Pear-shaped and looking to lose lower body weight

Hello! I am new to the forum and looking for some fitness advice. I apologize for how long this entry is, but I feel like providing more information may yield in better advice.

I’ve been feeling really discouraged about my body for a few years now. Growing up, I was always extremely thin and never had to do anything to maintain my waif figure. I ended up developing a bunch of horrible habits (like inactivity and horrendous dieting) because I never saw consequences.

As I approached my twenties, my body changed. I literally went through a second round puberty. I had a stick-like straight body frame and weighed about 100 lbs. at 5ft3 all throughout high school. Out of nowhere, my hips flared out quite a bit and I went from being AA to 34B. I gained about 15 lbs. during this time. At first, I loved this new development because the small waist/large hip ratio gave me a wonderful shape.

But then it became a curse. I rapidly turned into a pear shape. I gained another 10 lbs., bring me up to 125. I know this probably doesn’t seem like a lot to many people, but I have a petite bone frame (my wrist size is 5 1/4”) and I only seem to deposit weight in my lower half. I feel like if I gained the weight all over, it wouldn’t look so obvious. The muffin top is my main problem (and no, I did not get it from wearing tight jeans.)

My profile picture is my current body status (not sure how to upload photos into the thread...). Yes, the bikini bottom is way too small and is making the muffin look much bigger than it actually is. Unfortunately, the size up was too loose! I later figured out that most bikini cuts are designed for girls with a straight body frame. I recently found a pair of boy short bikini bottoms that are much more flattering on my pear frame and contains the muffins quite well, but I figure this photo would give you guys a better concept of what I am dealing with.

I started realizing that things were finally catching up to me about a year ago. I changed my diet completely. I try to eat very clean. I cut out soda, candy (except a piece of dark chocolate every now and then), junk food and limit by processed food intake. I cook all of my own meals and eat tons of vegetables. Doing so has prevented me from gaining more weight, but I can’t seem to lose it.

I’ve exercised over the course of the past year as well and have seen some results. At one point, I was working out (cardio, yoga + weight training) 5-6 days a week for about 6 months. I did gain some arm, shoulder and core muscle tone and slimmed down my legs. But my muffin persisted! I recently lost all of my muscle tone and gained more fat because I started a demanding graduate school program took up 12-14 hours of my day. I became complacent and stopped working out. Now I feel like I'm starting all over again.

I’m ready to actually get back into exercising, but I’m a bit discouraged. The advice I’ve been given in the past was to really ramp up my cardio because you can’t spot train the muffin area. I have the p90x videos (I made it through only 36 days before) and am considering trying them again. I’ve also thought about starting to run on a regular basis. I’m just unsure of what the best course of action is to blast my lower body fat (especially my muffins) away.
Thanks!