WANTS TO BE CURVIER

Dear Jellybean,

Ok so i'm tall and pretty thin with not too many curves. Guys always go for the curvy girls and thats totally not me. Does exercising and stuff just make me thinner and less curvy? Is there anything i can do to gain weight in the right places without gaining it in the wrong places? Thanxx
-No Curves

Dear No Curves,

First of all, there are as many types of guys, as there are female body types. Meaning, it's important to love yourself for who and what you are. Any guy who's really worth dating will love you for that, and not wish you were another way.

That said, everyone wants to make the most of themselves, and if you feel more attractive when you're heavier/curvier, you should work on that. For any fitness goal, it’s very important to select the right exercise routine. Some workouts burn fat (and make you skinnier), others build muscle (to create tone and shape).

For instance, running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike is not the ideal workout for you. These machines burn lots of calories, and are good for weight loss, but don't build much muscle. You're already thin, and to get curves you'll need to increase your muscle tone, so skip this kind of workout.

Ideally, you should go to a gym or fitness center and get a personlized routine created for you, with your goals in mind, that you can follow on your own. You should also visit your family doctor, and ask for advice about eating and exercising to build a curvier, stronger body.

To build curves, you'll want to do strength training (otherwise known as lifting weights, or using weight machines). This can be done at a gym, on their machines, or at home using store-bought weights. You should do exercises for both the upper and lower body, so you keep your figure balanced. Push-ups, tricep kickbacks, and other upper-body exercises make your arms look less like sticks. Lunges, squats and crunches will tone your lower body and add some shape to legs, butt and hips.

Trainers advise that to build curves, you should work out only 3 times a week, with at least one day of rest in between workouts. So a good workout schedule might be Mon, Wed, Fri or Mon, Thur, Sat. With weight training, your muscles actually grow when you rest! So the day of rest in between workouts is essential for curve-building.

Don't be anxious that moderate weight lifting will make you all bumpy. Women simply don't have the bulk-building testosterone of men, and it's just about impossible (without steroids and multi-hour workouts) for women to develop those kinds of muscles.

Because weight training draws heavily on your body's reserves, and requires tons of energy to complete, you'll need to increase your eating. You must eat a lot of food, and make nutritious choices, if you want your weight training routine to pay off. That means eating more at meal times, and making sure you're eating wholesome foods that include all the major food groups. For detailed information about a balanced eating plan, check out the Canada's Food Guide website.

To make sure that you put on weight where you want it, and don't gain it in all the wrong places, you'll need to replace bad food habits with good ones. Cut junk food and fast food out of your diet, or at least keep it to a minimum. The experts say to fill up on foods high in complex carbohydrates such as pancakes, bagels, cereals, oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast, and switch from skim to 2-percent milk, because your body needs a certain amount of healthy fat in order to benefit from exercise. For lunch, mix proteins and grains with healthy fats. A tuna or turkey sandwich, with avacado and mustard, on whole-grain bread will do the trick for lunch. At dinnertime, eat whole wheat pasta with meat and tomato sauce, lamb chops with green veggies and a baked potato on the side, or vegetable lasagne with a salad. The idea is to eat from as many food groups as possible at each meal, so you get total nutrition happening. Also make sure that you're eating tons of fruits and vegetables - apples, cantaloupes, bananas, beans, sweet potatoes. These are awesome for your body, as well as your skin and hair.