This was one wedding where the bridesmaid nearly upstaged the bride. At the Royal Wedding, Kate Middleton’s place in the spotlight was almost stolen by little sister Pippa’s…hold your breath…shapely bottom. In fact, Twitter reportedly crashed under the deluge of comments on her sexy rear. Before you sigh in envy, here is the good news: with a little effort and dedication even you can achieve well-rounded bottoms a la celebrities.

The root cause
Research shows after leaving the teens, two-thirds of the woman populace becomes less active physically as focus shifts to career, parties and romance. Crazy schedules lead to bingeing and eating unhealthy food at ungodly hours. All the excess fat thus accumulated gets deposited in the hip region making the backside look bloated and huge.

Get motivated
If you are among the above-mentioned two-thirds, fret not. It is never too late to achieve a perfect posterior. Start by sticking pictures of ladies with toned derrieres on your bedroom wall or in your closet. However, if J Lo, Shilpa Shetty and Beyonce’s ‘bootylicious’ behinds cannot motivate you then change tack. Hang your old denims at a place where you can view them daily. The ragged jeans will provide instant inspiration to start working out. Alternatively, plan a trip to exotic Seychelles or enchanting Phuket in the summer of 2012 and start visualising yourself on the pristine beach lolling in the sand in your animal print bikini: guaranteed encouragement to hit the exercise floor.

Sweating it out
Pippa credits her hourglass figure to Pilates while Shilpa swears by yoga. J LO has her personalised dance routine to thank and Beyonce focuses on cardio training to retain her curvy physique. Fitness gurus aver that everybody responds differently to different routines. So the first step after enrolling in the swanky neighbourhood gym is to consult the in house fitness expert who will put you through a series of tests and draw up an exercise chart exclusively addressing your needs. Once you have your schedule chalked out it is just a matter of sticking to it day in and day out.

Good food
Like exercise the diet regime needs to be personalised based on each individual’s BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), height weight ratio and other vital parameters. Naturally, the next stop is at the dietician’s who will put you on a supervised meal plan to ensure you intake a balanced diet. The nutritionist may put you on a low-fat, salt-free, or high-fibre diet, depending on the results of his or her assessments. Periodic follow-up with the expert will help you adhere to your nutritional regime.

Package deal
As you work on your posterior do remember to exercise the rest of the body as well. Experts unanimously state that you cannot concentrate on one body part and ignore the rest. In other words, you cannot aspire to be complimented on a toned behind if you have a flabby stomach. It will take time to attain perfection but do not give up. Start immediately and keep at it till you achieve your dream rear. Bottom’s up!