I don't want a waist line that looks like this!

ZoeLifts

Why do all seemingly benign thread topics turn so cruel?

What's benign about an overweight woman with virtually 0 progress posting a picture of one of the fittest women in the world, who happens to be a 46 year old Olympic athlete, and saying "how can I avoid ending up like this"??

+1

WORD!!

craigmandu

Now that you all have had a turn taking stabs at me personally....
I do a 30 minute ab routine 3 days a week. Some of the moves use light weights, others do not. I was thinking of doing abs 5 days a week but I wonder if that is too much, or is it still too little? I never can decide if there should be more frequency than 3 days for abs. I have went to doing total body three days and cardio 5 days. I usually split my cardio from the resistance because I just don't have that uninterrupted chunk of time. Should I increase my resistance to 5 days?

Do what works for you is my motto.

I will say though, that abs are a result of bf%, there is no such thing as doing ab routines to "make" fat loss in the midsection happen. The body takes fat from where it wants to. For most women the midsection, waist, and thighs are the last places they lose that fat.

BinaryPulsar

I once took an abs class and I came out looking JUST LIKE THAT!!

Be careful - it happens all the time!!!!!!! Search the forums for "belly fat" and you'll see all the people who are trying desperately to put fat back on their middles becuase they totally accidentally got super-buff without trying at all!!

:flowerforyou:

Oh yeahhhh I see this and similar topics come up on Oprah all the time! HALP I GOT BULKY FROM LIFTING WEIGHTS! HALP I GOT ABS OF AN OLYMPIC SWIMMER OMGGGG

:laugh:

MorgueBabe

Why do all seemingly benign thread topics turn so cruel?

What's benign about an overweight woman with virtually 0 progress posting a picture of one of the fittest women in the world, who happens to be a 46 year old Olympic athlete, and saying "how can I avoid ending up like this"??

+1

WORD!!

Ed98043

There have been several posts on here by people who are just starting out but are already worrying that they're not going to like the end results. A few weeks ago there was a woman who weighed something like 240 and had never worked out but was thinking of starting, but was already fretting about getting "too muscular" because her boyfriend didn't like that look. To me that's a little like someone saying "I'm going for a walk, what if I end up in CHINA???". Not only is it extremely unlikely, but there are a lot of steps to take before you get there. Worry about those first.

HotrodsGirl0107

Why do all seemingly benign thread topics turn so cruel?

What's benign about an overweight woman with virtually 0 progress posting a picture of one of the fittest women in the world, who happens to be a 46 year old Olympic athlete, and saying "how can I avoid ending up like this"??

This

1223345

Hmm...I seem to remember a thread that was posted not too long ago where I was upset over racist comments that were made about me. The OP took great pleasure in making fun of the fact that I was upset over this. Well, beauty is DEFINITELY in the eye of the beholder, and Ms. Torres is absolutely the beautiful one here.

I certainly posted no racist thread anywhere. And I don't laugh at people who are upset. If someone here did that to you though it is just the MFP way. I am sure the P stands for something other pal as they say it does.

theCarlton

This kind of makes me think twice about trying too hard to build muscle.

I think you're just talking yourself out of trying very hard.

Mother_Superior

That's my favorite episode.

shaitanslc

This is literally the equivalent to me posting a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger and saying I dont want biceps like his...

What makes you even think you can get close to that...

I find it infuriating to see these posts. If you woke up looking like that in the morning you would *kitten* yourself.

/Thread.

DoingitWell

Now that you all have had a turn taking stabs at me personally....
I do a 30 minute ab routine 3 days a week. Some of the moves use light weights, others do not. I was thinking of doing abs 5 days a week but I wonder if that is too much, or is it still too little? I never can decide if there should be more frequency than 3 days for abs. I have went to doing total body three days and cardio 5 days. I usually split my cardio from the resistance because I just don't have that uninterrupted chunk of time. Should I increase my resistance to 5 days?

You think a 30 minute ab routine 3 times a week gives you the body of an Olympic athlete?

The sad part here (for me) is I think she does....

Unbelievable. And this is the same poster who goes around the forums, telling all the people with outstanding progress and fitness that they're all wrong and know nothing.

Totally unrelated. ^^^ You are Hilarious. I have to go do some work now and stop waiting for you to reply.

123dmc

I'm guessing she doesn't want yours either. But I'm willing to bet she has enough class to not go posting pictures of you and saying so.

A good reminder to us all.

amylite

And, wow. Are you serious?! Don't worry - you'll never have to worry about looking like Dara Torres. That's a woman who has been a professional competitive athlete her entire life.

amen to this. this is HARD WORK

imhungry2012

You don't get a body fat % as low as hers without actively trying...even if you had the same muscles as her underneath you wouldnt look like this unless you lowered your bodyfat significantly (which i really hard I am finding). I would just keep doing what you are doing and not avoid anything thinking it would give you results that you wouldnt be happy with, ab exercises are great and not just done to acheive a 6-pack.

I on the otherhand would have no problem looking like that!

Qarol

To me that's a little like someone saying "I'm going for a walk, what if I end up in CHINA???"

funny metaphor is funny

whierd

I keep seeing pictures of women who after working out, losing fat, and building muscle, have a straight waistline with no curves at all. Is this because of the way the muscles were built, is it genetic? What causes a woman's waist to look like this? This kind of makes me think twice about trying too hard to build muscle. Not that someone like Dara Torres doesn't have a nice body, it's just the waist line looks like a pencil. Is this avoidable?

I am going to be blunt here, so if you have thin skin, stop reading here.

Looking at your pictures, you don't have a curvy waist. You kind of have a butt, but that is about it. If you lost weight through cardio alone, the butt you have will disappear and look droopy and you will look like a pencil at the waist. Only by lifting weights could you maintain and even improve your butt, and you may also build up your hip abductors to gain some actual curves.

You are in no danger of looking like the person in the picture, because that took years of hard work and was INTENTIONAL. If you don't find her low bodyfat percentage attractive, then you simply change your diet before getting there. You don't accidentally get that way.

MsEmmy

A lot of you who are flinging the 'body shaming' mud seems to think it is ok to look at the OP's photo and virtually laugh and tell her she'll never achieve it anyway. Nice.

I think there are a load of people on here who pounce on these threads so they can be the most self righteous person out there. "Hey, look at me, look how fair and lovely I am, taking the side of a successful athlete and snarking at a woman who just happened to word something a little clumsily." Yeah, you've made a lady wish she hadn't posted anything. Way to go.

momofJandA

There is a lovely pic on her site of her with abs, not nearly as "cut" as the original pic posted, but some great definition. Just for comparison's sake.

http://daratorres.com/photos.php

That is a beautiful picture!

seriously BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! I would kill my own mother for a body like that!!!!

danasings

I am still wondering, OP, if you have reread the title of your post and thought to yourself, "Hmmm...maybe that is why people are attacking me..."

Posting a photo of the amazing Dara Torres and writing that title was bound to elicit this response, don't you think?

maab_connor

I keep seeing pictures of women who after working out, losing fat, and building muscle, have a straight waistline with no curves at all. Is this because of the way the muscles were built, is it genetic? What causes a woman's waist to look like this? This kind of makes me think twice about trying too hard to build muscle. Not that someone like Dara Torres doesn't have a nice body, it's just the waist line looks like a pencil. Is this avoidable?

Gee, OP, thanks. i happen to be a woman who was NOT blessed with hips and booty. even at my srsly high bf% right now, i have small hips and no butt.

so basically, you're not just slamming Dana Torres (an olympic athlete who swam in Bejing AFTER giving birth and at TWICE the age of her competitors), you're slamming EVERYONE whose genes say "sorry, no JLo curves for you".

but no, i'm sure that you and all your "you're entitled to your opinion" cheerleaders out there didn't MEAN anything by it.

if i ever get anywhere NEAR what Dana looks like, i'll be happy enough with that NOT to put up a body shaming thread about YOUR body type.