Pear vs. Apple Shapes?

[crg66]

Great idea for a forum! I am definitely a slow loser.

I believe it was Dr. Atkins who said that the "apple" shapes or those who tend to gain fat in their stomachs may lose weight faster eating LC than the "pear" shapes or those who tend to gain more weight in their butt and thighs. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I am definitely a "pear" shape, but the other rewards of this WOE are greater than just losing weight!

Carolyn

[LC Sponge]

No idea what the good doctor has to say on the topic, but I am "apple shaped" in my where-I-carry-fat-tendency, and it took me 1 yr 8 mos and 15 days to lose 40 pounds. I'd hate to think how long it would have taken if I was lugging those 40 around on my bottom, thighs and hips!!!

I have read tho, that 'apple shaped varieties' of dieters are at a greater health risk because they will have more fat stored around vital organs....


The other thing I have found, is that since most of my fat cells are in my middle, that I would almost need to be *underweight* everywhere else, to totally eradicate all the excess fat from my waist.

[alto]

What about us barrels? (We always get left out.)

[Elihnig]

What about someone who started out pear shaped, but now when they've lost a lot of weight they seem to carry most of it around their middle? I can put on the size 10 jeans *amnit, I just look ridiculous with my fat belly hanging over the edge.

Elihnig

[LC Sponge]

Alto - "apples".... "barrels".... we're all in the same 'family' !!!! :)

And you always get left out, because the pears don't keep in barrels. ;)

OK, now I'm reminded of a story - (there's no stopping me now I'm a natural story teller)...

Do you know where the expression "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel" comes from?

First of all, apples give off some gas (Karen will know what kind) that causes all produce around them to accelerate in their ripening process. So if you have green bananas - as if low carbers keep bananas but who knows - and you want them to ripen more quickly - put apples near them. If you have produce that ripens fast, keep apples away from them. Apples should routinely be stored away from any other food products - and so they used to keep them in barrels.

Secondly, it used to be a chore for the young people on the family farm to periodically empty the apple barrels, apple by apple, and remove the spoiled ones and then put all the good ones back in. That's because once you have a spoiled apple, it passes gas to all the others (HA) and hurries their ripening (and spoiling) process along.

Just so happens I know a bit about apples - and barrels. :)

[Ka3n]

LC,
When I was living on Nantucket we had an early freeze and I had to pick quite a few of my tomatoes while they were still green. An old gardener told me to put them in a grocery sack with a couple of ripe red apples. When I asked him why, he replied, "I dunno, it works though. Maybe the apple gives them the idea of what they're really suppose to look like."

Oh, and speaking of apples... :rolleyes: That'd be me :wave:

[Lessara]

I read what the discription on apples and pears as body discriptions... But it seems to me, everyone is a bit of both.
I seem to have weight all over me evenly. I used to joke that I had an hour glass figure with a few inches of fat on it ;)
My weight loss seems to be even with the same about of inches coming off bust, waist, hips.. So what am I?

[LC Sponge]

A banana. :D

[madpiano]

Hiya All

This Thread really made me laugh :D

I am definitley a pear. Thunderthighs here we come ! I also need to be underweight all over my body, before my thighs and bum even think about fitting into a size 10 Jeans ! :( But I am working on it.

At the moment I am a size 12, apart from my bum, that is still a size 14. Makes interesting trouser and skirt buying. :p

This is the first diet though, where I lost weight all over, rather than just on my tummy. Low Fat used to make me lose weight on the tummy and legs and bust, but the bum stayed the same. This not only made me look even fatter (even though I lost weight), it made even more interesting trouser shopping (ever tried to find trousers with a size 10 waist and a size 14-16 hip ?? :rolleyes: )

Sometimes I wish I was a banana. :D

Good luck
Sabine

PS.: for all pears out there, what kind of brands do you think fir our shape best ?

[Bez]

You sound like me Sabine, I'm a pear and one size up from you in the same areas and I know how you feel about the jeans.

I've never been a size 10 though and that would be lovely but it's hard to think that far ahead at the moment. Even 2 stone lighter 20 years ago I think I was a size 14 - 16, unless the sizes have changed!

Anyway, me a PEAR too!!

Bez



:wiggle: :wiggle:

[Erin4980]

I was definitely was drawn to this infomercial that divide body types into four categories and planned a workout for each type. The types were: the cone (top-heavy), hour-glass (me), the pear or spoon (upside down one, anyway), and I think the last one was a latter or something and these people gained weight in the tummy (Edward jackowski, the guy that designed it said this is where most men fall - and it includes my bf). I bought the equipment (it was about 100bucks) it sounded like a great idea and I felt it was personalized for me. I had a tendency to bulk up easy (muscle) so I wanted something that would give me the results I wanted. I'm not doing it anymore, but now I may (you guys made me remember it). In 2 weeks, my bod looked tons better (but I was also doing Slimfast and doing cardio too).

The four types, I think is better than the 2. For people that have gained alot of weight may fat into 2 categories.

Erin

[Lessara]

I like the four type class better... for a second I thought I would be a squash or something :p
I'm an hourglass like I said before :p :p

I'm curious, Erin.. What kind of exercises do you do for your body type.. it being like mine :)

[Erin4980]

I actually can't remember exactly...but after I pop the video in I'l let you know.

I'm pretty sure it's an all around workout, b/c our fat is distributed everywhere. Also less resistence and more reps. I let you know the deals after I refresh my mem with the vid.

E

[lilwannabe]

I am an hourglass too...a biggun...but hey...at least when it comes off...it comes off almost everywhere. I still find that it tends to come off my butt last...I don't know why that is....no matter:D

[Marlaine]

I am definately a pear! It's been the bane of my existance most of my life. I think the worst experience I ever had was my first time kayaking. I had a heck of a time wedging my butt into the boat, and staying there was very painful. Thank goodness it was only for 3 hours. The next time I kayaked I made a point of asking for a bigger boat, but you should have seen me in the wet suit they supplied for teaching wet exits! I looked like the Michelin man...it was pretty disgusting and I have the photo to prove it.

Anyway....When I get all of the pounds off, if I still have the saddle bags I am going to have liposuction to get rid of them. Hopefully that will be the end of them because they are without doubt my least favorite part of my body.

<b>Madpiano</b> I know exactly what you mean about trying to buy slacks. I always say that by the time they fit my hips someone else can get in at the waist. Consequently, I rarely wear pants.

Marlaine

[ezandreth]

I used to joke that I had an hour glass figure with a few inches of fat on it ;)
My weight loss seems to be even with the same about of inches coming off bust, waist, hips.. So what am I? [/B][/QUOTE]

we call that a yearglass figure around here. Several friends and I are the same shape.

[crg66]

I too fall in the pear shape category. I can't buy suit sets because my top is a whole size smaller than my bottom! Don't even think about putting me in straight skirt because if it fits in the bottom the waist is way too big and vice versa. I find that Levi and CK jeans fit me best also the pants that rest on my hips rather than my waist.

Fun thread!
Carolyn

[madpiano]

I found DKNY Jeans a great fit. Thank god for Factory Outlets. I couldn't afford them at normal price.

[Sh'ra]

I'm an hourglass, I guess. Tall, and gain weight all over (arms, bust, hips, thighs, blah, blah, blah).

My mother, sisters, AND daughter are all pears. They're short (between 5'1", and 5'4"), and tend to gain first in the butt and thighs.

I'm an amazon next to them, at 5'10". I took after my Dad's side of the family.

Hourglass or barrel? Well, since hourglass just SOUNDS so much better, I'll stick with that! :D

Sh'ra

[Lessara]

You sound so much like me! I have three petite sisters under 5'-4"
and I am 5'-8" and normally built. Thats probably why my parents put me on diets at such an early age.
My dad used to call me his "little linebacker". Cute huh? ;)

I have to use denium leggings to find jeans that fit. I'm at that wonderful hight where my inseam is 30" Not 28 for normal and not 32 for tall. This is why I decided to go with casual dresses instead of pants. I gave up. I'm a size 28W, yep that's how big I am. :D

[alto]

I'm a 28W too, Lessara (I'm not intentionally following you around the board today, but we seem to be on at the same time). Or a 3X, since everything I have is from catalogues and "easy fit." I'm glad to read that. I've so often read on message boards from people who weigh 300, 340, and are size 22s.

[Meeker]

I'm at that wonderful hight where my inseam is 30" Not 28 for normal and not 32 for tall.

NO WONDER! ARG! I thought it was 30" Regular and 32" Tall
I bought some talls and they were a little too long so I bought regular last time and my stupid white socks are ALWAYS showing!

Sorry. I feel better now.

I'm a pear btw. Hourglass. And 5'8" if you hadn't figured that part out :)

[Celerunner]

Meeker, I feel your pain!

I have always had that problem with the jeans and pants.
They make them as if all women are straight from top to bottom with no curves. So you fit in a 8 or a 10 and you got this extra space near the lower back area because it's too big on your waist.

The low rider jeans are better for your waist, but then your butt looks huge :p

[Sh'ra]

Lessara, I told you we were kindred spirits - or maybe just kindred bodies. Same here in childhood. I wasn't fat, but since my older sister was smaller than me by the time I was age 4, my dad always called me chubby. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy, though in high school I slimmed out (and guess what? was asked to pose for Playboy as well - NO THANKS).

I have the same problem with jeans, though I tend to get talls because they seem to get shorter in the wash, and I HATE highwaters. But, the waist is nearly always too big if they fit arount the rear (I can relate, Meeker and Celerunner). Oy! I hate dresses, though - I feel like Omar the tentmaker dressed me.

I'm big on nice pants and long flowy blouses. They hide a multitude of evils, and keep my legs warm :D

Sh'ra

[Meeker]

I don't have that problem. My "waist" is 10 inches smaller than my hip, but I would never wear pants there. It's way to high. So the waist always seem too tight to me, but maybe my intestines get irritated too easily and it's all in my mind. I wear my pants right below my bellybutton. Seems normal to me. My "waist" is 3-4 inches above that.

[razzle]

Yes, there is a reason that the pear and hourglass women (or those rare men who get bug bums) lose more slowly. It has to do with lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that helps to store fat. The fat cells in breasts and thighs actually secrete this stuff, while the fat cells in bellies do not. Thus, storing fat it easy for the big-bummed and breasted and gets easier the more fat that is stored. There is further evidence that belly fat is intended to be used for quick energy release (during winters and times of famine). Breast and bum fat, however, are intended for long-term storage (so that women still have sufficient fat stores to bear children even during five-year droughts). My understanding is that estrogen helps instruct the body to store fat in the breasts and thighs.

Add that to the metabolic effects of repeating dieting cycles, that most of us have experienced...and wow! It's a miracle we can lose anything at all.

[RamonaK]

HYSTERICAL!!!!

What a great laugh I have had this morning... you guys are great!!!!!

It is great to keep a sense of humor amidst the insanity...

I am an hour glass... from a front view.. but then I have this flat butt --- almost heart shaped when carrying certain weight!!!!

Thanks for the laughs!!!!

Ramona

[kyfaithly]

This has been a hoot reading about apples and pears.

Madpiano and Marlaine, I need that waist space (I always say in my next life, I want a waist so I can tuck in my clothes). I have to buy my pants (trousers) a size too big so that they fit around my waist. My pants are always baggy in the legs, even jeans--hate it!

At any rate, I am definitely an apple and since it's only Day 6 for me, I do not know if I will fall into the Turtle catagory or not. :confused:

[Lessara]

I believe this is from protein power:

If you take your waist measurement and divide it by your hip measurement and you get:

less < .8 you are a "pear" shape
more than .8 you are an "apple"

Example: Hips 54 Waist 43
43/54= .796 I'm a pear!

Mystery solved :D

[MyDelaney]

What a great post! I'm definately DEFINATELY a pear. The pear shape runs on my mother's side of the family. I'm a good two sizes bigger on my bottom than top. It was horrible when I had to buy suits for work :(

Someone asked about what jeans fit "pear" shapes best. I've found the reverse fit jeans from Gap and Old Navy fit the best. Most of the other jeans are huge in the waist just to fit my big ole butt!

I can finally squeeze my butt into size 10 jeans, and I'm probably a size 6 on top. Makes for some interesting outfits :roll:

I've never tried DKNY jeans, I'll have to look for some. Somebody mentioned the low waist jeans..forget it! Those make my butt look even bigger :eek: and just look plain horrible on me.

[KASSY]

I am definitely an apple. It is frustrating, because my legs and butt are average- and my waist and upper torso are round.
I am trying to do situps- but I hate them !!!

Well at least I have many more years before I am a granny smith apple, I like to consider myself a cute little macintosh right now !!

[CarbHealth]

I low-carbed before but when I went off the diet (full-force) I gained back my weight in strange places. My arms got much "thicker", my belly got much "rollier" (is that a word???) and my thighs got really really CLUMPY!!! The bottoms of my legs are relatively small and I look very strange! My *ss got much "wider" and yet my double-chin isn't as bad as the first time I had dieted. The cellulite on my legs is the biggest issue... I suppose I'm leaning towards a pear shape, but it'd have to be an upside-down one...

My Journal (http://www.e-clipse.com/journal.htm)

http://www.e-clipse.com/TIFF-BEFORE020702.gif

[blakleys]

:thup: CarbHealth, I checked out your website. Very nice. I've been considering doing something of the sort. Information definately deserves to be shared.

One sad but true reality struck me... It's a long and enduring battle to stay thin!