I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so I just sort of guessed. I've always figured I was cursed with gigantar hips. Like, they're massively huge.
My brother called me today and we chatted for a minute. Just a little background on him, he's always been very fit. He's 30 and very fit-literate. I told him that I wasn't feeling like hitting the gym tonight, and he proceeded to give me a really awesome pep talk. Beyond that though, he said something that seriously puzzled me.
He said my gigantic hips don't have to be gigantic. I laughed and told him there's nothing you can do about bone structure. He said that it wasn't true. He said that my hips are gigantar right now because they've been supporting extra weight for the past 12 years. He told me to get as low as I can healthily and maintain it for a year or two and as my body replaces the tissue in my bones, my bones structure will shrink because my bones are not supporting as much weight.

This sounds off to me. But is he right?
Heavens I hope he is, but it doesn't make sense to me.....

Thats interesting. I wonder if it is true. I naturally have big hips as well. Im sure that even if I was to lose all the fat (I carry my weight in my butt/hips/thighs), I would never be smaller than a size 7 or even a 9.

Brother is wrong.

Your brother is mistaken regarding bone structure changing but that doesn't mean you can't lose weight, build muscle and become more proportionate.

Exactly! You can't change your bone structure but you sure can LOOK better in it and it can look smaller!!

Kellzy.... Have you heard of Lipedema? Has your doctor ever talked to you about the disease? I'm totally shooting in the dark here, but when you say you have gigantic hips, my mind lept there. I had a friend in HS, her mom and a friend now who has it.

Like, is your upper body a size 8 and lower body a 16? That kind of disproportionate?

Here's more info:




http://women.webmd.com/guide/lipedema-symptoms-treatment-causes

This x 2


I'm pear shaped and have spend years trying to shrink my bottom half to become more proportionate. Doesn't work. Weight training my arms, back and shoulders has helped tremendously. I don't look as out of balance with more muscle up top.

Brother may be wrong about the bones, but he could be right about muscles. From what I've read, I'll probably always have thick calves, because those muscles have had to carry around an extra person's worth of weight for over 30 years. I doubt I'll ever be able to wear cute cowboy boots or skinny leg jeans. Perhaps it's similar for thighs.

I don't think he's right, either; despite my size, my hips have always been large.

I would love to put my big bones on a diet...

So true

Bones are always changing to accommodate stress. They build up and get stronger when they need to. That said, I'm almost certain they just get denser, not bigger.
Muscles, however, can move around and change.

Anyway, you should love your thighs. I have thick legs, and I love them. I would like to lose 20 lbs or so, but even after that, my legs will still be thick and muscular

I am apple shaped at 250 lbs, pear shaped from 200 to 130lbs and banana (straight) shaped under 130 lbs. I am 5'3". I don't know how much pear shaped you are and how much of it is actual bone, but just wanted to share my experience with changing shape. (Right now I am apple shaped turning a bit to pear!)

Yes.




Just as an aside, it's very hard to tell bone structure/frame until quite a lot of the extra weight is off. Weight distribution, and body shape, are one thing, frame/bone structure is another. Just a thought.

Yes. I think this is where your brother may have gotten confused. Bones do gain density the more weight they carry... it's ONE of the reasons osteoporosis is common in Asian countries (among the tiny women) and not common at all among people who are overweight or obese. (I emphasize "one" because there are other reasons, too.) They don't actually change in SIZE because they're carrying extra weight.