living beautiful people.
First and foremost, I don’t do self-defeatist dialogue, here. I’m not interested in what people “can’t” do… especially when most people believe they “can’t” do something just because THEY haven’t done it or seen it. A lot of us haven’t “seen” fit people – not thin, but FIT – in our lives… but we know they exist. C’mon.
This isn’t about desiring a duplicate, and I’m not sure that was your original point… especially when you said “It is still somthing very unhealthy when we look to others as a “yes, that is how I want to look”.”
For a woman to say “I want a booty like that,” to me, isn’t unhealthy. If you are someone who is approaching fitness (we’re obviously not talking about health here, so that’s a given) as a newbie, you don’t know what is possible for you to obtain. You don’t know the different kinds of physiques, the different kinds of curves you can build or the different kinds of shapes you can embrace. You look around and admire the hard work of another and you can be inspired by that. There is NOTHING harmful in that. I’ve done that – even to a healthy extent – and not once have I ever said “Oh, she’s white.. oh, she’s short… oh, she’s got small feet… I can’t do that.” The hell? This is my body – with enough work, I can do WHATEVER I want.
If I didn’t admire the hard work of others, I would’ve never known I could BUILD curves. I would’ve never known I could develop definition in my shoulders without looking like a dude. A lot of the women who come here are inspired by my own efforts. I doubt they want to “look like me,” but it’s not unhealthy to say “Wow, now I want arms like that!” If I had “taken into consideration who I am at a much greater level,” then I would’ve “self-defeated MYSELF out of the ability to obtain what I have now. I don’t think I’d ever recommend that kind of approach to wellness. “Taking into consideration who I am” is an allowance for someone to make excuses to never persevere… because “I’m not meant to be [x] because [x] is too hard to obtain.” I can’t subscribe to that.
We’re talking specifically about appearances here, not work ethics, because appearance ties into body image whereas work ethic can be affected by other issues. So I can’t follow your example about the bike.
This isn’t about whether or not someone works hard to obtain what they have. It’s about admiring what is possible, and being inspired to work to get your own. That isn’t a harmful approach because it doesn’t hurt one’s own body image. I stand by that.
This is not a debate for me, nor is it an attempt to contradict the creator of this site (good luck with that on any site, really). I thought this was a place to exchange ideas and opinions about healthy living. It is ok to stand by your ideas, and I do the same (to everyone who is reading this). I do not believe there is a right or wrong to this, I believe there are different ways to view it. Clearly, we have sparked an interesting exchange, both saying similar things but with a twist as I read it. If you can’t follow the example about the bike, try the equally fit sisters with very different bottoms. My point being that Venus will probably never have a booty like her sister because that is not her build. I stand by that.
“Everyone is welcome here. You don’t have to be Black, you don’t have to be a Girl. I’d prefer you to be human, and I’d prefer you to be as kind and open as I am. We’re helping each other, right? :),” and I stand by that too. Happy Living beautiful people
A debate is a discussion, but a discussion is not always a debate. People can engage in conversation, disagree, and still walk away enlightened while still disagreeing. This is no different.
As for your point, it has, again, morphed. “It is still somthing very unhealthy when we look to others as a “yes, that is how I want to look”.” and “Venus will probably never have a booty like her sister because that is not her build.” are not one in the same, either. I could take one over the other.
I’m not sure why mentioning my rules to me applies here, unless you feel attacked. If so, I apologize.
I can attest that squats, running bleachers and other excercises that works your glutes DOES NOT make the booty disappear. It only makes it more defined.
I have a small waist hips and booty. I don’t care for the attention my bottom gets and I wanted to change it. I would workout in vain, trying to get my booty to be smaller. I’m at the point where I’m accepting my body and working on making the best booty and hips I can.
I joined a gym for the fall/winter and have implement weight training in my workouts. My mom said she noticed a difference in my tush in only a month. I’m focusing on my health and tracking my progress on a weight training and cardio chart provided by my gym. Although the #’s on the scale haven’t changed dramactically, my progress charts tell a story of my strength increasing.
I know that was a bit of a rant, it’s my 1st time commenting. Love the site and wish all the beautiful ladies here best of luck in their lifestyle transformations 🙂
LOL! We don’t mind rants here. Welcome! 🙂
Thank you for this post!!! You have really given me hope that I can do something about the shape of my bum! Of all the six kids in my family, I am the only one to be overweight and have a semi-butt (looks decent in jeans and pants, but disappears in most dresses)! After I read your post, I went into the bathroom lifted my butt and behold the saddlebags almost disappeared!
I do have a question. I know that you should give your muscles time to repair after working out, but is it really bad if I decide to do some sort of squat/lunge routine 5 days a week? I work out at the gym and have 3 day a week weight lifting regime, but I’m thinking I want to amp it up and start doing some things in the morning as well, more lower body stuff inparticular.
I don’t know…. there are a lot of different philosophies surrounding this. If you’re working your muscles out to failure (I have a blog post about this, you may want to dig around), then you absolutely would NOT want to do that every day.
To me, it’s WAY more beneficial to put in 100% every other day than to put in 50% every day of the week. So I say go HARDER, but fewer times a week. That’s what I do.
Man..squats and lunges do NOTHING for my butt. Hence my desire to have surgery. I want Serena Williams’ type butt but..oh well. LMAO! Genetics got me. Im flat as a white girl *smh*
LOL Y’all don’t hear me.. you have to keep at it, and you can’t stop once you get a little curve going!
I’m going to have to do another post on this, man. Y’all are killing me. If you’re doing ’em right and regularly to exhaustion, your muscles WILL grow. Plain and simple!
Are you doing your squats with proper form and weight? the weight will make a huge difference.
The weight is, without a doubt, *vital*.
I absolutely love this site! Congratulations on all your success and thanks for being a motivation to so many of us. I started my weight loss journey in Jan. 2009. Between then and last summer, I lost 92 lbs; but I’ve gained about 10 back. I stopped eating healthy like I was, but I’m back on track now. I have 35 lbs. more to lose before I reach my goal weight. I weighed over 307 lbs. and never had a big booty. But, now that is starting to change. I don’t know where my butt was hiding all that time, but it is making a grand appearance. My family and friends are commenting, girl where did that butt come from? Lol! I am definitely going to start doing squats, so I can tone up my butt and thighs. On another note, your stomach and arms are toned up so good! I didn’t think it would be possible for me to get my stomach and arms like that; but you’ve given me hope.
hey, i just discovered your website and i love this article because i have the same problem of losing my butt once i start losing weight,and i will now definently start doing exercise to try and rebuild it..but i was wondering if you or any of your followers knew of anything good to use to get rid of stretch marks once i do start to build a fit behind
https://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/qa-wednesday/qa-wednesday-the-stretch-mark-question/
I’ve noticed that dry brushing my skin and lotioning every night with shea butter/vitamin e/olive oil mixture helps mine a lot.
I noticed mine is not looking as great anymore, but i think that came when I started putting on a lot of weight after my freshman year of college. It’s definitely an issue with my thighs being too fat. I do a lot of exercise classes but I think I need to put in the extra work on my own because it doesn’t seem like I’m giving enough attention to my hamstrings. I do a lot of leg work but it’s mostly on my quads.
Thanks for this post!
Mama… You ARE the GREATEST. Period.
Thank you for not being afraid to broach this subject (did I tell you I love this site). Anyway, all your life you hear having booty bigger than life was the “THING” to have. Incased in cellulite be damned…good booty is good booty…NEGATIVE. High and Tight is a good booty. Sitting on great thighs is a good booty. That arch in your back where your belly button is touching your spine, need I say it…is a good booty. At 44 I am working on all of that. Yes the squats, lunges, dead lifts are hard…but totally worth it when I put on my jeans and can see the lift of my booty in my peripheral vision. Need I say, I’m on my way! Wish me GOD Luck!
As a woman of color, I was blessed with being predisposed to a curvaceous, well-built figure. Meaning, if I treat my body right, the curves have no choice but to come. As my ancestors come from a place where countless generations built their muscle in certain places to help their bodies do what they needed to do to tend to their villages, my bloodline adapted – full hips and an ample busom to help me deliver and care for my children; strong calf, booty and thigh muscles; powerful neck and shoulder muscles. As a woman, I was built to be… well, built. Well built, to be exact.
Excerpted from How To Build A Fit Booty | A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight Loss
I love that!
I like a lot of the info you put out, but you talk about everyone showing respect on this page or they will be deleted and the only person I’ve ever noticed with a slick tongue is you. Youo don’t have to agree with everyones comment, but we’re all adults and should be able to accept EVERYONES opinion and comments.
I don’t have a problem with disagreements. I have a problem with intentionally misleading statements meant to undermine what I do here. You don’t have to see it that way, but I do, and I take this seriously.
People OFTEN undermine any conversation about fitness or the body because there’s a LONG running history of people feeling like the only way THEY could feel comfortable in an environment where fitness is openly discussed is to use self-degradation, misleading information, anecdotal “evidence” and overall undermining the fact that it IS possible for ANYONE who WANTS to put in the effort can build. I take that seriously, because it kept a LOT of women like me from feeling like I COULD do what I did. You might think I go too hard on it.. I don’t. I take what I do seriously and I guard it like that because I can.
If people simply don’t WANT to work, then fine. Do that and I don’t/won’t judge. But to go out of your way to undermine people’s desires to seek out the information for THEMSELVES is malicious and I DO speak up. Period.
There’s 700 posts worth of information, recipes, exercises, and stories of MY life. I KNOW the struggle of confusion and people trying to slip in “Well, it’s okay if you don’t do it.” ‘Round here, we call that SABOTAGE. NO – if you want it, go GET it and stop letting people undermine your expectations of yourself! I don’t play that crap and if it takes people seeing that I DON’T play that crap to fall back? Then CALL me slick tongue.
Post is right on time…working on booty lift and shape right now! Started doing Brazil Butt Lift today to add to my kettlebell, Zumba and PT 24/7 workouts. Squats are tha truth! Glutes on FIYAH now but end results will be so worth it.
I think the ferciousness of your defense of “the acceptance that everything should be considered possible” is needed. I hope that people understand, even when they have accepted part of the truth, their statements may not be “completely true.” Work will also change your body shape: a pear shape is the appearance where the body traditionally deposits fat cells around the middle, reduce the fat cells and add muscle. Then you can determine where there is healthy muscle bulk, and where you are tone and thin. It is work, and it is possible. Your self image must be intact, you must be confident and secure within yourself, but this is best without limiting yourself or others. If you are content at a point, then maintain, but don’t blame your reduction in progress to body shape or genetics if you are not working 100% toward change. Just say I’m good here, but I know work can change this, even more.
True honesty is complete honesty, a partial truth is still a partial untruth. Fight on Erika…
I wanna thank you for this post…my husband just ask me the other day would I rather be at my old weight 170 at 5’2 or where I am at now 140 with less booty and I had a hard time answering this question. Because I love my butt and always had it when I was slimmer but for some reason the reality of it getting smaller scared me. But at the end of the day I am ready to work at it to keep tight…that and my health is most important.
How do you measure your butt? Do you just measure from the biggest part?
You measure your booty the same way you’d measure your breasts – around your entire body, making sure the tape isn’t diagonal and is perfectly parallel to the ground while around your waist, and making sure the tape is directly around the widest part of your hips and booty.
Okay, I was a bit hesitant about commenting on this site being well…I’m a white girl with “black girl” figuire. I’ve always had big (my husband calls it a coffee table a**, cause the way my butt is you can sit a coffee cup on it) booty, big thighs and calves (legs are from track n field and dancing) but since I have had five children everything is getting out of hand. Now I have read other mags, blogs, etc and they seem to cater to “white girls” wanting to be sticks. But I’m sorry I love my curves and don’t want to give them up! This site seems like the most realist one I have come across and has really motived me. So that being said, from a white girl in PA thats for this site from a new and contuinted fan….Thanks…….PS I’ve even got my husband and the my girls moving 🙂
Another great article. Thanks so much for posting. Since I’ve been working out, I have noticed a change in the shape of my booty and am very excited about that. It’s been amazing to hear from my women friends how they have noticed the redefinition of my booty and commenting about it.
I think people you’re right in that people tend to forget the but is made up of multiple muscles and like any other muscle on your body can be effectively re-shaped with certain exercises. Gotta love squats if you want you’re booty to be right!
Have you tried any at home fitness videos that you’ve found to be particularly helpful in redefining your booty? Would love to hear your suggestions.
Thanks!
Can u exercise a curve into your back?
Yes. They’re called “good mornings.”
Yes, you definitely can exercise a curve in your back. It naturally happens as the weight comes off. I am see that as I go down in weight and dress sizes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this! As someone who is starting her journey for the 100th time. I find that the information I’ve been digesting on this has been extremely helpful. My food choices have changed and my outlook on weight lifting has been altered! I love the message here and I just wanted to say that I think what you’re doing is great! and I can’t wait to be closer to healthy living in the near future
Bigbooty or flat tummy. I will take a flat tummy any day. A big booty is only to satisfy the person that’s looking not the person that has to carry it.
I am losing thirty lbs by the end of the summer. I have to not only because I am NOT happy with the way I look, but for health reasons. I have PCOS mild case and if ur overweight with PCOS that can lead to infertility but if you lose weight, it can eliminate it entirely. I just need to discipline myself.
Wow, I’ve never thought about my…um..booty! (I’m South Asian/White Canadian) so my beauty ideals are all about a slim middle and small bum. I didn’t realise beauty ideals in the African-American community focused so much on a big booty. I’ve been spoon fed too much crap by the white media!
My legs and bum are slim but my belly is huge…sigh! I’m a real “apple” shape. Starting to exercise again, though, and need help to stay mentally positive and on track. Love your blog!
Do the Butt Bible with Pauline Nordin. It’s amazing. In addition to, do some cardio (jumping rope is simple but effective) and drink lots of water 🙂
*I’m 18 and embarking on a weight loss journey. Let’s just say this blog has been quite the motivator. So, thanks 🙂
Amen…Thanks for saying what I have been feeling all these years…I was made the way God made me…But I must first be healthy and no try to fit into the stereotype somebody made up.
Greetings Ladies,
I’ve read most of the comments here and felt I would offer a man’s perspective on “the booty”. While I cannot speak for every man I can say that I personally love a woman with a nice bottom. Mind you, I’ve dated/had relationships with women of varied – ahem – booty-age, from flat bottoms to belle bottoms (my wife has a nice big ol’ but she and I are working to get in shape…hers is shaping up nicely). 🙂
Anyway, the point is that, yes, I like nice bums but more important than that I like when a woman takes care of herself. It encourages me to do the same.
And to all the ladies that wish that had [insert big booty celeb name here]’s booty please stop. I think the first part of getting the body you want is being pleased with the one you have right now. That doesn’t me that you have to be satisfied with it (even the seasons change) but be thankful for whatever level of health you have right now and vow to improve from there.
Wayne Dyer said that “if you change the way you look at things the things you look at change”. I’m not 100% pleased with my body right now but I’m happy to be healthy and able to improve on it. I know that one day I’ll have the body I desire if for no other reason than I intend to. Intend to get the booty/body you want and watch how fast you’ll see results!
I first read this post about two years ago, when I was really frustrated with my booty. I’m one of those *skinty* black girls, with an athletic build but a limp, rather flat, behind. I used to run a lot, mostly sprints, and I still love doing sit-ups, but for the longest time I thought that if I wasn’t “born with the booty” with *all* the exercise I was already doing, that there was no way to get one. When I first read this post, I started doing a couple of squats a day (like 10), but they were exhausting! So I gradually…stopped…and continued to grieve over my flat booty. Fast-forward to now: I still have some ways to go, but my butt is looking better than it ever has. Doing the very exercises I kept on reading about and rolling my eyes at and struggling with–> squats, [walking] lunges, (fire hydrants), and even jumping jacks! Even without looking at my butt, I can tell progress has been made, because I can do 20 squats now without breaking a sweat, amongst other things!
Basically: stick with it. Start with 10 squats, 10 lunges, 10 fire hydrants on each leg, and 30 jumping jacks at least 4x a week, and increase it every week. I’m not an expert, nowhere near the brilliant Erika, but I did go from flat-booty-black-girl to working-with-something-back-there in a few months time, and I plan to keep these exercises a part of my life.
I LOVE that you say that wanting something different for your body does not mean there is something wrong with who you are. That is message I needed to receive.
Hi,
I found a wonderful way to get my squats in…I have been working on my lifestyle change since May and I am down about 100 pounds. One of my friends is doing a bootcamp like squat for the 28 days of February. It is called The Iron Angel February Squat Challenge. I am up to 170 squats at one time. Ladies, I can’t tell you how I have noticed the difference in my thighs and butt. I don’t have a generous posterior, but the one I currently have is tight and right..LOL. Erika is right, squats are a must, an absolute must!
As I read my last comment 2 years ago I am thinking, what in the world was I holding on to? My butt was out of shape with bumps, dimples and dings yet I wanted to keep it! I must say, I have seen the light and will continue to work hard to build a fit booty no matter how small. I just want to stay healthy period and that is what matters most.
*big hug* We all grow and change, mama. 🙂
Big hug! Now it’s time to change this fat booty into fittest booty ever! Thanks Erika!
I also agree with the comments that I’d rather have a flat tummy than a big booty, however, last year I started to work hard on improving my legs and booty (even though I had lost over 40lbs, I had no booty and too much cellulite). I started a programme with my personal trainer to focus a bit more on those areas, after a few weeks I got frustrated because while my legs were quickly improving, I didn’t see anywhere near as much improvement in the booty.
I thought about “giving up” but then I started to read websites like bretcontreras.com and realised that some muscles are just stubborn but when you work on them consistently, you will see results. I decided that I will work on it hard and consistently for 6 months from the start of this year and just a few days ago, I was squatting more than my body weight and getting compliments on my legs and booty.
Don’t give up, it is all about consistency, the right diet and programme for your goals. You will also find that you will not only reach your goals but you’ll reach new goals that you didn’t even factor in, for example, the heavy weight training also helped me get rid of some stubborn belly fat that I had made peace with, lol. I have also improved my grip and can lift 30lb dumbbells with way more ease than before. Imagine what I will achieve in the next 4 months then!
LOL at the people who thought Serena Williams’ picture up there was the before picture of Erika! xD
Yeah, for real. I’m not packin’ like that…
…yet. ROFL
I really appreciated reading this post. When I started losing weight, I noticed that my booty was the first thing to go. I (and my bf) was a little sad about it, until I really started weight training (much to the chagrin of my friends who thought I “wanted to look like a man”). And then, the miraculous happened. My booty started lifting. Really lifting. And there’s a little cup at the bottom of it that wasn’t there before. It sat up higher. It was firmer and had a nice curve to it. It wasn’t bigger than it was 50 pounds ago, but it was shaped much more nicely. I (and my bf) were very happy about this. I said all that to say that I’m a believer. I know that you can build a booty. I built mine. It may not have that jiggle that it used to have, but it’s nice nonetheless… all thanks to weight training.
I’m a curvy white girl with a small booty. I want to build mine up but have a knee injury and can’t do lunges. If I get down…I can’t get back up! LOL Any suggestions?
I would question what’s causing your knee problems first, because that’s a pretty major joint for it to be giving you grief in performing a basic movement, you know?
I mean, there are “stiff legged dead lifts” and “good mornings,” but still. Try to get that checked out.
Thanks, Erika for the concern but…I was in the Army many moons ago and injured it. Now I just think I have a bit of arthritis. The horrors of getting older.
Then, I’d consider getting a knee brace and looking into getting a corrective training plan. Those can be a huge help.
I didn’t think about a knee brace! That’s a great idea! Thank ya ma’am!
What exercises help increase hips? Will squats help? I have plenty of booty…but no hips 🙁
I just want a lil lol
So, it depends on what you’re talking about when you’re referring to “hips.” Some people mean different things, here. Are you referring to your sides when you’re looking in the mirror, face forward? Are you referring to your love-handle area, or lower at the point where your butt meets your thighs, but along the sides?
I’ve heard so many different definitions of “hips,” that it’s hard to tell what people mean nowadays. LOL
I am seriously lacking in the hip area as well. For me the hip is the area along side the ilium. Are there exercises for this, or is that something I can’t change about my rectangle-shaped body?
I’ve never really had a butt and was only a few pounds ‘over weight’ if I go by the charts. I got rid of it and am now totally focusing on being fit and toned. It seems that now everyone is focused on booty building now. From my Zumba classes to my Body Pump classes, it’s all about the squats. I just added in Barre classes and there is a lot of lower body work there too with squats and kick backs. So, it does look like I’ve got a little something forming.
Years ago when I was big into a fitness regimen, step aerobics was big and I’d see very tiny women stacking the step pretty high to ‘grow a booty’. It seemed to be working.
I gained my curves after I shed 35 llbs but sometimes I feel like that’s all people see now :/
I have hips and hips && a little bit of a booty.
I get nervous that I ever really got one people (guys) would never care to get to know me past my body ..
ay yi yi !
It’s sad b/c people really believe these commercials ..
I recently subscribed to your blog and I have to say you’re very inspiring. I myself have been looking high and low to find a healthier way to get that ultra sexy waist to but ratio…but I always believed it was impossible due to pressure from peers telling md I’m already slim and its impossible to bulid up a butt and lose weight around my waist. you’re the first person to give me hope and inspire me to live healthier and exercise to the fullest! despite my slim body…you’ve proved anything is possible
thank you !!
Girl! Thank you so much for writing this blog. I just started losing weight again and started losing my booty. All through highschool I was the black girl with no booty. Got to college, gained weight, and have one. Now I know how to maintain it. Thank you.
I’m not sure how old this post is, but I must say that I just found it because I was looking up ways to keep my booty while I worked out and lost weight. I LOVE the way you said we need to focus on how WE want to look. I finally decided to lose weight and be happy with myself. I’ve been terribly concerned with losing my thighs and my booty as well, partly because I love them, and also because my boyfriend and I would like to have children in the next few years. I would just adore hearing some of your workout methods. Although, I am white and was not necessarily blessed with an all too great figure(Most of my family is overweight, and apple shaped) I would love to keep what I have somewhat developed. Thank you so much for setting the record straight. I appreciate it so much.
actually I’m looking for a way to lose some booty!
Ok.. Question.. I had an amazing back side and then for years I let myself go terribly.. I have cellulite and saggy.. It’s horrible, but I am starting to eat healthy and exercise daily.. Is it too late???
Nope!
Erika,
I have a really nice booty and don’t want to lose it but want to lose my gut, what advice do you have for me?
Mimi
Start with decreasing your sugar intake, increasing your protein a bit, and doing more squats.
Well I’m white and have a fat booty. It’s disgusting and the last place where fats falling off. Bike riding finally has helped. I’m pretty tone but the bag of fluffy marshmellows and cellulite that is my butt is just wrong. I started. I do squats and kettlebells i’m afraid my body has adapted. I’m also jumping rope. I just want to feel happy in a bathing suit this is tough but I won’t give up.Booty feels like the last to go. I get compliments but I am not happy with a fat booty.
If your body has adapted, it’s time to increase the weights and the intensity.
Aw, “feeling happy in a bathing suit” should happen because you’re relaxing and getting away from the stress of every day living (unless bathing suit life is your life, in which case I’m super jealous), not because you look “great” in it. Someone will always find something to pick you apart with. By all means, get fit, but try to not let your happiness be so invested in how you look in your bikini. *hugs*
What kind of squats are you referring to? Body weight squats or squatting with the bar and some extra weight? And this advice is grey BTW! Thank you!
Both – but, if you can work with the bar, then add that extra weight. The adding of weight, over time, is what’s going to build that booty. 🙂
One of many ways in which I’ve become extremely lost (emotionally, and in terms of my life) is that I have strayed from this website. >.< So many of my issues have manifested themselves in food cravings/bingeing and the biggest absence of exercise/physical activity I have experienced to date. I'm probs going to go into more detail about it in the comments under one of your cravings articles, though.
For this article, I was wondering: what specific exercises can help with creating that first curve? The one that starts at your lower back and ends at the top of your thighs? I'm getting a more pronounced curve atop my thighs, curving *under*, but in terms of booty "protrusion" (from my back–does that even make sense??) I need some pointers.
Have any?
It makes absolute sense (and welcome back!)
People rarely acknowledge that there are two curves to the booty – the upper curve that extends from your back, and the curve that meets your thigh. Many women have more thigh meat (meat, for lack of a better phrase) and lose out on the bottom curve. Many other women have more meat in the love handle/lower back/area, and only have that bottom curve at the thigh, missing out on the upper curve. If the booty isn’t lifted with upper gluteal muscles, you’ll get a fold-type situation where the booty meets the thigh instead of the protrusion. No shame, all understanding. It makes total sense to me.
In your particular situation, however, nothing’s going to help you more than a good squat. Good squats, an exercise called a “good morning,” and just about any move that safely encourages and facilitates a bend at the hips and knees (lunges, biking, and so on) is going to help, combined with leaning out and losing body fat.
Welcome back, now get to work! And *huge hugs* Looking forward to hearing you share your story. We’re here to help. <3
Soo i had a booty back maybe 6months ago but i was trying to lift and tone . The booty and back of thigh area…soo squats donkey kicks lunges deadlifts etc i added weight to it…but i started realizing the more i did the more it diappeared but my quads seem to have grown soo now i feel soo defeated likei wish i never did anything i was loising more and more incges off of my booty till niw i jus feel like its gone or almost all gone …i do know i wasnt eating enough but… will it come back with all the stuff i been foing the past few months if i incorporate more foods protien etc…i just want to stop and see if it will come back how it normally does …i was just trying to shape it…not get rid of it
If you weren’t eating enough, chances are high your body ate the muscle that was holding your booty UP, ultimately causing you to lose it.
You cannot build muscle when you’re not eating enough calories to maintain the muscle you’ve got. It just doesn’t work that way. All the deadlifts and squats in the world wouldn’t change that.
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