For those who are pear shaped...

[isaviolinist 11]

I was just wondering if "the tire" was the last thing to go as you dropped weight? I'm scared that even when Im in the 150s or 140s I'm going to have this stupid tire around my waist preventing me from wearing a normal size or making me look ridiculous in a bathing suit. While I do know that being pear shaped is better on your heart than apple shaped, I do wish my body was more proportioned. I don't want to be in regular tops and plus size bottoms or not be able to find a dress that fits correctly with the top too big and bottom to tight. Any insights are greatly appreciated!

[AngryBaby 2]

Well I had a pear shape before I started losing weight. I had huge thighs, rear, and tummy. So far I've lost 6 inches of my rear alone, 2.25 off of each thigh, and 4 off of my stomache. My stomache is still pretty big, but it's slowly deflating. Don't worry about it too much. After you lose all the weight you need to, the worst that will happen is you will just have loose skin around your midsection which can be taken care of by Spanx or plastic surgery. Try not to worry about what you might look like later. Believe me it will only worry you and drive you crazy. Just try to maintain this healthy lifestyle and you will obtain a greater sense of self-fullfillment.

[WrenBird 11]

I'm pear shaped a bit...My bottom isn't predominantly larger than the rest of me, but my stomach seems to go in quite a bit just bellow my rib cage. I'm sort of a mixture between pear shaped and hour glass.

I just found this on google:

If you are an apple, you will want to focus on aerobic training in order to slim down and lose body fat. By working on the lower half of your body, you can help balance out your chest and shoulders. Look to perform exercises that are low-resistance and involve low repetitions, such as:

• stairclimbing
  
• walking on an incline
  
• running
  
• leg squats, leg presses, and deadlifts
  

Top Fitness Tips: Excercise for Your Body Type

and 8 toning exercises for apple shaped women: http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-toning-exercises-for-apple-shaped-women/

Might be worth getting a personal trainer for a week to teach you which exercises to do.

Good luck!

[elcee 3,340]

If you are pear shaped why do you have concerns about a tyre? Pear shapes generally have large hips and a small waist - no tyre.Any excess in that area should be the first to go.

If you are struggling with a tyre it sounds to me as though you are apple shaped.

[Jachut 487]

I'm pear shaped and whilst I carried fat on my stomach, I've never had a tyre, my stomach is almost concave these days although its "loose" for want of a better word. My tyre is on my rear - even though my BMI is now 20, there's quite a bit of flesh on my lower back/upper buttocks. My bum and thighs are OK these days, well I canlive with them but no way would you call them tight and toned.

Even though I didnt have problem stomach, it IS loose like I've said. Spare skin from being larger. Could that explain your tyre? Our loose skin often does have a bit of residual fat in it - which will probably go away as you lose, leaving just a bit of skin.

To lose the fat - cardio cardio cardio. No amount of crunches will get rid of fat on your tummy.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

If you are pear shaped why do you have concerns about a tyre? Pear shapes generally have large hips and a small waist - no tyre.Any excess in that area should be the first to go.

If you are struggling with a tyre it sounds to me as though you are apple shaped.

That was my first thought, too. I am apple-shaped and just like pear-shaped people, I just became a smaller version of an apple shape. Still larger on top and smaller on bottom. Clothes aren't made for apples. Especially pants. My weight is around the middle. Pear shapes have their weight in hips and thighs. Sounds like she's apple-shaped.

[WrenBird 11]

This thread is making me hungry for fruit.< /p>

[isaviolinist 11]

That was my first thought, too. I am apple-shaped and just like pear-shaped people, I just became a smaller version of an apple shape. Still larger on top and smaller on bottom. Clothes aren't made for apples. Especially pants. My weight is around the middle. Pear shapes have their weight in hips and thighs. Sounds like she's apple-shaped.

Elcee and Cleo - I'm a classic pear shape. Small shoulders, smallish boobs (getting smaller, thank goodness...I really dislike big boobs), big hips and a lot of fat around my lower abdomen/upper pelvic/hip area. "Spare tire" isn't really a medical term, thus I didn't really realize it was designated specifically for apple shapes. My spare tire (or what I think of as spare tire since it looks like I'm walking around with a tire around my hips) is the large amount of fat around my lower abdomen/pelvic/hip area.

Jachut - I'm definitely going to have loose skin. I'm not sure if I have loose skin right now - it kind of still looks like its fat. I guess I'll find out as things progress. I agree with the cardio - I'm doing tons of it and its definitely helping things move along at a reasonable pace.

Wren - thank you so much for that awesome link!! I do have a trainer, and I may talk to him about my body shape to make sure I'm doing all that I can to even myself out.

AngryBaby - (nice username - I love it) thanks so much for that insight. You are right - guess I'll just enjoy the ride and see how it turns out

Thanks again for all of the replies!

[isaviolinist 11]

Oh and Jachut - if you are pear shaped that gives me so much hope as I would kill to look like you do in a bathing suit!!! You are an inspiration to many, I hope you know

[WrenBird 11]

Wren - thank you so much for that awesome link!! I do have a trainer, and I may talk to him about my body shape to make sure I'm doing all that I can to even myself out.

Thanks again for all of the replies!

No worries!

Good luck to you!

[elcee 3,340]

Isa - in your original post you talked about the tyre being around your waist which is what confused me!

[Melissannde 41]

I *think* I understand where the OP is coming from.. I think she's talking about the apron some of us get when we lose weight..

Or sometimes it's called FUPA in slang (fat upper pelvic area).

My belly is somewhat flat, but not perfectly so because of my apron. And the more weight I lose, the worse it looks & more it bothers me. I will probably need plastics, but haven't committed myself mentally to that yet.

[L12 13]

I'm predominantly pear shaped, bordering on hourglass. Though everything has been shrinking, it seems like my waist measurement is shrinking the slowest; I'm not potbellied in the least, but just have some flab especially at the sides and lower back that I wish would melt away at the same rate as the rest of me. I think some of it is loose skin, though I'm lucky enough not to have an apron.