Hey guys!

I need a little encouragement & information on transforming my body shape. I've kept up with my diet and exercise for the past 6 weeks, and slowly but surely I am down 6 pounds!

I'm oh so happy to see the first couple of inches come off me. But I seem to have lost from my boobs and butt only -- my midsection being the same as 6 weeks ago. My current measurements: 41-41-46.

Having been overweight throughout my teenage years, I vaguely remember the time when my belly was actually smaller than my bust. Will the belly fat finally come off later in my weight loss journey? Or will I have a barrel shape forever?? Maybe I need to switch up my diet and exercise. I currently eat a balanced meal of 1400 - 1500 calories and strength train 2x/wk, with 50-minute cardio sessions 3x/wk.

I want to know if there's anything I can do to change the shape of my body. What worked for you?

Thanks for listening!

You can't really change your shape, nor can you target zones. You WILL see your midsection go down with the more weight you lose, but not until you hit goal will you know your final body shape.

That being said, find strength training exercises that tone certain areas to give the appearance of a more narrow waist. Shoulder exercises give you a broader should/bust area (muscle tone) so your waist looks more narrow. Likewise, crunches will give you a tighter midsection and lunges and squats a more tones butt and legs. It is all in appearance.

You can't change your shape, but you CAN trick the eye

My understanding is body fat distribution is a hormonal and metabolic thing. You can tone your midsection and tighten that all up to lose a few inches maybe but losing fat in one area through exercise is a myth.

I have a really strong core but I too am boxy. I used to be curvy . In my 20s I measured 36-25-37. Now I'm 47-43-46. Ridiculous.

Some of the boxiness or apple shape is metabolic, some age related changes. Diabetics for instance are prone to putting on fat in the midsection (of course the worst place for it) and it's my considered opinion that many of the foods that we eat, processed sugar and flours, animal products with hormones has misshaped a new generation of women into busty apples.

I had a vintage clothing shop and very few of even the slender girls could wear my 50's clothes without alteration. Granted they wore girdles and shapers back then but the young girls I see have no waists. At that age in the 70s we were either toothpicks, pears or curvy with definite waists. I see very few pear shaped girls anymore. My adorable niece was getting very busty. She went to organic milk and went down two cups sizes.

There was a thread earlier in mini goals where a woman got a waist in the 170's. It looks like I'll have a way to go before I get a waist....

FWIW.

Never thought of the concept "tricking the eye" when it comes to weight loss! I don't have a big chest to begin with so I've been a little worried what would happen to my body once I dropped the pounds. But I've convinced myself that it's better to be flat chested and in shape!

Thank you!

That's funny about growth hormones. I wrote a short story back in college where humans grow udders because of the added hormones in the milk!

Now I wish there was a way to grow bigger boobs because part of the reason I am a barrel shape is because I've got small boobs to begin with. It's crazy what happened to your niece!

Thanks for posting!

vintagecat, I notice this too... all my female students carry their extra weight above the waist. I'm wondering how much of this can be blamed on BPAs and other extra hormones leaking into our diet from meat, etc.

How ODD! Now I'm going to be watching when I'm out and about.

Not to derail this thread or anything but what constitutes an hour glass shape??

I feel like I've been losing proportionally but my upper back/arms and stomach seem to pack on weight first, which regardless of whether I have a waist or not, I will still look boxy. It's so annoying back in my teens I remember being a lot more curvy, these are the times I regret letting myself fall so out of shape!!

I think that certain parts of the body lose weight first. When I first began losing weight it came off my arms, face and bust.

But then looking at my monthly measurements, Im losing an inch a month off my waist, hips and each thigh (4 inches every month total) since June not even including other body parts.

As for tricking the eye, I do full body weight lifting targeting the arms, shoulders, lats, abs, butt, legs and calves....Im close to an hourglass figure but the weight lifting helps make the appearance.

Looking at your measurements, I feel you have an hourglass shape.

I am a bit shocked that my bust and waist are measuring the same (41-41-46) this month and wondering if I'd still be the same proportion when my weight goes down further.

I've been at this since 1 January and I'm just now finally seeing my waist! It is the sloooooowest thing to change on me and drives me crazy!

Just keep up what you are doing, and whatever changes are going to happen will in their own time!

I used to think I was given my measurements but I don't really look like it, I feel I look fairly straight, maybe it's the clothes I wear?

I went on this site

http://www.calculator.net/body-type-...inch&x=71&y=18

and this one

http://www.westfield.com.au/au/be-in...ape-calculator

and first one says straight/banana the latter says hourglass, so who knows!! I just want to lose proportionally too. Even though I've lost weight somewhat proportionally, from the side, my butt is going away I was doing squats as well as various other exercises but didn't see much of a change, but I also didn't stick to it as religiously as I should have.

You know there's one thing I don't understand, I know everyone says you can't spot reduce, but when you start doing shoulder exercises and begin to look more toned in the arms (or even boxy in some cases) isn't that spot reducing? Or am I just misunderstanding something?

Toning brings things in a bit but if genetics place fat on the upper arm it's going to be there with the weight loss emptying fat cells proportionally to your body type, with exercise tightening the area up making the arms look more sculpted and shapely, holding things in place.

Similarly women with big legs will likely still have bigger legs than other women their size after weight loss. It is what mother nature gave them. I will be busty. It's written in my genetic code. I was a 36D for years when thin. Will I return to an hourglass? I don't know but it's not looking good because I'm losing roughly the same all over. Presumably I'll be 40-36-39 at the rate I'm going. Not terribly shapely but it is what it is.

I've always heard that an hourglass is when your bust and hips are the same (or very close to it) in inches and your waist is at least 10 inches smaller. I'm a pear, so my bust will always be smaller than my hips.

hhm6,

I am a pear according to the first link and a rectangle on the other. The celebrities they list as being apples/rectangles/pears still look very shapely to me!

Another thing I realized was what they called "the waist" was the narrowest point of one's midsection. I've been taking my measurement from around my belly button, so it turns out that my "natural waist" at least is a few inches smaller than my bust... Heehee