I have the "cursed" body type...I'm a total apple, just like my mother; just like my grandmother. As I'm losing weight, I'm becoming a smaller apple, but an apple nonetheless. *sigh*
Can I change my body type? As I lose my weight, will I look less like an apple?? I sooo want to be an hourglass. Heck, I'd take a pear even. Just not an apple.
Clothes sizing...ugh! Though I have lost weight, my size just isn't going down much! I am STILL in a 24, started around a 28. My waist (where it SHOULD be) just is taking soooo long to shrink. Any advice?

Sorry, but you can't really change your body shape. However when you're at goal, then you will be a smaller apple, and look less "round"

I'm a pear, and I have HUGE ginormous chunky legs that don't fit into trousers, some days I'd love to be an apple!

Take what you've got and do the best you can with it. Weight training and exercise will condition your body and give you muscle definition and make you look a lot slimmer and more toned.

I'm an apple too, I know what you mean about clothing sizes. I have to buy pants that fit my waist which means they're snug in the waist and too big/baggy in the hips/butt/thigh areas. And it does take forever to go down in a size, I have lost about 22 lbs, gone from 207 to 185 and I still wear the same clothes that I did when I started, they're just a little looser.

Advice: Make sure you're taking your measurements as a gauge in your progress. I've noticed my waist measurement seems to go down faster than others since there is more to lose there. Seeing the number go down even though I'm in the same clothes makes me feel better.

Finally, I just read this again on another website and I love this umm...analogy?, think of your body as a roll of paper towels. When you rip off the first sheet it doesn't really change the look or bigness of the roll, you only removed that outside layer. But when the roll is really small one sheet represents several layers. In other words, when you're very overweight a 5 lbs loss doesn't really make a huge difference in your appearance or size, but when you're smaller a 5 lb loss could be very significant.

And no, I don't think it's possible to change your body type.

I was wondering the same thing. I am an apple and never had much of a waist. I was wondering when I get smaller, is there a way to define my waistline more. I used to do SI6 and she does some excercises that made a difference. I could actually see the beginnings of a waist. Maybe I do have a waist after all, hiding under all this fat.

Maybe there is hope for us after all Cassie. Besides, I hear the belly fat is always the last to go. So maybe that's why you haven't seen much of a change. I'm still going to keep my fingers crossed!!

Thanks for the repiles! Good analogy about the paper towels! And I hate, hate, HATE having to get pants that are too baggy in the thighs!

I'll just keep chuggin' along...as an apple.

After reading your post I realized im not alone if i didnt know better id say you were talking about me.

I love the Analogy with the paper towels, now for me to remember it when i get down or fustrated

I'm a pear. I've always been one size smaller on top with big hips & thighs. You would think I'd start losing weight first in the 'problem' areas, but no, I always lose weight from the neck on down first!

I've lost some on my hips & thighs, but I've only gone down about 1 size for 38 lbs. lost. I do look thinner overall though. I guess whether we're an apple or a pear, we're not happy with our shape. Sometimes I wish I were a banana!

You know whats funny is ppl say they can see my loss but i cant well except in pictures

I'm a pear... And wouldn't you know it? I don't even LIKE pears... ...very difficult to find pants/jeans to fit. Smaller on top, larger on bottom, and my waist is not good ratio to my hips, so all pants/jeans gape open in the waist, that is, if I can get them OVER MY HIPS in the first place...

I'm neither an apple nor a pear. I don't have huge hips, but I have a small waist. I guess it's more of an hourglass. I guess lately, I'd describe my body as that of an eggplant or maybe a watermelon. I'm all for that banana shape, too! ha ha.

I know that my friends who are "apples" have GREAT legs and can usually wear a mini-skirt at any weight. My "pear" friends have delicate bones and can always wear fitted tops without much belly protruding.

I remember reading about this described a little more technically ... ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. I don't know if those terms are direct mappings to apple, pear, and hourglass figures, though.

I love the paper-towel analogy!

TOO funny! There actually IS a banana body type:

Ectomorph
Fruit Imagery: The Banana - long-limbed and lean with shoulders roughly the same width as the hips. Weight is evenly distributed
Advantages: Fast metabolism, long and lean, sinewy
Challenges: Poor muscle development, without resistance training can have “skinny fat”, very few natural curves, tend to be small-chested (yes, these types often have breast surgery)
Prototypes: Courtney Cox, Naomi Campbell, Laura Flynn Boyle, Calista Flockhart, ballerinas, runway models
Workout Recommendations: careful with the cardio! Only 1-2 times max per week to avoid burning off muscle mass. Stairmaster is good for building up lower body. Weight (resistance) training a must to build natural curves. Use more weight and do less reps.

Turns out Madonna and Demi Moore are apples...I'm feeling a bit better.

http://www.drlindarose.com/article/bod2.html

another apple here!
It's not all bad. Yes, I have a thick waist and not much in the bum area, but the small bum thing is sometimes a plus, and besides, it usually comes with having slender arms and slender legs. I also have broad shoulders. I guess I'm close to a classic mesomorph body type when I'm slim. That's what Madonna is.
It's not all bad.

I know one cannot CHANGE their body, but it is possible to re-define shapes; this is proven in people who are seriously into weight lifting/body building.