Is weight loss bad for a pear shape?
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veganbettie wrote: »SnuggleSmacks wrote: »veganbettie wrote: »i honestly plan on getting as skinny as i can and then putting on muscle.
Granted I know I should start lifting more sooner than later, just hard enough to fit in the small amount of exercise that i do get in....but you know, excuses.
Bad idea...lift now. When you lose weight without lifting, you're losing muscle along with the fat. If you lift now, you'll protect most of your muscle, so when you get close to your ideal weight you'll already have muscle underneath that will be revealed...and you'll look better. Plus you'll have a higher baseline of muscle to work with at that point. AND you'll have gained strength, so when you're ready to eat at maintenance or do a bulk, you'll be lifting heavier and will have a much easier time of packing on more muscle.
thanks for the advice, i'll need to figure something out for sure.
maybe i'll start bench pressing my toddler. O_O
I don't know if that is a joke but people do that
http://www.wikihow.com/Work-out-With-a-Toddler
Perform specific exercises with your toddler.
Lie on your back with your knees up for support. Hold your child above you. Lift and lower him for a few minutes or as long as you can while you build arm and core strength.
Stand against a wall with your feet about 4 feet apart, toes pointing out. Hold your child with both arms. Keeping your upper body straight, bend your knees parallel to the floor. Hold the position, squeezing your buttocks while being careful not to lock your knees, and then return to starting position. Aim for 3 sets of 12-15 reps each. This exercise strengthens the inner thighs0 -
Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
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oh come now. no *kitten*? how about "butt?"
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veganbettie wrote: »SnuggleSmacks wrote: »veganbettie wrote: »i honestly plan on getting as skinny as i can and then putting on muscle.
Granted I know I should start lifting more sooner than later, just hard enough to fit in the small amount of exercise that i do get in....but you know, excuses.
Bad idea...lift now. When you lose weight without lifting, you're losing muscle along with the fat. If you lift now, you'll protect most of your muscle, so when you get close to your ideal weight you'll already have muscle underneath that will be revealed...and you'll look better. Plus you'll have a higher baseline of muscle to work with at that point. AND you'll have gained strength, so when you're ready to eat at maintenance or do a bulk, you'll be lifting heavier and will have a much easier time of packing on more muscle.
thanks for the advice, i'll need to figure something out for sure.
maybe i'll start bench pressing my toddler. O_O
I don't know if that is a joke but people do that
http://www.wikihow.com/Work-out-With-a-Toddler
Perform specific exercises with your toddler.
Lie on your back with your knees up for support. Hold your child above you. Lift and lower him for a few minutes or as long as you can while you build arm and core strength.
Stand against a wall with your feet about 4 feet apart, toes pointing out. Hold your child with both arms. Keeping your upper body straight, bend your knees parallel to the floor. Hold the position, squeezing your buttocks while being careful not to lock your knees, and then return to starting position. Aim for 3 sets of 12-15 reps each. This exercise strengthens the inner thighs
HA! Thanks!!! Actually since having my baby my arms look amazing. And they never did before. Must be from carting him around.
This thread has inspired me to buy that book all the women on here rave about, the new rules of lifting for women? I think that's what it's called.
should be here by Monday. I don't really have the option for a gym at this point, but i'll look on craigslist for some simple weights and go from there. 0 -
@catgurl20 you may lose bodyfat up top first, but if you're lifting quite heavy (in the 6-8 rep range) you should be building muscle. What exercises are you doing?0
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I know how you feel..my top half is scrawny, but my legs are strong and muscly...and all the fat sticks around the lower stomach, hips and thighs.
It does get smaller, eventually... though I've accepted that my thighs will be 20 inches forever lol.
It has taken me months to start losing from where I want to, but It's just the way things are. I would suggest you try to get into some strength training/ a beginner weight lifting program if you haven't already, as it does help those problem areas to look better. Also mixing up your current exercise routine a bit can help. In the start I was only cycling, which worked out only legs and the stomach area was tucked away. Once I started running, things looked better.
As for cellulite on your thighs, I would recommend dry body brushing before you shower, and also Frank body scrubs (those coffee scrubs you do in the shower) are really good-both worked for me! Hang in there, and good luck !0 -
Yay for recomp!0
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So, I'm a pear too. The reason you are feeling even more like a pear is because you lost 4 inches from your waist but only one from your hips. That's okay-you're losing belly fat, which is more unhealthy to carry around than fat in your hips. If you get your hips down another few inches, you'll be more proportionate (though probably still a pear, and you should be glad).
For me it happened the other way. I was already only a 28 in waist so I went down to a 27, then my hips went from 44 to 40.
Also, squat.0 -
Also, how tall are you? Those measurements seem...interesting, at only 124 lbs.0
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0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
You should check out some of the lifting ladies on here if you honestly are insinuating you're too old to do so.. plenty of women your age or older who've achieved this.
The only limits are the ones you put on yourself.
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BombshellPhoenix wrote: »0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
You should check out some of the lifting ladies on here if you honestly are insinuating you're too old to do so.. plenty of women your age or older who've achieved this.
The only limits are the ones you put on yourself.
True! Someone started a thread to ask questions about women lifting at 50+ last night and some of the responses were amazing.0 -
0somuchbetter0 wrote: »As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
Wow I'm 46 and lift at least 3 days a week, I didn't realize I was too old for this OMG!!!
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0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
Hey I'm 52 and just started a weightlifting program! After three years on maintenance, lost 75 pounds a few years ago, and while I'm way more active now, it's mostly in the spring/summer, and it's not weight-lifting type exercises. I wanted to do something different this winter and just started weightlifting with a trainer (highly recommended--don't do the machines, you gotta do free weights and learn how to do them right). Had my first assessment, and thank heavens I have a few days before my next session, my muscles need the rest!!!!0 -
I am also a pear, and coming to the end of my weight loss journey having lost nearly 50lb. As a pear your body naturally stores fat around your hips and butt, and therefore will be reluctant to let go of those stores. Your body only started storing fat elsewhere when your natural fat store locations around your hips etc. started to fill up, and so will naturally get rid of fat elsewhere first.
I noticed this most in my measurements. For the first 6 months I was losing inches pretty evenly from all over - I measure neck, bust, underbust, waist, hips, thigh and bicep. After I lost the worst of my weight I found my neck, bust, underbust and bicep measurements have actually stayed the same, but I continue to lose inches around my waist and hips, and more gradually my thighs. I have come to accept that my thighs will be the last place to slim down.
Yes, I looked bottom heavy for a while (always will to some degree) but that comes with being a pear, and being a pear is actually the best body shape for health - some body shapes such as apples might be a healthy weight but carrry all their fat deposits around their waist, which despite them being 'healthy', and slim elsewhere, means they are at a higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Don't forget, this is a process; you're not at the final stage yet, and even once the weight is gone you will still have the opportunity to continue toning up, and building muscle, which will dramatically affect your shape. I started doing more body weight exercises like push ups etc. to complement my other workouts, and have actually found my bust got bigger because the muscles underneath grew. I gained 1 inch on my bust in 2 months, whilst losing 1.5 inches from my waist in the same time.
Don't give up, being a pear is brilliant, and losing weight is totally worthwhile and rewarding.0 -
0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
I'm 43 lift 3 days per week, run & bike. Why can't you at 48? Hell my mother lifts 3x a week and she's 65
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GiveMeCoffee wrote: »0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Welcome to the world of body recomposition. It takes years to reshape your body. You cannot change your genetic structure, but through years of weight loss and muscle building you can make your body look vastly different then from your starting point. Too many people assume that all they need to do is lose excess body fat and they will look how they have always wanted too. This is almost never the case. Losing weight is generally the first step, but then alternating periods of fat loss and muscle gain (yes even for women who don't want to look "muscular") is usually what is required. Eventually your body will drop fat from all over but sometimes you need to get to a fairly low body fat percentage before fat starts leaving areas you are genetically prone to store it in. For myself, my lower back and lower abs don't shed fat until I get very lean. Many women find the lower stomach and thighs to be the "trouble" areas. Sometimes these areas don't get lean the first go around and require a few cycles of fat loss and muscle gain before they achieve the desired shape. Try and get to your goal weight and reevaluate. You say your upper half is pretty small now so I would imagine if you keep losing fat, it will eventually have to start coming from your lower have.
As I am also a pear shape and have also noticed that my *kitten* and thighs look proportionately bigger as my top half gets smaller, plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and years of cutting and bulking and recomposition are not in my future, now I'm just depressed.
I'm 43 lift 3 days per week, run & bike. Why can't you at 48? Hell my mother lifts 3x a week and she's 65
Not only is there lots of evidence on this site that women of all ages can lift, but studies have shown that women who begin lifting in their 90s benefit. 48 isn't old at all. (And I'm not just saying that because I'm 48.)
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My mum was still doing lifting exercises in her mid 70's. She hasn't been doing as much since breaking her hand falling down the basement stairs; but had that not happened she would still be doing it. She just did things at home (not at an official gym.
I'm starting to do some very light lifting and I'm 47 and 3.5 months. I am going to gradually build it up, with my physiotherapists blessing. She's going to give me ideas of what to do at home, which she already did with household items for starting light lifting. And she's the one who brought it up ... So it's fine for us middle to older aged women to start at this time in life
I hope you give it a try. It doesn't mean that you will be a champion body builder or anything but I'm certain you will look and feel better in the long run and probably improve your longevity in the meantime. Take care 0 -
That's just your shape. You can only get into the ring with mother nature so much, it's like anything else. Weight loss and toning up is good, but there are limitations as with everything. I plan on lifting when I get older and want to do less cardio-plyometric stuff.0
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I lose in a sort of 'top down' pattern, you probably do, too. 18 lbs. is a LOT of hip/butt/thigh left to lose so don't feel like it's not going to happen. It'll even out. Good luck!0
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Agree with Bombshell. I'm 47 and just started lifting weights in June. I've built nice muscles while losing a lot of weight. I'm a pear too, so my upper body looks a lot better than my lower body, but then I still have 100 lbs. to lose. I'm just happy to be losing weight and getting fit. My shape is my shape and I'm going to love myself no matter what.0
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