Getting A Bigger Butt!

I've been doing a lot of research on this because this is what I'm trying to achieve. Apparently when you're sick and you lose muscle, you also lose your butt. I'm still searching for mine because at this point, it's almost nonexistent! So, I've been on a scavenger hunt all over the internet to pull together a small post to help you achieve a bigger butt (if that's what you want).

Your butt has 3 major muscles that are responsible for how it looks: the gluteus maximum, the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus.

When setting your goals, BE REALISTIC! If everyone in your family is sporting heart-shaped pancake butts, you can't expect to look like J.Lo or Beyonce. Set your goals based on your genetics, body type, and how you'd like to look that's realistic for YOU. Focus on building those three muscles by doing things like weighted squats, donkey kicks, plie squats, deadlifts, and lunges. Don't forget about CARDIO! In order to see any kick of definition of any muscle, you have to melt the fat that covering it. 

For the longest time, I thought that I needed to each a ton of protein in order to build muscle. When I asked my doctor, he told me that only exercise can BUILD muscle, protein just feeds them! Although this is true, you still need to feed your body the right foods in order to loss weight and gain muscle mass. Leans meats, beans, fruits and veggies are a few examples of those. It's best to stay away from processed carbs. I remember when I went to this acting school a few years ago, my agent told me when referring to my diet: "If it's white, it ain't right!" So cut out those white potatoes, white rice, flour, sugars, and all that bad stuff. Your butt will truly thank you!

Gaining a bigger butt is going to take major consistency. You can't do it for a week and expect long term results. It's something that has to be worked on and adjusted when necessary. I feel like I'm on the right track so far. I just hope I get the results that I'm aiming for!

xoxo,

Superwoman

A milestone has been hit!

Omg, I am SO bad about blogging! It's been about a month since I've done it. I guess I didn't have much to talk about fitness related because I wasn't doing as much as I should have been doing. The past two days have been a doozy; I spent Tuesday night in the hospital and pretty much slept all day on Wednesday because I felt like complete death. It was a NIGHTMARE!!

But today, I felt better for the most part, but my joints were killing me and my right calf kept cramping for some odd reason. I don't understand why it's cramping because I haven't worked out all week (due to having my port taken out of my chest so I had to wait for 3 days for the hole to close). But anyway, I forced myself to get on the treadmill after an hour of procrastinating and pep talk. I told all of my fitness friends that I was "attempting" to do one mile. I said attempt because I honestly didn't believe I was going to be able to do it. Every time I got on my treadmill (since December), I hadn't been able to stay on it for longer than 20 minutes. I felt that unless I could do a mile in 20 minutes, it may not happen.

So, I turned on the music (new obsess song of the week: Out on the Town by Fun.) and started walking. Half of the time, I wasn't even paying attention to the treadmill screen because I was too busy being lost in my loonish daydreams and thoughts. I was started to feel tired after awhile, so I glanced at the screen to see where I was. I was thinking that I wasn't even at 0.4 miles, but I looked at saw this:

I couldn't believe it! I was halfway! I kind of got into my feelings a bit when I saw how long it took me to get halfway, but I got over than quickly because the fact of the matter was that I was way closer than what I expected to be. 

In the end, it was a great workout and huge accomplishment for me. I've learned that I definitely have to stop doubting myself. The only thing holding me back from breaking barriers is my mind. It was like I tried to convince myself that I couldn't do it and I almost hadn't. I'm just happy and proud that I did. Oh yeah, I got myself a Polar F4 for my birthday and I think I'm officially obsessed. I burned 508 calories during those 43 minutes! Can you believe that! I'm sure the calorie burn with drop drastically when I lose more weight, but it's great to finally have a more accurate number to go by.

My first mile took me 43 minutes. I hope to shave off a bunch of time in the future. For now, I'll take this. This is the furthest I've walked since getting out of my wheelchair. I definitely feel accomplished!

xoxo,

Superwoman <3

DietBet Blues

Hi everyone!

I'm definitely sorry for the delay in posting. I've been super busy with other projects and my mind has just been all over the place! For starters, there's the 100 squats a day challenge that I'm doing for the month of February. It's literally kicking my ass lol. I also joined a DietBet with a group of my friends as well. Unfortunately, it's not going too well for me. I'm actually 10 pounds heavier than I was at the beginning of the month which is so frustrating! My kidneys are kind of doing their own thing; sometimes they want to work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes my body retains fluid, sometimes it doesn't. I now have to do a lot more monitoring with my salt and water because it seems like one little spike sends my whole body into a frenzy. The scale is NOT my friend right now.

I'm trying to be optimistic about this DietBet, but it's putting me in the dumps. I can only hope that I lose the 10 pounds I seem to have put on PLUS the 7.8 pounds that I have to lose in order to win the DietBet. This should be interesting to say the least.

I also need to focus on measurements as well. Now that I need to start toning, inches will come in handy. Because I'm having so many issues with water weight because of my kidneys, I think I will focus less on the scale and more on inches since my clothes are constantly falling off (which is annoying).

Bust: 42''

Waist: 38''

Left bicep: 13.5"

Left forearm: 10.5"

Right bicep: 13"

Right forearm: 9.5"

Stomach: 44"

Hips: 45.5"

Left thigh: 27"

Right thigh: 27"

Left calf: 17"

Right calf: 17"

Hopefully these inches will go down as time progress. I'm definitely hoping that my stomach and hips shrink a great deal before April since that's where I'm getting my tattoo. Now I'm off to get a good strength training plan together and to finish off these squats!

xoxo,

Superwoman

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Superheroes!

I hope everyone is ready to kick butt this year because I know that I am! I pray that none of you chose "losing weight" as a resolution because if you have weight to lose, you should be doing that anyway! I have a lot of fitness goals that I want to achieve this year because my overall goal for the year is to have a better quality of life, which mostly revolves around my health.

Having lupus and losing weight is no easy task. In fact, most mornings I wake up with joint and muscle pain as well as a bunch of swelling in my legs and feet due to a flare most of the time. I was diagnosed with kidney disease in the beginning of December and it just seems like my medical list is getting longer and longer! So my main goal is to take better care of my body, which means working out, eating right and not stressing so much.

Some tasks I would like to complete this year are:

• Be able to walk around stores comfortably. At the current moment, I can't walk for long periods of time without feeling extremely winded. I want to recondition my body so that I can shop comfortably and not have to depend on the motorized shopping carts!
• Participate in a race. I've been wanting to do a 5K for a very long time now. Now that I have my treadmill, I can train for it right in the comfort of my own room! That way if I get tired, I can keep trying throughout the day and slowly build my endurance!
• Reach my goal weight. In December, I gained about 30 pounds (yes, in a month) in fluid due to my kidneys failing. It was a NIGHTMARE! Imgaine going to the hospital weighing in the 170s and when you come out, you're 205 pounds! I felt so heavy and puffy then but slowly the fluid is coming off, thanks to dialysis and frequent movement.
• Overall be happy! One thing I definitely want to do is to be happy in 2014. I don't want to be down about everything that is going on with me. I want to live and love life and just take it a day at a time!

Here is where I'm starting:

(I'm embarrassed about this now but I know I will be so much happier later when I take my after photos!)

(Weight for January 1, 2014)

So get your game plan ready for the year and dominate it! Summer is only a few months away! Set realistic, attainable goals and go for it. The only person holding you back is you! If you have MyFitnessPal, be sure to add me at imvictoriaduhh :)  Let's get this year started on the right foot!

xoxo,

Superwoman