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

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.

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!

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.

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!!!!

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.

I don't think it's the lack of curves on her midsection that's the problem. She has a very 'boyish' figure, with an extra 30lbs on she would still look boyish. If you had a flat stomach, but had a wide hip frame, you would look considerably curvier than her, but just as fit and 'muscley'.

I enjoy all the nay sayers here as well. Telling me how I never have to worry about having a nice set of abs. LOL.... wait people. Time is all it takes for progress to accumulate. I'll get around to posting a recent pic of myself eventually. This one is actually a few months old.

I think they are saying that you will not "accidentally" get abs.

This is one of those post's similar to, "I don't lift because I don't want to look like a bodybuilder."

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.

She is not just insulting this athlete. She is also insulting other women on mfp that have this body type and their own set of issues from their own lifetime, and have worked hard to be fit and feel proud of their body on all levels. It's odd how people think that just because someone looks good and successful to them, that they have not had their own struggles in life. Also when you put down one women, you are putting other women down as well.

It's also not laughing at her, to be honest.

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.

I was reading through and thinking the exact same thing. The "according to your ticker/picture *snicker*, I'm sure she wouldn't want to look like you either" posts are sickening.

You don't get to look this way by mistake.