Your ideal body: then vs. now

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 07:10 AM

I was wondering if any of you Feathers have changed your perception on your ideal body type since starting your weight loss journey. I know mine has...drastically.

Then: http://www.moejackson.com/archives/2...hills?page=0,1 (Sorry, I couldn't find a photo image to download so provided a link instead).

Now: Dara Torres, the Olympic Swimmer

Don't get me wrong, I love Lauren Conrad - she's sweet and super cute but I used to think that just being really slim was the end-all, be-all of my existence, lol.

Now that I've gotten older, I've come to the realization that being fit, toned and strong like Dara Torres is what I strive for. Do I look like her? No way but she's so inspiring to me because she's four years older than me and has two kids. In my mind, she's personally debunked the myth that being in shape is something that's only attainable for younger women.

Also, truth be told, my DH would probably say that she's a little too muscular for his tastes, lol. I'd kill for her arms and legs, what definition they have. If I could halfway look like her, I'd be satisfied.

What about you? How has your perception evolved about all this since you starting losing weight and getting fit?

banananutmuffin · 08-11-2011, 08:56 AM

Well, when I was younger, I wanted a body like Cameron Diaz: thin. These days, my ideal is Tosca Reno. Hubby says she's way too muscular, and I always tell him he has no worries: I don't have the self-discipline to look like that. On the other hand, I dig a curvy body, too. I'll never have one, but I like the way they look... like a J Lo type thing.

LOL. You know what? Writing this out has made me realize something: The only thing I really really want is a flat stomach. Showing my ab muscles would be great, but I'd be happy as long as it's flat.

Dorian5 · 08-11-2011, 09:09 AM

I used to want to be rail-thin, a la Mary Kate Olsen or Kate Moss. I used to look up "thinspo" and eat rice cakes sloowwwwly and average 300-500 calories a day and drop .5lbs a day eating like that.

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/200...n8_180_240.jpg

Now I love a little softness to a female and find actresses like Kaley Cuoco and Kate Winslet to have my ideal body.

http://gossip.whyfame.com/files/2010...ley_cuoco2.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_91s-Zkod9G...aley+cuoco.jpg

mamamorgan · 08-11-2011, 09:18 AM

Here are my links.

Now: Don't know who it is but this would be my dream, slightly more muscle tone and a defined waist.
http://www.sodahead.com/fun/do-you-t...ors-132258.jpg
^^ And please excuse the topic for discussion on my second link....I was just browsing google images.

I don't think there is a HUGE difference but noticeable. I don't want to be totally ripped but to have an athletic body would be nice.

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 09:33 AM

mamamorgan: I like the 'now link' you provided. She has a much more defined waist then I could ever achieve being so boyish in shape, lol. It's interesting how a lot of us used to want thin and now we strive for more muscle tone. Athletic-looking is definitely my goal too.

aimeebell · 08-11-2011, 09:34 AM

Since I know I will never have an "ideal" body, I haven't given it much thought! LOL The picture of the olympic swimmer with probably 5-8% body fat, veiny arms, and completely visible pelvic bones makes me cringe though. Eeek. Though, I admit I'd take it over my road map of a stomach and flabby arms! LOL My personal ideal would be closer to your first photo. I've seen you mention age several times, and it always makes me think of my 42-year-old cousin. She has three kids, and she had gained a lot of weight over the years. Three years ago, she decided to get healthy and has since lost 80 pounds, is in the best shape of her life, and recently competed in her first body building competition, training while raising three daughters, single mom, full-time job, part-time student. I am 35, older than most of the featherweights here for sure, BUT we can't let age hold us back from what we want. Obviously, I don't want to look like a body builder, but if you do, you CAN achieve it!

aimeebell · 08-11-2011, 09:36 AM

Mamamorgan, there! That is what I would like to look like, fake boobies and all!

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 09:44 AM

aimeebell: I admit that Dara Torres' physique for me is a pipe dream, lol. Quite frankly, I don't have the muscle mass or body type to carry that off and never will no matter how hard I try. I'm just in awe of her because we live in a society where most people think that once you reach the ripe old age of 40 (for the record, I believe I'm probably one of the oldest Feathers, lol) you are supposed to have a pooch, gray hair and a ton of wrinkles. Dara, for me, has laid that theory to rest. I'd love to train with her for an hour - although, she'd probably wipe the floor with me.

I've seen photos of how she looks off-season and she's decidedly softer-looking. I doubt she could keep up a low body fat percentage like that year-round.

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 10:31 AM

Although if had an hourglass figure, I'd probably want to look like this:

Kourtney Kardashian

Most men (including my DH) I know would go absolutely gaga over a body like this. I'd never look like this in a million years.

So...athletic-looking is a better goal with my body type, I think.

Anyway...back to my real life, lol.

mamamorgan · 08-11-2011, 10:44 AM

^^ That is the shape that I have when I am "thin" though at the end of all this...or just at the end of the his journey and starting a new one, I would like more defined arms and stomach. If I never achieve it, I don't think I will ever lose sleep about it but it is always something to strive for after I hit my goal.

Magrat · 08-11-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitmom

aimeebell: for the record, I believe I'm probably one of the oldest Feathers, lol) y

I've got you beat by ten years. I'm fifty.

MariaMaria · 08-11-2011, 12:49 PM

I still want Linda Hamilton's arms from T2. Not maintainable for me, and not for her, either, as was obvious even at the time. But it'd be nice.

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 01:04 PM

MariaMaria: Ooo, remember her in that movie? I almost forgot about that. Yeah, she had 'killer guns', as they say.

kelly315 · 08-11-2011, 01:12 PM

When I was approaching my low last time- around 160- my perception of the perfect body also decreased in body fat (like you, fitmom and mamamorgan). I was moving away from the perfect, curvy bodies of most celebrities and towards the super-thin or extremely fit figures. For me, this was just a symptom of hating my own body- along with quite a bit of body dismorphia- and was creating a mental situation which was close to fostering an eating disorder. Now that I've gained weight again, I find it silly that I could have snuffed at the figures of those women most universally considered beautiful by our culture- the same women I spent most of my life I spent complaining were too thin, I had been complaining that they weren't thin enough. This, of course, is just my experience and I'm not implying anything about anyone else's experience.

Now, for me, the ultimate ideal body (and figure which just embodies sexiness and femininity) is Shakira. What's amazing about her is not just her body, but the carefree nature of it- it seems as if she's not trying that hard, that it's a natural sexiness that arises from being a dancer.

fitmom · 08-11-2011, 01:23 PM

kelly315: Yeah, there's no doubt about it, Shakira is sexiness personified 100%. But in all fairness, she's been bellydancing for the last decade so her body has been somewhat born from that. This type of body for me, is just not attainable. I don't have hips or boobage like that. I definitely do not exude sex appeal like that b/c I have a more boyish-type of figure. I'm more subtle in my sex appeal, I guess, at least according to my DH, lol. So, I've sought out more athletic-looking women around my age to kind of strive for. I was made fun of all the time growing up for being too skinny and boy-like. I was a late bloomer and that didn't exactly help matters much. For years, I fought my natural body type and ended up being sorely disappointed when I looked in the mirror and realized I looked nothing like these women. At some point, I just threw my hands up in the air and basically said, 'God made me like this for a reason and I just want to look like me, only better'. That being said, it's really nice to see the more athletic-looking physique come into vogue (alongside the Shakira's of the world, lol) after so many years of being frowned upon except if you were a world-class athlete.