How to lose stomach fat but keep booty

Q: How can I lose my stomach without losing my booty?

You cant spot-reduce fat, so getting a flat stomach will mean losing fat from your butt too. That said, you can hold on to muscle while losing fat by ensuring your calorie deficit is small and your protein intake is high.

Q: Can you lose weight without losing your booty?

Just because you want to lose weight doesnt mean you have to lose your curves. If you want to shed some fat but maintain your booty, cut your calories, implement an aerobic routine and begin building muscle mass in your buttocks.

Tiarra is an award-winning storyteller, content strategist and producer specializing in entertainment, wellness and beauty. She has insightfully explored issues related to women of color in her work as a writer and editor for Vibe, BET, VH1, Entertainment Weekly, Interview, Cosmopolitan, Honey, Health Magazine, Prevention, and Everyday Health.

Table of Contents Show

1. Create a Calorie Deficit
2. Build Your Glutes
3. Do High-Intensity Cardio to Shed Fat
4. Remember, You Can’t Spot Reduce
How can I lose my stomach without losing my booty?
Can you lose weight without losing your booty?

A flat stomach and shapely thighs and butt adorn many celebrities and athletes. Not only does such a body shape improve your appearance, but it also improves your health and quality of life. Excess abdominal fat is a predictor of several serious health problems, and a lack of muscle tone makes you more susceptible to injury. A nutritious diet and regular exercise, including cardiovascular activity and strength training, can help you achieve the body shape you desire and improve your health.

Step 1

Create a calorie deficit each day to lose overall body fat and achieve a flat stomach. One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. Create a daily deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories to lose one to two pounds of body fat each week. You can do this by reducing your caloric intake, exercising more or a combination of both.

Step 2

Eat a nutritious diet of whole foods, including fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, whole grains, nuts and seeds and low-fat dairy. Rather than dieting, simply cutting out processed, high fat, sugar-laden foods from your diet will help you shed excess pounds and keep them off long term. Make healthy eating a lifestyle to lose your belly now and maintain a flat stomach in the future.

Step 3

Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise, such as running, swimming, brisk walking, biking and aerobics, for at least 30 minutes each day. For increased calorie burn, exercise for 60 minutes each day or increase the intensity of your workouts by performing interval training. Interval training alternates periods of high-intensity activity with periods of recovery. For example, on a treadmill sprint at an all-out pace for 30 to 60 seconds, then jog at a moderate pace for 90 seconds to two minutes. Repeat this sequence for the duration of your workout. If you engage in more intense cardiovascular exercise, five sessions per week is adequate to avoid injury and overtraining.

Step 4

Strength train with moderate to heavy weights, paying special attention to the lower body to build muscle in your butt and thighs. Perform compound exercises, which activate more muscle fibers at once and encourage greater lean mass gains. Do squats, lunges, deadlifts and step ups using barbells, dumbbells, weight machines and your own body weight. Train your legs one or two days per week, performing two to four sets of each exercise. Use a weight heavy enough that your muscles are fatigued by the last rep of an eight- to 12-repetition set. Don't forget to train your upper body as well with pushups, rows and shoulder presses.

References

Tips

Allow one to two days of rest between each strength-training session to give your muscles time to recover and rebuild bigger and stronger.
Eat a carb-rich snack before your workout for energy and a protein-rich snack after your workout for recovery.
Get plenty of sleep and reduce stress in your life, both of which have been shown to help reduce stomach fat.

Writer Bio

Jody Braverman is a professional writer and editor based in Atlanta. She studied creative writing at the American University of Paris and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maryland. She also received personal trainer certification from NASM and her 200-hour yoga teacher certification from YogaWorks.

When you lose weight and fat, your whole body starts to shrink, and that typically includes your butt. But if you're strategic when it comes to exercise, you can lose that unwanted weight and keep a round booty.

Specifically, doing the right type of strength training alongside high-intensity workouts can help you lose weight without losing your bottom. Max Gomez, ACE-certified fitness trainer and owner of AMP'D Fitness in New Jersey, weighs in on what you should do to strengthen those glutes while getting your body to shed the extra pounds.

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1. Create a Calorie Deficit

In order to get the scale moving in the right direction, you need to create a calorie deficit. This means you need to burn more energy than you take in. The bigger the deficit, the more you'll lose, but you should aim for gradual and steady weight loss to stay healthy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

You'll need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound, according to the Mayo Clinic. So, if you cut approximately 500 to 1,000 calories from your daily diet (or burn some of it from physical activity), you can safely lose the recommended 1 to 2 pounds a week.

In order to cut calories, you first need to understand how many calories you're eating to maintain your current weight. If you're not sure, you can start with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans' Estimated Calorie Needs chart to get a general idea. And you may also want to use a calorie counter, such as LIVESTRONG.com's MyPlate app, to help you get more specific.

2. Build Your Glutes

As you lose weight, you can replace some of the lost volume in your booty by building up your glute muscles. Because muscle is denser than fat, per The Social & Health Research Center, your new butt will have a more lifted, perkier appearance.

And having more muscle will boost your metabolism, making it easier for you to not only shed fat, but also keep it off. According to the National Council on Strength and Fitness, muscle tissue at rest burns approximately 6 calories daily per pound, while fat burns only 2 to 3 calories daily per pound.

As part of a total-body strength-training program, you should work your glutes at least two days per week, as recommended by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Here's a list of some of the most effective exercises that target the glutes, according to Gomez and a March 2020 article in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine:

Squats
Deadlifts and stiff-leg deadlifts
Lunges
Hip thrusts
Step-ups

Gomez suggests you do 3 sets of each exercise for 6 to 8 reps with a weight that feels heavy but manageable for several weeks. Then, switch to holding a lighter weight and doing more reps, such as 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

You can experiment with even higher rep counts, but you really shouldn't go higher than 20 reps per set, Gomez says. As you get stronger, you should increase the weight you're working with.

He doesn't recommend doing all of these glute exercises in the same workout. Rather, choose two or three per session and mix them in with moves that target other parts of your body, like your arms and back.

And remember to always modify your intensity based on how you're feeling. "The most important thing you can do is listen to your body," Gomez says.

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3. Do High-Intensity Cardio to Shed Fat

Believe it or not, when it comes to losing fat but keeping your bum, not all cardio is created equal. Jumping on the treadmill for an hour a day will definitely burn calories and help you lose weight, but it may also give you a pancake butt.

"Cardio-only workouts are a losing battle and will not help you build the booty," Gomez says.

A better option is shorter, higher-intensity workouts like sprints, stair climbing, spinning, kickboxing and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts, which all build muscle.

If you're not in the know, HIIT workouts are bouts of intense activity (performed at 80 to 95 percent of your max heart rate) followed by brief recovery periods, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. These workouts take every amount of energy you have, but the payoff is worth it.

Preserving and building muscle definition are just a couple of the benefits of HIIT, so you don't have to worry about losing your butt while losing weight. Research shows this type of training can also help shed body fat, improve cardio fitness (VO2 max) and improve blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol profiles.

Not convinced on how awesome HIIT workouts are? A June 2017 article in Obesity Reviews found that short-term HIIT workouts can lead to a fair amount of body composition improvements without even losing weight, despite minimal time commitment.

Gomez suggests doing a HIIT workout for no more than 20 to 30 minutes to get the most benefit. Any longer than that, and you'll up your risk for injury and exhaustion.

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4. Remember, You Can’t Spot Reduce

It's a total bummer that you can't target particular areas of your body for weight loss. You lose fat proportionally and gradually all over your body, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). "Fat comes off the same way it goes on," Gomez says.

Thanks to genetics, your body type or shape may play a role in how much fat you lose from your rear, according to the International Sports Sciences Association. For instance, if you have a tendency to store fat around your hips and butt, you'll likely keep some of your rear. If you store fat more in your belly, you may have to work harder to plump up your butt.

How can I lose my stomach without losing my booty?

You can't spot-reduce fat, so getting a flat stomach will mean losing fat from your butt too. That said, you can hold on to muscle while losing fat by ensuring your calorie deficit is small and your protein intake is high.

Can you lose weight without losing your booty?

Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you have to lose your curves. If you want to shed some fat but maintain your booty, cut your calories, implement an aerobic routine and begin building muscle mass in your buttocks.