Hey, pear-shaped women...

13

Replies

  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    How about celebrity pear-spiration?

    rihanna-2.jpg
  • Blondie1913
    Blondie1913 Posts: 30
    I'm glad I am not alone lol I'm going to have to try Pilates asap... checking schedule at my gym NOW ;)
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    Have you tried doing toning programs for your lower body and lifting weights for your upper body? I find that my proportions looks better if I build some muscle in my arms and shoulders. Good luck.
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    The other thing about lifting HEAVY is that it will broaden your back, which will help to create the ILLUSION that your pear is smaller on the bottom, because your shoulders are a bit wider on the top.

    It really is a WIN-WIN for pear-shaped women. You change your shape. You build your muscles. You watch your (good) nutrition intake. And, then you'll be back here posting on "Success Stories" about how a PEAR turned into an HOURGLASS...

    Well said.
  • foster59803
    foster59803 Posts: 439 Member
    Hello my pear shaped ladies! Same here... I lose 5 lbs and you can see my collar bones! I just ordered the New Rules for lifting for women, really excited to start! All I can say is thank God for Victoria Secret, boot cut jeans, and empire waists! Good luck to you all!
  • chocol8doll
    chocol8doll Posts: 14 Member
    You need to even out by focusing on building your upper body. Only do light exercises for your lower half because those sqats may cause to much muscle on your lower half which makes it appear bigger. Look up exercises for pear shaped women.
  • lunarescape
    lunarescape Posts: 51 Member
    ughughugh God I know what you meant. I'm the same way. I think my butt has gotten a little smaller but overall my thighs are still jiggly and not as toned as my upper body.
  • krnlcsf
    krnlcsf Posts: 310
    Beeps2011 - thanks for the advice and explanations! I will look into heavy lifting. At this point I have to stick with things I can do at home and quickly, so maybe i'll have to pick up some heavier weights. But you've definitely given me hope that I can change! :flowerforyou:

    This has been very helpful everyone! Thanks! :bigsmile:
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
    Just a question to those "pears" out there... has anyone experienced this: After losing weight (i'm down about 20 lbs since joining MFP) I've noticed that my upper body is starting to look a little boney (muscular, but boney) while my lower body (i.e. hips and thighs... the trouble zones) doesn't seem to see much change. I've lost about 4-5 inches off my waist, plus 2-3 off my chest, but only maybe 2 inches from my hips. And I know 2 inches is nothing to complain about! But I'm wondering, if I continue to lose more weight is my upper body just going to look more and more skeleton-like? Or will I soon start to see more change in my hips/thighs? To be honest, I would really like to NOT lose anymore up-top... I don't enjoy looking in the mirror and seeing my ribs poking out. :noway:

    So... is anyone else noticing this?

    I could have written this post! my top half gets ridiculously skinny, bones sticking out etc. And my bottom half looks disproportionately large. An earlier user pointed out that there's this balance where you're almost comically disproportionate, and then after a further loss, you even out a little. This did happen to me. When I was about 140 I was a size 6-8UK on top and a 12-14 on the bottom. But after losing that further 10lbs or so I was still a 6-8 on top (because there really wasn't any more to lose off my top half I guess) but I'd gone down to a 10 on the bottom, but it was a nice curvy ten and I was really pleased with my shape!

    I guess the moral of this story, keep at it! It will eventually even out, and to make things a little more even i spent time working my muscles in my upper body, to make my arms and shoulders bigger, whilst just toning my bottom half. I had nearly achieved an hourglass by exercise and diet alone!
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    Beeps2011 - thanks for the advice and explanations! I will look into heavy lifting. At this point I have to stick with things I can do at home and quickly, so maybe i'll have to pick up some heavier weights. But you've definitely given me hope that I can change! :flowerforyou:

    If you aren't yet ready for NRoL, Nike Training Club is also pretty awesome, and helped me get more muscular in my upper body (eg with weights and pushups). It's an ipod app, and dumbbells (12.5lbs, eg) are sufficient. But def move to heavy as Beeps described. Some women on here do it from home, so it can be done!

    If you want inspiration, check out Staci:
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • alphabettie
    alphabettie Posts: 43 Member
    When would all of you recommend starting heavy lifting?
  • DenverKos
    DenverKos Posts: 182
    Thanks for posting this, ladies! I'm another pear - I've lost 13 pounds and it's all been in my upper body - my collar bones, sternum and ribs are totally protruding, and you can't really find my hip bones - lol!

    At this stage in the weight loss, I feel so disproportionate - I literally look like a bad photoshop print of two different bodies! I know that eventually it will even out some, but this baby will always have back!
  • DenverKos
    DenverKos Posts: 182
    When would all of you recommend starting heavy lifting?

    NOW! Seriously, lifting is ALWAYS a good thing for you. Start doing it now - if you're doing it consistently, 2 to 3 times a week, of heavy lifting, every week, you'll notice a slow down on the scale eventually, but this is a GOOD thing! The increased muscle mass will also increase your metabolism; don't try to fight the scale by cutting calories more because the muscles need them. When this happens, start using a tape measure.
  • meechi53
    meechi53 Posts: 195 Member
    At my largest and smallest I've always been a size larger or 2 on bottom than on top, and learned to accept it. If the tummy is flatter, then the pear-ish hips look all that more attractive and that's where it's at ladies! Look at the Kardashians, J-Lo, Beyonce, Kate Winslet,

    Trying to get back to the size 10/12 (depending on the cut) bottom and Size 8/M top. Right now I'm at a 12/14 on top and 14/16 on bottom, just started on this website, working out again, etc and have lost 2 lbs in 1 week so..I know I'm headed on the right track.
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,164 Member
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    I can't tell for sure, but if you look at her before/after picture (at the very bottom of the article), it sure LOOKS like she turned from a "pear" into a much more symmetrical shape.

    Staci's been posted about 5,000 times on mfp, already, but I'm off to lift heavy, just now, so thought I'd re-read for motivation...
  • dennydifferent
    dennydifferent Posts: 135 Member
    My boobs are disappearing, my collarbone showing, but my calves are still super wide and unable to fit in normal size boots. I guess this makes me a triangle. I just seem to get fatter as I go down. I'm surprised my feet aren't obese. :(
  • gnrshelton
    gnrshelton Posts: 358 Member
    I am also pear shaped. Keep exercising and eating right and it will come together. First to gain last to lose theory I guess. I would gear my workout for the lower body. When I lost weight before I walked/ran on my treadmill. It firms up the lower part of your body while you loose. Keep it up it will come around.
  • rouleaux
    rouleaux Posts: 31
    So glad to hear that I'm not the only one in the same boat! I am "skeletor" in my top half, and godzilla with love handlesin my bottom (size 4 top, size 8-10 bottom) - I've recently just switched to incorporate heavier all-body weight lifting after reading numerous threads (and decreasing my cardio), so I hope that will help... however I still want to lose another 10lbs - not sure how the muscle building is going to go while maintaining a caloric deficit.
  • MartiJJohnston
    MartiJJohnston Posts: 517
    BUMP!! So glad I'm not alone... I feel a little better now!
  • realpure
    realpure Posts: 156
    Great read! Learned a lot. Thank you for posting. Bump
  • ojell
    ojell Posts: 748 Member
    I am the same way!
  • bassett8807
    bassett8807 Posts: 96 Member
    Don't worry, I lost most of my weight right away in the upper body. But after the 25 lb marker I started to shrink in the lower body and the upper started plateauing. So you will be all nice and even when you get to your goal! Don't worry. :D
  • paigemarie93
    paigemarie93 Posts: 778 Member
    Yeah I weight 179lbs, my ribs are starting to stick out but past my waist, I'm still chunky... so weird.
  • ncsjodi
    ncsjodi Posts: 102 Member
    I agree with the person who said running helps! I've lost about 94 pounds and I'm down from a size 2X on top to a medium and from a 22W bottom to about a 12. The saddlebags are my problem area. I wish I could suction out the fat and then inject it into my chest! I just feel like there's not much left to lose up top, so as I lost the remaining 25 or 30 pounds, it's got to come off my butt and thighs, right?? I sure hope so!
  • aparker36
    aparker36 Posts: 30 Member
    God love pears! I would never want to be any different, I lose and my booty still stays. I only wish it wouldn't disappear in my boobs, I'd really like to keep those thank you very much! LOL Just be happy with your shape and be as healthy as you can. My abs rock and always have, but I've got booty and thighs for miles. It's just the way I am. Right now I have 40" hips and 29" waist. I do feel much more proportionate at a size 8 though which is where I'm headed...lingering between 10's and 12's right now.
  • Dumbell_Diva
    Dumbell_Diva Posts: 175 Member
    Interesting post. Im a size 16 on the lower half but a 10-12 on the top half, collar bones showing, very narrow shoulders. Last summer I was a size 10 bottom half and 6-8 up top and my bust disappeared, I was wearing 32A and I was 8st 12, at 5ft 5, on anybody else that body frame would look fine, on me it looked like I could snap I was so skinny up top. I looked ill. When I gained 30lb 2 months later I was delighted as for the first time in years I actually had a cleevage! But with that cleevage came heavy thighs, cellulite and big hips. When I was in my 20s I actually had a 6 pack, before I had my children, as my upper body was so slender and toned!!! I hadnt realised the extent of my shape until I took before photos and I was shocked as my bottom heavy shape was so severe. I started at 37, 34, 44, my hips are now about 41, waist 31 and Ive given up measuring my bust now as its fast disappearing!!!
  • Suzannejl
    Suzannejl Posts: 212
    sniff, I guess being a pear is better than being an apple, but I would prefer hour glass! ;-)
  • eksims1
    eksims1 Posts: 51 Member
    I'm like you, and it's genetic for me. My moms the same way. I think it will probably be the last place the weight will come off. My mom has lost some weight, and she's very obese, and the inches came off her wrists, ankles, feet and neck...but none from the lower body (sucks!). If you're feeling boney, maybe try some upper body strength training? Women dont have the testosterone to get big muscles, so it might even you out?
    Statistics show that pear shaped women are associated with having children with higher IQs. High five!
  • the_other_kitkat
    the_other_kitkat Posts: 31
    Hello fellow pears, it's been interesting and heartening to read about your experiences. I'm 5' 2.5" and used to be a not all that fit 110. I didn't look sickly, I looked slim and pretty good actually, but always always had those dread saddlebags, and of course no boobs. I was overall pretty comfortable in my body even though I didn't like the obvious flaws. Now I'm nearing the home stretch of fixing myself after steadily putting on weight starting in my mid-thirties. I've been lifting heavy since I started trying to lose and I can see that I now have some pretty nice thighs ready to emerge from under all that fat. I'm 47 now and this may soon be the best version of myself yet. I can't wait to "finish".

    It's been really great to hear your stories, and especially those from you lifters.

    For the people here who have expressed an interest in getting into lifting, here's a link to a dirt simple routine that I've been following.
    http://newbie-fitness.blogspot.com/2007/01/stripped-5x5.html
    I like it because I am able to do it at home (I'm short enough that my bench can double as a squat rack). Lifting is awesome!

    Oh! A little anecdote: I started yoga last year, and it totally made my day when my instructor, while correcting the position of my legs in bridge pose, laid her hand on my thigh just above the knee and with a look of pleased surprise said to me, "You have really strong quads." :smile:
  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    Women and men come in all shapes and sizes - it's part of the joy of being human. We need to keep our bodies exercised and appropriately fed to be healthy and so hopefull enjoy long illness free lives.

    The way I see it (as a fellow pear!) we should concentrate more on enjoying what we have and seeing the beauty in all sorts of body shapes. Of course by all means tone and lift if you enjoy it. But also bear in mind that for the sake of changing fashions on what is beautiful women have corsetted their bodies into 's' shapes one decade, strapped their boobs down in another and bound their feet to stop them growing.

    A few of us may need to take care not to be using the gym etc as a new form of whalebone and corset ?

    And, ofcourse, as my mum used to tell me, true beauty comes from within!
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