For the EXERCISE pros...Do you think it's TRUE?
 

Or do you think it is possible to really CHANGE THE SHAPE OF YOUR BODY via exercise or with strength training per se? I have lost a little over 100 pounds to date and have not lost anything since August?? So last night I finally had my FREE fitness assesstment at my Gym. The trainer explained the importance of exercise as far as changing the shape of my body..He said you can have to blocks of wood..one well carved, and one blob and both can weigh the same. He said our bodies where the exact way. I carry most of my weight in my abs. I have smaller legs..no butt??:(...I am terrified that when I get to my goal weight of 199, I will look strange. I am willing to bust my bee-hive to change my shape. So far...the only exercise I have done is hill-walk. My endurance was great last night.

Do you honestly think it is possible to change the shape of my body? Any suggestions which machines to concentrate on at first? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I am in a good mental state to really make a difference. I feel so proud of myself for keeping the weight off. I just want to make my body the best is can be as I aim to make my goal weight.

Definitely. :)

I am smaller now than I was when I weighed this weight before. I run now, but I also do strength training. I KNOW the strength training makes all the difference to muscle tone and definition, among other things.

No doubt Mel and Meg will be along soon with more info!

Heather :D

Well, yes and no.

You can make your body smaller, firmer, and more toned. You can even emphasize or de-emphasize parts of your body, building muscle in some areas, etc. HOWEVER - some parts of your shape are just what you are. So, for example, my sister and I are built very differently - she is round and muscular in the butt, I have no hips/butt and am built very boyishly. No matter how much exercise either of us do, neither will have a butt like the other - I'll always be flat and boyish, she'll always be rounder. It is just how it is.

So you can tone, emphasize, tighten up, lose inches, etc in places with exercise. You can't change the fundamentals of what you are.

Luckily, you sound like your body is much like mine was (lots of weight in the ab area, no butt...you're a classic apple), and the stomach does go down to match the legs, so you probably won't look funny at goal. Your legs will just shrink -less- than the rest of you as you lose weight.

I looked especially awesome when I was doing the Firm consistently. I didn't lose much extra weight by then, but I really looked smaller and I was firmer. The Firm involves a lot of stepping up and down on a box (maybe 2 feet high), squats, and weight lifting.

I definitely think you can change your shape through exercise. My sister started exercising three times a week this year and has dropped from a size 10 to a size 6 with just the exercise alone--no changes to her diet. She was apple shaped before and carried almost all of her extra weight in her stomach. She did not lose any weight, but her shape is completely different; she's definitely not apple shaped now and no one would dream of suggesting she needs to lose weight.

I've made pretty big changes in both my diet and and exercise and dropped from a size 14 to a size 2. I always describe myself as bottom heavy and, at my heaviest, my hips were two sizes larger than my top. But I've lost more inches in my hips than anywhere else. So now I'm pretty the much the same size on top and on the bottom--in fact, recently I've had trouble with dresses fitting or being too big in the hips and being too small through the chest area--the exact opposite of the problem I had when I was at my heaviest. I've lost the least amount of inches in my waist, so I think I've become less curvy than I was when I was heavier.

Take a look at some of the goal or mini goal photo albums when you get a chance and you will be completly reassured.

Not really sure. I have thick ankles and thick calves. When I was thin and in really great shape I still had thick ankles and thick calves. I don't think you can change that. You can tone, you can lose weight and add muscle but the basic shape of the body once all the fat is gone is going to be what it is going to be. An apple is an apple a pear is a pear. I would love to find an exercise that would turn thick ankles into thin ones lol.