I need to ease my fears and have a few questions answered

[diana4jesus]

I'll start off with a "TL;DR" just to save time - I have SEVERE scoliosis. I was always a fat kid (size 22 at 16,) became a size 4 when I was 21, and back to the same size at 26 after two kids. I didn't work out to lose the weight, I just did. And yes, I did have it checked out, no illness or anything caused it. I'm still "healthy", but tired of being so heavy.

I'm really not trying to be crude, but my biggest fear is losing my butt. I'm no Kim K, but I've always been very proud of my "assets". Even as a size 4, I did have a large butt, and I want to keep it that way. I'm terrified that working out will make it a "normal" white-girl butt, and even though I am white...well, I just still don't want that. lol Is there some way that I can make sure that won't happen? Also, I know that squats are supposed to help with...well...helping you get a bigger butt, but I'm so worried that it will just make it smaller. Is that true? Am I just over-thinking it?

And, how effective is using the "medicine-ball-against-the-wall" squat technique? Like I said, I do have severe scoliosis, and can't do normal squats. Is there a better work out for someone with scoliosis?

Lastly, for the women, what are the best ways to lose that "post c-section tummy"? I know that crunches/sit-ups are great, but is there something else I can add to my workout routine that will help?

I really do appreciate any help, and thank everyone who gives advice. I want to become a better me and a better mom for my children.

 

[kum]

@diana4jesus I'm new to this sub, but I know as a former big girl who lost a significant amount of weight, you're either going to keep it or you won't, but that's ok. If you lose it, you can always gain a voluptuous new booty with dedication to the squat. "Sumo Squats" are my favorite.

 

[aaronmamuyac]

@diana4jesus Before I say anything, please keep in mind that I am not a woman, so I'm not 100% on all of those extra female issues!

I think you're over-thinking it. If you don't want to lose any size, but want to lose some fat, the best way to do it is to be in a caloric deficit. There is a certain number of calories that you need to eat every day to maintain your exact composition right now. If you eat a few hundred calories less than that, your body will start dropping the extra fat to compensate for the lack of extra calories being taken in. To ensure that you only use fat, you should do some sort of hypertrophy (muscle building) training while you are in the deficit.

My mother also had really bad scoliosis. she also had the same exact issues that you are saying you have right now. I set up a meal plan and training plan for her and she was able to achieve her goals. I recommend doing anything that doesnt give you back pain (leg press instead of squats, etc.) but since scoliosis is different on a case-to-case basis, you will have to find out what exercises dont hurt you and do them a lot! Hope that helped good luck!

 

[romans1212]

@diana4jesus To address your fear of losing your butt - I am a physical therapy student, so we've been discussing a lot about musculature and functional anatomy, so I feel I can help ease your fears. Your body structure (NOT the level of fat your body hold) is typically set up without there being much you can do about it. For instance, some people simply have bigger hips than others because their skeletal structure is built that way. You're not going to change the way your bones are set up by working out, and you're not going to change the way your body holds weight simply by working out. By that, I mean that some people hold more weight in their stomach, some hold more in their butts, hips, thighs, etc. This is naturally where our bodies place some of our leftover fat. When we begin to lose fat, we will lose fat wherever our bodies decide to take the fat away (we don't get to determine where we lose fat from). Going from a size 22 back to a size 4 will mean a loss of butt fat, but that does not mean you will lose your butt! This just means your proportions will be roughly the same, with less fat. Fear not, you can help keep your butt nice and big with some lifting exercises geared towards your glutes, hamstrings, and other butt muscles.

To address your scoliosis - You are the expert on your condition. I have not seen you as a patient, so I cannot say for certain what exercises will help you vs. what might aggravate your scoliosis. The squat against the wall technique is absolutely fine, just less resistance because you don't have the weight on your shoulders like you would in a normal squat. I would recommend starting with a bigger ball to start as opposed to a medicine ball, just until you get the technique down and are sure this will not cause any issues for your back.

To address the C-section pouch: Again, we don't get to decide where our body takes fat from, we can only target muscle improvement. Crunches are only going to work your upper abs whereas sit-ups are really only working your hip flexor muscles, and neither of these by themselves will give you any real improvement in ab muscle strength. For the ab strength, look for exercises targeting middle and lower abs, as though will more than likely also target your upper abs (i.e. straight leg raises, hollow body holds, etc.). Just remember that abs are made in the kitchen, as annoying as that sounds. Since we can't target where we lose fat, our diet is a huge part of making the fat come off of all areas.

Essentially, the key is to do what is within your PAIN-FREE limits. Pain = stop what you are doing and adjust until you no longer feel pain. Definitely target muscles you want to strengthen, but know that you won't see targeted fat loss in that specific area; you are more likely to notice it all over first. Lastly, keep strong with the diet, as that is probably about 80% of the work that will give you the fastest results. I hope this was helpful! Good luck in your fitness journey!