Like many women, Venice Nutrition member, Jodie, naturally has a pear-shaped body.  She wrote in to ask us how she can maximize her body shape and create a more proportional physique.  The great news is with the right nutrition and exercise, her goals can be accomplished!  Read on to learn what our team of nutrition and fitness experts recommend.

“I have a typical pear-shaped body; a small and trim upper body with a slim waist (which I love!).  Then we get to my problem areas (which I don’t love!).  My legs, thighs and buttocks seem to be the hardest area on my body to shape up and all of my body fat and cellulite seems to settle there.  How can I firm up my lower body and make the most of my shape?”

-Jodie, 42 years old

Our team of experts quickly responded with a powerful plan of action!

This is a question we get asked quite often.  Though you can’t completely alter your natural body shape (for example an “apple” shaped body can’t become a complete “pear” shape and vice versa), you can make your body more proportional and get the look your after.  Before we dive in to how to make that happen, it’s important to appreciate your body’s natural shape- after all we get letters from women all the time who would like to boost their lower body and increase their curves!

1.  Balance your blood sugar to burn fat and boost metabolism. This will cause you to lower your body fat all over.  Because spot-reducing is impossible, having a solid nutrition plan that helps you burn body fat and tone up everywhere is the first step to achieving your goals.

2.  Once your food structure is complete, it’s time to fine tune.  Start working on your quality of foods.  Clean, natural food items (think natural chicken breast instead of deli meat) will cause you to burn fat faster and help you shape your ideal physique.  See your quality of food chart in your online manual under your help/support tab for details.

3.  Make time for consistent (and correct) cardio to burn fat and protect lean muscle mass.  The ideal cardio routine includes a mix of red fiber (fat burning) and white fiber (sugar burning) exercise.  See your Exercise Tab for details.  The right cardio routine can make all the difference!

4.  Build up your upper body with a good strength training routine to create a more proportional physique.  Adding size and tone to your shoulders, back, chest, biceps and triceps will help to make your lower body look smaller in comparison.  Not sure where to begin?  Hire a personal trainer to customize a routine for you.

5.  Tone your lower body with the right moves.  Moves like squats and lunges if performed correctly, can drastically shape your lower body.  Again, call on a personal trainer for the perfect fat blasting routine.

And lastly, be patient.  With the right tools, time and hard work you can help to manipulate your body shape.  Just remember the one you were born with isn’t so bad either!

Thanks,

The Venice Nutrition Team