Emergency Plan for a Bikini Butt

Question
Victoria, I am going on a summer vacation with my husband in two weeks and I need help getting my a** in a swimsuit without wearing one of those old lady ones like my grandmother has. You know the one with the built in skirt. Help Victoria! What can I do?
- J. McMurphy


Hello Ms J.
You sure know how to challenge me don’t you? First... whatever you do, make sure your husband does NOT see you in a “skirt swimsuit”. There is only so much Viagra can do girlfriend!

Second... I have some great tips for your "exit muscles" (the last ones people see when you leave the room) to look presentable. If you are really strict, you may look so good, your husband won’t want you to exit the room at all on this year's vacation!

A few years ago, I needed to get ready for a swimsuit photo shoot at the exclusive Beverly Hills Celebrity hotel LeMontrose. I was not happy with my "rear view" so I put together this emergency bikini butt regime. It worked beautifully. After working my plan, my legs were more defined, my butt was tighter and, shall I say, high and lifted up. I felt great at the photo shoot. My results were validated when the rapper (name withheld) who was not in need of a tan, kept coming out by the pool and accidentally dropping his D&G sunglasses every other minute. I think I must have looked great to him. He was sneaking a look at my "assets" as he was pretending to recover his D&G’s.

Okay Ms. J. get out your highlighter, print this page and highlight the tips you will follow diligently, even while you are on vacation. That’s right. The last thing you want to do is look great the first day, then go on a “I’m on vacation” binge fest and bloat up like those cute little gold fish snacks.

1. Get Mentally and Spiritually ready. Center yourself. Prayers, affirmations and meditation are great ways to relax and make the preparation for your vacation and a fun and exciting challenge.

2. Start drinking at least 10 cups of water a day right away. The last 3 - 4 days I will add in a cup of herbal diuretic tea a day. The days when I'm drinking the tea I cut my water in half.

3. Do sixty minutes of cardio each day at a low-moderate intensity. You will want to do this for at least two weeks before your vacation, or as much time as you have before you leave. You can break this up into two sessions if you need to, but one long session is optimal. My Swimsuit Shape Up Collection is a great way to get that cardio in each day. Don't balk, we're getting ready for vacation here!

4. Sculpt and Tone every other day, do a full body workout with light-weights, with special emphasis on plies’, lunges, floorwork - leg lifts and donkey kicks. 3 sets of 25 reps per side of each exercise. Do your abdominals every other day as well. Figure out your three favorite abdominal exercises and review last week’ s abdominal hollowing tips and apply them.

5. Do not eat after 7:00 PM. That means NOTHING at 7:00PM. Water or tea but no calories. This is a big key!

6. Eat clean staying away from salt, sugar, desserts, ice cream and dairy. My Quick Start Fat Loss Program is perfect way to diet for optimal health and conditioning. If you don't have it already, pick one up today!

7. Increase Low Glycemic Index foods which help with weight release such as cabbage, onions, broccoli, cooked tomatoes, beans, wheat and certain fruit.

8. AVOID ALL HIGH Glycemic Foods. I have an extensive list in my Quick Start Fat Loss Program. Do NOT eat these foods. They could turn to fat faster than butter.

9. Eat 4-5 meals a day slightly smaller than my normal servings. Go easy on the condiments. For the last three days during the diuretic phase, omit any high salt food, condiments and drink distilled water.

10. Finally use a series of Herbal Baths to smooth and tighten the skin around your legs, hips and buns. Take 2 - 3 baths a week for 30 minutes each. You'll need the downtime with all that cardio and sculpting! In addition to working on any remaining cellulite areas, the baths will help detoxify your skin and improve your overall complexion.

Okay girlfriend, you have some great tips for getting you’re a** ready for your revealing beach unveiling. You can do it. If you start today, you can possibly lose up to an inch or even more in your hips and thighs for that awesome vacation. Have a great time, and send me some photos!

God Bless and make it the Best Week Ever!

Is Sweetness YOUR Weakness… Get over it!

Hi Victoria,
I am sixteen years old and I love your Dance... DVD. My mom bought it for me for my birthday and all I got so say is ..YOU ROCK! I have been trying to lose weight for two years now and my mom said that I am a sugar addict and that I have slowed down my metabolism and have become a sugarholic by over dieting. I have this uncontrollable desire for sugar that I can’t seem to kick. I think it's causing my severe PMS and some days I get so bugged that I become a raving maniac. Could she be right for the first time? I need major help.
- Candee


Candee??? Is that your real name or did you fall in love with sugar and change it?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not picking on your name, it’s just that everything on the planet is connected and it seems ironic how you have a name that may be one of your weaknesses… Sugar is like a drug to your system's sweet tooth and you have to be willing to give it up if you want to permanently lose fat and have a beautiful dancer’s body. All teasing aside, I have to say, I love your name, it’s sweet!

You are not the only one who has this problem either, so don’t feel bad or beat yourself up. I guarantee you half of the people reading this newsletter has some form of chocolate hidden in their desk drawer (Gotcha). As a matter of record, I use to buy a two pound bag of M&M’s (with peanuts of course) when I went to the movies. I would eat the ENTIRE bag before the movie was over! I would take my sweater, lay it across my lap and pour them into my sweater. I loved the red ones… I have no clue why. I would eat all the red ones first, then the yellow ones and then the green ones. I was like a human vacuum. I was almost inhaling those little chocolate devil beads like a crack addict or something.

I swear I went into this crazy carnal zone that was uncontrollable. That’s why when I went to the movies I sat in the darkest part of the theater, in the corner with just enough light to see the color of my little treats. So believe me, I totally understand your problem.

Candee, here’s how you have to think about eating now that you have decided you want to be lean. You have to understand that white sugar is not even a food and has NO nutritional value. If you don’t cut sugar out of your diet, you will never have a great body and be light on your feet for dancing. Dancing is such an awesome way to be creative and engage in an art form of expression that is healthy and fun. I love the freedom of dance. That’s why I made my Body Shoppe Dance Workout Series and use dance as the foundation for all of my DVD’s and videos. To me, dancing frees your soul and sculpts your body.

Candee, you are not alone. The average American consumes more than a pound (16 ounces or 108 teaspoons) of refined sugar a week. It sounds unbelievable until you realize that sugar goes by more than 50 different names and is an ingredient in virtually all processed foods, from your morning doughnut to the ketchup on your burger. Isn’t that crazy? I bet you had no idea there was that much sugar in the world.

Your body's primary source of fuel is blood sugar (not the same as raw sugar). Your blood sugar plays a vital role in your physical and mental well-being. Raw sugar from candie or processed foods causes your body's blood sugar levels to skyrocket. When it rises even slightly above normal --thanks to excess body fat, lack of exercise, and/or genetics-- your health, your energy levels, and your weight-loss efforts are pretty much a waste of time. You have to get your body’s blood sugar into balance so that you can actually lose weight

That’s why the Glycemic Index is vital to you Candee. It is a measurement tool to help you decide which foods digest and convert to excess sugar in your blood stream. You have to eat foods that help you on your fat loss plan (low glycemic foods) and not hinder your progress (high glycemic foods). You have to become vigilant about watching every morsel of food you consume. You will either burn it or store it. In other words, you will use it or wear it.

Candee, you have to do something today! You can’t play around with this anymore. Every day that you are eating high glycemic foods is a day that you are possibly moving your body towards diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease. Right now you are concerned about how you look in tights, but you need to consider how you may look with an insulin pump.

Relax everyone……I know….. that was a tough punch to take. But that’s my job. To get you to understand so that you have to take positive effective action today to become the person you want to be so that you can live an outstanding life.

I know because I did it. I kicked my sugar habit and I have the dancer’s body that I always dreamed was impossible to achieve. With the right fuel (low glycemic food) and the perfect moves, you can too.

This week take note of the sugar in your diet, read every label and begin immediately reducing the amount of raw sugar from candie and processed foods that you consume daily for improved health and vitality. Decide today to kick your sugar habit and live a life of fun and freedom!

God Bless and make it the Best Week Ever!