I HATE being an APPLE!!
 

So today, I hit the -35 mark. I am happy about it, but.....

Why doesn't anyone else seem to notice?? I am really getting tired of seeing old friends, going to functions, etc. where people I have known forever are attending, and NO ONE notices. I just want someone to acknowlegde my efforts! Is it so much to ask?

I carry 90% of my weight in my stomach and 'fup' area. I have a big waist, and a 'front butt:o.' And they seem to be staying put. I have firm, muscular legs, which are very small in proportion to my core area. My forearms are tiny and muscular, and I have small 'bat wings' on my upper arms but they really are not that bad. Of the 43 pounds I want to lose yet, I would say 2 lbs are in my arms, 3 lbs are in my chest, 5 lbs are back fat, and the rest is ALL in my gut.

Did any of you other apple shaped gals ever get your gut to go away completely? Do I need to stick to cardio? What strategies did you use? At this point I am almost certain I will need an abdominplasty. Did anyone else feel like no one noticed there losses. I am sure this is because my arms and legs were not big to begin with and I am not running around with my chunk hanging over my jeans....its just so discouraging when no one says anything. :(

Hey Jaimie, I'm not an apple, my weight is pretty evenly distributed except for my boobs which have always been big no matter what size I am. However, some people lose weight in some areas before other areas. For me, I start losing it around my waist - that is the first thing that becomes defined. I think by watching your calories and doing cardio will help a lot. Core strength exercises could also help, having the muscle burn the fat eventually. Some women never lose it completely, we are built to have some fat in that area - for baby making !!!

If it makes you feel any better, I've lost just shy of 20 pounds in the last 11 weeks and I swear I see ABSOLUTELY no difference in my large stomach. My waist is the only place I have lost inches. I'm also unlucky enough to have pretty large thighs, and they don't appear to be getting any smaller either. Don't get discouraged. I know that in the past, the one time I lost a significant amount of weight before, my stomach was a bit smaller - but it was definitely still there - I know that isn't reassuring, but I think it goes to show that it may be the last place the fat comes off for me, and perhaps for you too. I sympathise with you.

I absolutely hate being an apple shape and to be honest, that is the only shape I've known. When I was younger, I'm talking pre-teens, I was normal and average weight although my body hadn't experienced puberty yet so I have no idea what my shape was. Then I started gaining, and gaining, and gaining. I remember my mother saying that I had an apple shape when I was 14/15 although I didn't really know what that mean. I know I have hips and I know I have a bust, so I'm not a pear shape by any means but I'm hoping once I am in a normal weight size that I will begin to see a shape. I'm secretly holding out for an hour glass or coke bottle but I won't know for a very long time and sometimes I'm scared I won't see any shape until I'm actually thin-not average. When I was around 170-80 I had curves but they were chubby curves...haha...and I was still an apple. Maybe around 150 I 'll see something. Who knows.

Congrats on the 35 lb mark! I've been teetering back and forth. My scale is teasing me about the 30 lb mark. I'm hoping that when I do lose everything that I won't need surgery to fix my stomach. I'm holding out that my youth will help everything stay firm although when you get to almost 300 lbs I'm almost certain the stretching has just ruined any though of a flat stomach. I would suggest continuing with your strength training. We probably won't see any results in the stomach area until we are actually at a thing weight but along the way you will feel the difference in arms, legs, chest....and the like. Apple shapes just kinda got the short end of the stick when it comes to stomachs, unfortunately.

I think I'm an apple shape as well (definitely not pear). I carry a lot of weight in my stomach, my butt and hips aren't as big, my legs are fine, my arms carry some fat, but my boobs have always been bigger.

I think an apple shape is like having a waist measurement X inches less than waist (like less than 9 maybe?), but I'm pretty sure it's also having a high waist to hip ratio or something. I've heard anything above a .7 ratio is an apple (that'd be me). I'm hoping that changes when I get smaller. I still have quite a few lbs to go, though...

Think of it this way - as apples, it's supposed to be easier for us to lose weight! Apparently it's harder to drop weight from the butt, hip and thigh areas. Small consolation, but it is something, I guess.

i am closest to an apple shape. it is frustrating because i am almost 60lbs lighter than my start weight, but i still have the same shape, just smaller. this is gross, but i have a stomach with two rolls. one above the belly button and one below. they have not flattened out, they just get smaller, but are still the same porportion to my smaller body as they were to my larger body (if that makes sense). i wish i would have had a stomach that just looked full and round and bloated. i don't think i will ever be able to wear a bikini. i also have huge claves, they have gotton a bit smaller, but they are still large. if i got small enough i think i will have a shape similar to kelly osbourne. i keep seeing her pics in magazines and although she is small, she doesn't have a petite shape. i think she has big legs for her size. i will be so happy if i could just lose the belly rolls (ha), i've been doing pilates for a few weeks and focusing on ab work. we will see what the next 10..then 20lbs lost look like on me. i'm happy the way i look in clothes, but being naked is another story. but this is much better than what i was at 210.

I've always considered myself an apple. At my highest weight, all of the way down through 140 lbs my stomach was where I carried most of my weight. After 140 lbs so much of the weight came off of my stomach. I still don't have a waist to hip ratio that would make me a pear or an hourglass, but I'm more of a "ruler" shape now. I'm sure if I were to gain weight again, my stomach be the first place that I would gain... but I want to let you know that being an apple is NOT a death sentence!! It will come off, it just takes time.

I know this sounds a little crazy, but have you ever thought about girdle training? Before I even started losing weight, I started wearing a faja (spanish for girdle) made by a Brazillian company called Squeem and it's mad my middle area a little smaller (even my back fat) WITHOUT diet and exercise. You are essentially training your stomach and junk...I like it and it lifts the girls!

Internal Fat
 

This is one of those horrible things, but at a certain point you start to get a lot of internal fat. Sometimes people just can't see it at all. Just keep working, people will start to notice. And 35 lbs?! That's fantastic no matter who comments on it.

I hate being an apple shape. It's so unfeminine. You can be very overweight, but if you have a waist in proportion to your body, clothes are made for you and you look female.

When I lose weight I lose the little I have in the top, keep the middle, and lose the butt. My waist to hip percentage gets worse.

I hate reading that people who weigh 40 pounds more than I do, wear pants that are two sizes smaller than I do.

I can pull the sides (thighs) of my pants out and they look like clown pants. They're way oversized in the hips and thighs to go around my waist. My pants want to fall down because there's no waist for them to snug into so they slide down to the thinnest area - which is not my waist.

I hate being an apple shape. Did I mention, I hate being an apple shape?

Saphellae- Lol, apparently I was meant to be a baby making machine!! I have more than enough to go around!

Rainbow- I hope you're right! I just don't see a difference at all in my gut. I suppose I will have to get to below my goal to have a chance at a thin looking body...boo.

Shelly- I bet you will see that glorious 30 any day for sure! It seems like such a big number to me- when I hear about other people losing 30 pounds I think 'WOW' but on my own body, its hard to realize the accomplishment. I know it went somewhere, but haven't figured out where it came off of!

Liana- My waist measurement is 38, and my bust is 41. I wear a full C cup, so as you can imagine my waist in pretty large considering that my chest with the girls included is only 3" bigger! Pretty sure I am a classic apple with a .92 ratio. Hopefully some of my boobs stay put so I can atleast appear to have a shape!

Skinny- AWESOME on the 60lbs! That's a great accomplishment!! I also have two seperate rolls. One is the stomach itself that hangs over my jeans...aka spare tire. The other is my "front butt" that I stuff into my jeans. If that thing were gone, I bet I'd wear a 10 in jeans instead of a 14/16. I agree on the Kelly Osborne shape! Although I like to think I would look like Reese Witherspoon; I read once that she is an apple!

Free Spirit- OMG congrats on the huge loss! And I would take that ruler anyday over this apple crap!! What an amazing accomplishment- your success is such an inspiration to me!

Fit- So I will admit, I have never worn a girdle, but, I almost always wear a body shaper just to flatten out my shape. Maybe I will look into this. Does it push the fat you have up over the top at all? And does it hurt or is it uncomfortable? I have heard they are so tight you can barely breathe! I have very fleshy fat- its loose and hangy and I wonder if it would just bulge over the top or out of the bottom....

Kate- I actually went to a consult with a plastic surgeon at about 210 lbs for a tummy tuck. He told me while I was still clothed that I would want to lose atleast 50 lbs for optimum results. However, once he saw my body naked, he retracted. He said almost all of my weight is external fleshy fat and that it would be removed easily. I wish it were internal, cause I know people who weigh more than me that look much better because internal fat is carried better. My fat literally HANGS off of my body. Its sick, really.

Rover- I totally relate. I have NO butt at all. I am seriously considering the booty pop underwear. My friends even tell me to get them. I look like I have a brick in my pants all the time. I have to buy boycut jeans, and they are still large in the legs and butt. But the waist is tight. I wear a 14/16- but seriously, my legs are the same exact measurements as my friend who wears a 6 or 8. Sounds like we could be body doubles, lol.

Well, if it makes you feel any better I'm a pear and I hate it! I hate it because I carry all my weight in my thighs, which even when I'm at a good weight, are full of cellulite and chunky. The summer months suck because I hate wearing shorts and skirts. Always though apples have it easy in that aspect since they hold most of their weight in areas that are almost always covered up regardless of season.

I guess nobody likes the shape they were given lol.

I am for sure an apple.. Even tho according to my doc I am down 6 pounds I see no change in my tummy just my legs and arms.. Maybe mine is because I haven't lost enough yet, but I do seem to remember back when i WAS 115 pounds I had a round tummy.

At this point I just look preggers. LOL! DH tells me he cant even see how "chunky" I am until I turn sideways :S

I hate being an apple too, it interferes with EVERYTHING i wear. i feel your pain :/

Well it compresses the "fat" IDK how it works, but I never have any extra spilling anywhere, it's very tight and it WILL give you that hourglass figure you want, if you get a good one. Eventually, your waist gets smaller and smaller.

It took getting below 140 to get rid of my belly. I still have just a little flub right below my belly button and I doubt that will ever go away, but the top part is lean.

I'm a classic apple shape: fairly "normal" thighs, no hips, no butt, small bust and MASSIVE belly. I think apple bellies are what happens when athletic framed people get overweight. I have a long torso and short legs and when I was younger I was always athletic-when you're built so low to the ground you generally have good balance and are naturally good at sports when trained up a bit. Since I stopped sports (swimming, soccer, running, footy, etc) I notice ALL my weight is in my belly which definitely has that creepy double roll. The only thing that helped it go away is serious core work (pilates particularly helped me keep it in check back in the day). You'll always be a bit wider in the middle but it will migrate from being a wide from the side to wide but solid from the front. As you lose fat, the belly will be the last to go and you will never have that hourglass shape but hey apples can be sexy too!!!

Also, it might just be that people are shy about commenting on your weight in general. I always feel so weird talking about weight with people who I'm not super close to. I would probably never tell a coworker "wow you've lost weight" because a. you don't know what's going on with them or whether it's intentional or not and b. I'm always afraid they'll be like "omg she thought I was fat before!!!???" lol

Unfortuantely I'm going to say some things which are discouraging even more.

The problem is the fat in the front area of the torso is often the type that interferes with Metabolism - it is the most important area to loose - for pure health reasons (Think diabetes and heart disease).
Unfortunately it's incorrect to say it's better for baby making, it's the pear shapes and hourglass shapes that are the ideal babymaking shapes.
I suspect there is a fabulous svelte, slender build there waiting to come out, but it could take you even longer if indeed it is Metabolic Interferring Fat.

I have the stomach, it's metabolic fat. I do feel the frustration.
Invest in the the push up bras they will make you feel more feminine.
I've got decent sized bust (DD) but they flop in a funny way so I need to wear bras that push me up and in- and yes I still wear padding in my bras. Funny how even the big boobed girls need engineering to look and feel like the media tell us we should.

The phrase I like to use when commenting on somebody's weight is simply - 'you look well' or 'you look fit'. I prefer 'you look well'
What do you say to somebody who has lost a lot of weight but doesn't look well? 'You look like you've lost weight - have you been trying or have you been unwell?' it's a bit personal.