Ok, I need to vent..!

My body falls into the 'apple' category (although I don't have really skinny legs, but definitely narrow hips) and it frustrates me *sooo* much!

First of all, it seems to me that all you lovely pear shapes out there can carry weight so much better. Thick thighs and a bit of an *** is considered sexy, whereas a flabby stomach is definitely not. And neither are broad shoulders.

Secondly. No matter how skinny I used to be (116 lbs at one point), and how many crunches etc I do, I just can't get that show-off belly! And I think a flat stomach is one of the sexiest things about a woman :\

And thirdly, fat around your abdomen is a real health hazard!

I know I'm complaining but I get so frustrated with this, especially when I'm trying to lose weight. It seems to me like I'll never get my dream body, no matter how hard I try.

Are there any other apples on this forum that recognize my problem? Or that think I'm being an idiot? Please share!

I am 100% apple shaped. Big broad shoulders, flabby belly, and smaller legs. I can SO relate to your frustrations. It's horrible.....HORRIBLE.

And I'm sure you both have the opposite pants fit problem from us pears. We have the butt fitting in our jeans and an extra 4 inches in the waist and you have the waist fitting and enough room for a couple of apples in the butt !

I don't think they make clothes for anyone with any kind of "normal" body any more.

I think we all need to make peace with what we've got for our bodies and get them to their healthiest without life becoming unbearable. Or should I say unpearable?

Dagmar

Yeah, I think the biggest problem is the long-standing idea that there is an ideal shape, which is nonsense. There are so many body types, and in the end, beauty is in your health and your confidence and your presentation. With all those things going for you, your shape isn't going to matter that much. Variety is beautiful. Thankfully society is *beginning* to appreciate that

Size charts for pants typically have hip measurements 10" bigger than the waist. That doesn't suit either pears or apples. I'm sure there's plenty of women it does suit, but I really suspect it's a minority. Sure, it's a pain to have to make pants in both a range of sizes and a range of fits (and lengths too), but it turns out you have to

Oh man, I was always a pear, I mean really, really a pear - even at my skinniest (~115) I had a BUTT on me, but always a small waist and flat belly. Until the last few years. Now I've got the pear butt with a big round apple belly!! I'm a walking fruit salad!

I try to have a sense of humor about it, but being 2 inches shy of the "central obesity" mark is no laughing matter. No more ignoring the situation and hoping that it will go away.... more exercise and less processed foods/saturated fats/etc.

Onward, apples (and pears)!

Hey Emma - 2 inches away from the obese mark? At 5'6" and 142? Sounds like you're being a little harsh on yourself!
Exercise is always good though Except when it's so foggy that you can't even see across the street - I think I'm going to try out my new work out dvd today :s

Honestly if I would have had a flat stomach in my teenage years, I doubt I would have gone through the same self-loathing, destructive patterns. But I'm all grown up now and ready to embrace myself... well not entirely but if I still don't have a flat stomach at 116 lbs whilst exercising, I think I'll give up on that ideal!

But thanks for letting me vent andI'm happy to hear I'm not the only one that's frustrated, apple or pear!

Mudpie - yeah that's totally my problem, my waist size is about 2 larger than my bum! Well it used to be, at the moment I'm a more 'rounded' version of myself

And Julia that's true, there is no actual ideal shape. We are all influenced by tv, the movies & magazines and that has always left me feeling completely inadequate, but I'm sure many pears, tomatoes and stickfigures do too. Ah well.... *sigh*

Neeka, I'm an apple too, and I hate it. No matter what size a woman is, a waist is a sexy thing and I've never really had one, even when I had a 6 pack. I'm straight now, I was then and I'm always going to be.

So now I'm just trying to work towards the best I can be. (But I still like waists, I just know I'll never have one).

I am a pear and believe me I have never thought that was a lovely shape! No Way!

I am an apple too. No, not fun or sexy to me.

Now that I am goal weight I don't have a big giant belly bulge... but people still ask me if I'm pregnant.

One cup of soup and my belly sticks out a lot! And forget about how it looks after some carbs. (I'll try to remember that)

I'm an apple too. Even though my body is shrinking, I still feel like I have a barrel around my midsection. Or one huge tire.

Being a pear ain't all that great... I can't wear shorts (except guy's shorts - the baggy kind). Big thighs are my curse!

And I, too, have that apple belly... ugh.

Hi - whoops, sorry, I wasn't clear - I didn't mean obese in the BMI sense, but that I was close to the cutoff for "central obesity" - the belly fat that has a strong correlation with cardiovascular disease. You can be pretty small overall and still unhealthy if you are storing that easily mobilized fat in the middle... The magic number I've seen is > 35" waist circumference... and that's what scared me, where I was storing this extra weight, and that my waist had pretty quickly gone from ~28" to 33" ...

I don't know how much to believe that magic number, seems like it should depend on height somewhat (like that waist on someone 5'1" might be a lot different than on someone 5'10"...). And I don't know what it *really* means to a person with a "normal" BMI - I'm interested in learning more about this - but anyway it was my wake-up call to address my whole new body type.

Also I can't button any of my pants any more

You are so right, exercise has helped, as well as cutting out the refined carbs - I'm down 2" on my waist in a month (without any weight loss, though). I was never good at regularly exercising, so hopefully this is the kick in the pants I needed to make it a habit!