"Pear-shaped" or "Hourglass"

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PhantomMidnight
PhantomMidnight Posts: 13 Member
in Motivation and Support
I just wanted to start a discussion about body shapes and the different categories that there tend to be. I'm going through a low self esteem period right now because my weight is up and even though I've only gained about 5-10 pounds, they're stubborn and I'm having a hard time getting them off. Now, my whole life, I've thought of myself as "pear-shaped".. and I am! I gain almost all of my weight in my butt and thighs. It's great because my stomach stays relatively flat and trim, but also has drawbacks because my legs get cellulite and I have a hard time finding clothes that look good.

So to combat my lower self esteem, I've been reading articles/blog posts/ect about the positives of being pear shaped, but I've noticed that a lot of them say that pear-shaped ladies have a small bust and narrow shoulders. I have broad shoulders, and large breasts, but my waist is very small, so I'm more of an "hour glass". Does this still mean I'm pear shaped though? I do gain weight in my butt and thighs almost exclusively.

This probably seems like a silly post.. I was just so cheerfully reading all of these "pear-shaped" positive posting, and then I realized that I don't even fit all of the markers for having a pear shape.
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Replies

  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
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    Why bother trying to fit your unique, beautiful body into made-up categories that make you doubt yourself? :) You are who you see yourself to be. You might be a top-heavy pear, you might be a bottom-heavy hourglass. You can call yourself a violin if you think that's more accurate!
  • AmyWininger
    AmyWininger Posts: 150 Member
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    You can be a mix of body shapes. There isn't one specific one that fits you exactly. :) I wish I was a pear, or hourglass... But I'm a rectangle... It's so depressing to look at myself... A fat rectangle at that. :(
  • Geoj0
    Geoj0 Posts: 145 Member
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    i think the hour glass shape is supposedly a 10inch difference between your hips and waist and your chest and waist i.e 36 26 36.

    i have the 10 inch difference but i look like a pear from behind i think lol
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I'm most definitely pear-shaped. I gain everything around the middle. Wish I was hour-glass, so that things with a defined waist-line didn't emphasize the extras around my belly! I think that no matter what though, the grass is always greener on the other side. Embrace your body for what it is, and focus on being healthy and strong rather than fitting into any body shape category. :)
  • coffeefreak88
    coffeefreak88 Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm right there with you....I tend to gain any added pounds around my butt and thighs. The only thing i've found that seems to help at all is lots of leg exercises with heavy weights (squats, lunges, etc). It sucks but it's the only thing that works for me :)
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
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    I just wanted to start a discussion about body shapes and the different categories that there tend to be. I'm going through a low self esteem period right now because my weight is up and even though I've only gained about 5-10 pounds, they're stubborn and I'm having a hard time getting them off. Now, my whole life, I've thought of myself as "pear-shaped".. and I am! I gain almost all of my weight in my butt and thighs. It's great because my stomach stays relatively flat and trim, but also has drawbacks because my legs get cellulite and I have a hard time finding clothes that look good.

    So to combat my lower self esteem, I've been reading articles/blog posts/ect about the positives of being pear shaped, but I've noticed that a lot of them say that pear-shaped ladies have a small bust and narrow shoulders. I have broad shoulders, and large breasts, but my waist is very small, so I'm more of an "hour glass". Does this still mean I'm pear shaped though? I do gain weight in my butt and thighs almost exclusively.

    This probably seems like a silly post.. I was just so cheerfully reading all of these "pear-shaped" positive posting, and then I realized that I don't even fit all of the markers for having a pear shape.

    You sound like an hourglass shape to me! Those are somewhat silly categories though, and clothing manufacturers and modeling and ads sort of force us to think of pear-shaped as a bad thing. It's not. :)

    The categorization of someone as pear-shaped or hourglass-shaped actually depends on the hip-to-waist-to-bust ratio/ the measurements of each. An hourglass shape is usually defined as one with hips and bust that have the same measurement, and a waist that's at least 10" smaller than either-- so 36-26-36 would be the "perfect hourglass." Pear-shapes of course have larger hips than bust. . .

    As I said, I feel like this stuff is kind of silly. But I am a pear-shape-- and my weight mostly sticks on my lower belly and hips. Blech. I'm at my goal weight now but still have tummy pudge, boo!
  • gettinthere
    gettinthere Posts: 529 Member
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    I'm an apple...ugh
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    I'm an apple with a butt. Not wide in the hip area, so I can't be a pear. I'm big in the center but I don't have a flat *kitten*. I am small on top too.

    I have a typical Dominican body.
  • Noogynoogs
    Noogynoogs Posts: 1,028 Member
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    I am a really big pear lol
  • miss_jessiejane
    miss_jessiejane Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I think every woman who's posted here is woman shaped and completely lovely. Why do we have to be shaped like something?
  • 1971MLJ
    1971MLJ Posts: 137 Member
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    I used to struggle with that distinction too. When I put weight on it goes on my bum and thighs first so I'm pear shaped. Even when I put weight on my stomach area my waist tends to stay defined. However, now I've lost weight (and when I was younger) I have the classic 10 inch difference between waist, hips and bust. Like others have said don't worry about the label and aim for the best version of yourself.
  • sheenarama
    sheenarama Posts: 733 Member
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    I think every woman who's posted here is woman shaped and completely lovely. Why do we have to be shaped like something?

    You're right!!! I am shaped more like a woman than any piece of fruit!! You're brilliant!! :heart:
  • T_Ciku
    T_Ciku Posts: 133 Member
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    I'm most definitely pear-shaped. I gain everything around the middle. Wish I was hour-glass, so that things with a defined waist-line didn't emphasize the extras around my belly! I think that no matter what though, the grass is always greener on the other side. Embrace your body for what it is, and focus on being healthy and strong rather than fitting into any body shape category. :)

    Actually that sounds more like an apple. Like OP mentioned, pear shaped's tend to have relatively small tummies and bigger hips and butt. If you gain mostly in the middle you might be apple shaped
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    I understand...I am a bit that way, although I've always had a belly so I don't share the trim stomach thing, but am definitely not apple as I've got MUCH bigger hips and bum...my measurements would make me a drastic pear if just using bust, waist, and hip measurements...but I am told that I really look like more of an hourglass because I have average - not narrow - shoulders and a broader back (which I thought was mostly because of back fat, lol, but turns out it's really just broad!)

    I find the pear, apple, hourglass stuff to be rather limiting. While there is truth in the waist to hip ratio thing with regard to many medical issues, that's about the only bit that I have found helpful or important.
  • yellowlemoned
    yellowlemoned Posts: 335 Member
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    I like the idea of calling yourself a violin someone else mentioned earlier. I'm going with that! I'm a bust pear shape-ish person myself, but I've never really understood the point of classifying your shape. So Violin it is!
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    The benefits of being "pear-shaped" or "hourglass" (I'm more of an hourglass myself) is that the weight in those areas is not as unhealthy as the "apple" shape. Women are supposed to have some extra padding in the hips and thighs, and that weight is not around our visceral organs. It's the main reason why women are less prone to heart disease than men.
  • seismicmuffin
    seismicmuffin Posts: 160 Member
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    I'm a pear. Even when I was in high school weighing 120 lbs I had the hardest time finding pants that fit comfortably! Either my butt would fall out when I bent over or they were baggy everywhere except my hips. I gained all my weight in my hips and thighs until recently, when I started noticing my belly beginning to bulge. Thats when I knew it was time to put a stop to the weight gain. If my boyfriend didn't constantly tell me how much he likes the shape of my rear I may have started sooner, lol.
  • Roxie_64
    Roxie_64 Posts: 13 Member
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    I gain it all in my stomach...I look like a 50 y./o pregnant women.
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I'm most definitely pear-shaped. I gain everything around the middle. Wish I was hour-glass, so that things with a defined waist-line didn't emphasize the extras around my belly! I think that no matter what though, the grass is always greener on the other side. Embrace your body for what it is, and focus on being healthy and strong rather than fitting into any body shape category. :)

    Actually that sounds more like an apple. Like OP mentioned, pear shaped's tend to have relatively small tummies and bigger hips and butt. If you gain mostly in the middle you might be apple shaped

    Well that's a relief. I like apples way more than I like pears (fruits, not people) ;)
  • mcmurrays
    mcmurrays Posts: 9 Member
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    Fat square..... depressing.

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