"anorexic arms, thick thighs"

Whoa, sweetie.... All I can say is that you are SMOKIN HOT!!!!!!!!! Your friends arent really friends if they are saying stuff like that!!!! I dont care if alcohol is the reason for it. I had friends like that and now I have nothing to do with them, turns out they were jealous. I have a tiny upper body and big thighs as well... I guess we have to deal with it and love ourselves for who we are stuff everyone else!!! you keep up the great work xo

I usually take "advice" from female friends with a grain of salt...women can be incredibly catty to each other and can let jealousy get the best of them.

And I would take being compared to a female athlete as a compliment

You look great, girly!

You look beautiful in your pics. I have the opposite problem. Massive arms, big boobs and a belly. But no *kitten* or thighs. Even after losing about 30lbs its like its all from the waist down! Arms and tummy like yours are like a dream to me

I'm just starting to accept that I really can't change the shape the of my body, no matter what I weigh, the shape is the same!

Doing heavy squats and lunges on the smith machine makes my hips, butt and thighs a little slimmer. Lifting weights makes my upper body bigger though, I usually need to go up a band size on my bra when I lift a lot, everyone's different though!

I have short torso and long legs, so my legs aren't thick, but my waist is :-(

And I think you look great!

I think you look wonderful! Who cares what they even think? Sound like jerks to me. You don't look "anorexic" at all. You look healthy!

Monique, sometimes genetics is the biggest factor in how you are shaped. YOUR SHAPE is gorgeous. You have a nice bottom that looks appealing to most men. You can still rock a bathing suit (bikini). The pooch is just evidence that you are a real woman that eats. Not a rabbit eating only lettuce or vomiting to stay a size zero after binge eating. ANOTHER thing, work on your attitude and gain a little *****y self confidence so that you can zing these *kitten* that say stupid stuff to you and think they can get away with it. YOU LOOK GOOD GIRL.

looking at your pics I don't really see a problem, you have a very nice body. I think the real problem is the people you are hanging around. Who would want to hang out with people that talk to others like that? Get rid of the superficial A-holes and tell the guys where to shove it. You can't change some things about your body, but you can change your confidence with it, and confidence is always sexy.

Also, squats and lunges, squats and lunges, squats and lunges...........if anything will help they will, but be aware you are who you are and there is only so much you can do.

I am built just like that, a full size smaller on top than on bottom. There's not a lot you can do to change your shape. I know you do plenty of cardio, maybe try doing some more weight lifting to get your arms and shoulders a bit bigger, and look more proportionate. Lifting weights will tone up your core as well.

I know you just want exercise advise, but I've so been there done that with guys that are @#$-holes. Please don't waste your time, you'll never be "good enough" to please people like that. I wasted a lot of years being miserable and hearing those comments about myself. Now I'm married to a wonderful guy who saw me gain 60 pounds during pregnancy and never once made me feel anything but beautiful. But first thing is to decide you are worth it, and not seek approval from others about your appearance. :flowerforyou:

Back off the cardio and lift some weights. Give your body a reason to burn fat, not hang onto it. Female store their fat on the hips, butt, and thighs. That is just how it is (belly fat is visceral fat and comes from eating a lot of carbs, not fat - fat is actually very, very important on a female body - we are fetus bearing organisms. This is why it won't let go of it so easily).


That's what cardio does (makes you 'skinny-fat'. Skinny without a lot of lean muscle mass but still plenty of fat mass):

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio-2/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/search-results/?cx=004987908667488763946:kd-fp2c7jek&cof=FORID:11&ie=UTF-8&q=chronic+cardio (This is the entire search results)

You won't bulk up lifting weights. Women need testosterone to do that and we just don't make enough of it.
(I dropped 10lb doing the low-calorie, low-fat, whole-grain thing. Then I started Primal Blueprint. I dropped another 12lb and saw numbers I haven't seen since before puberty (108-110lbs!!!). I've always had a belly and that was gone in a month (dropped 4"-5" off my natural waistline). I went from a size 6-8 (I had dropped weight before Primal) down to a size 2. I have maintained this for more than a year now with very little exercise, not counting calories or weighing foods - I monitor my carb intake - quantity AND quality). There is a lot you can do to change your shape.

Now this is just my N=1. But that's how it should be for all of us. N=1. The Standard American Diet and the USDA guidelines will ensure I become diabetic. It's a high sugar-equivalent diet and my body doesn't do sugar very well. Meanwhile, I fight to stay above 110lbs by getting about 70% of my daily calories from FAT (coconut oil, butter, olive oil, eggs, animals, avocado oil, dark chocolate, coconut milk, heavy cream in my coffee!!)

Body composition is about 80% diet. The other 20% is a combo of exercise and genetics.

Other than that...who the hell cares what anyone else thinks about you!!!!!! There is only one person on this earth whose opinion should matter to you and that is the person in the mirror!!!!!

Some reading for females that will make you all feel like lionnesses!!

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/the-evolutionary-perspective-liberating-and-empowering-a-womans-self-hood/. (She's got some great uplifting articles for us women)

"...A paleo diet (though not a specific diet, but rather the TEMPLATE in which to experiment and exist) is the only cure, really, to the disconnect that has emerged between a woman and the natural programming of her body..."

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/self-love-and-weight-loss/

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/women-losing-weight-how-im-a-liar-and-in-why-its-actually-hard-as-hell/

And I think you're beautiful.