I have lost 16+ pounds since last summer. I can't feel it. I know my measurements have changed - not all that much in some places, more in others. I've lost 2.8" off my rear end which is very satisfying - it's my problem area.

The confusing thing about this is that I feel no different. I don't feel "FAT-fat" like I used to (well, on occasion I do), I just feel "sorta-fat" or "not-skinny". I can wear my medium pants without gasping; some of my other pants are as snug as ever but hanging lower down. I still have to look in the Great Girls section for clothes.

I would like to lose another 10+ pounds in the foreseeable future, but while I'm waiting to see if that will happen, I can't help thinking, "When will I feel skinny for real?" I can't see the change.

It just occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't even want to feel skinny. Whenever I've felt that way in the past, I've always gained back a lot of weight. Maybe feeling skinny is so "not me" that I shouldn't even be thinking about it.

How do YOU deal with stuff like this?

Thanks, D. Those are the Gap Curvy Fit jeans, so they are cut to be a little more generous in the hips. There is also a Skinny Fit for people like Denise who have slim hips.

Hey Jen...here's a blessing for you to count! I can't wear jeans like that. Because the hip curve on an hourglass is so pronounced, the top of the jean ends up sticking out by half an inch or so. And then when you put a belt on...it's like someone's squeezing the middle of a sausage.

I LOVE those jeans on you.

I wasn't trying to fish for compliments (well, maybe a little) but thanks.

I think you look great, too.

You look great Jen!

Here's a somewhat silly pic of me in NYC -- you can see what I mean about the hips. My arms are also not as buffed up as I'd like. But that's me... I am not a supermodel yet.

quote:

Originally posted by TriGirl:
I've probably said this a million times, but I think that the secret to a better version of your body really is strength training. I can definitely tell a big difference between doing it and not doing it. Pilates and yoga are also good for strength and flexibility and may help you whittle your waist a bit, no matter what your natural shape.

And I think part of this is, like Denise said, realizing that none of us need to look like swimsuit models.

I have to agree with Jen. Strength Training is totally changing my body. I can walk/jog until the cows come home. That didn't change my body. I started Strength Training on a regular basis and I've seen huge huge changes in my body. in three months, I've gone from flat rolls on my back to being much leaner. I'm actually starting to get a waist as well. And my perception of myself is changing because I feel strong and that carries over into multiple areas. If you would have told me 6 months ago I would be loving weight lifting (even more than I love yoga) I would have laughed at you)

quote:

Originally posted by Nbox:
Denise - hop on the flight to Finland.

Ahhhh! My mother's parents were from Sweden and Norway.

No blond Swedish bombshells in the family...
My people have brown hair. And waists. We are not waist-less... We HAVE waists… just when we gain weight... our waists get bigger than our hips.

And actually, the muffin-top look is getting VERY popular at the high school. But I think that is mostly that girls wear there pants too tight… because even girls with hips and hourglass figures are able to achieve the muffin-top look. They squeeze their hip fat up over the tops of the pant’s waist. And then they wear a shirt that is short so the muffin top skin is exposed.

I wore pants yesterday… no muffin top standing up… but sitting down… I could feel the batter rising and producing the muffin top.

quote:

Originally posted by GoingSkiing:

quote:

Originally posted by Nbox:
I don't know why, but it seems there aren't many pears in this country. We have string beans and apples galore (not to mention muffin top girls and waistless wonders), but no pears.

Where are you? Those would be my people - the waistless wonders and Mr. Potato Head.

Denise - hop on the flight to Finland.

I've probably said this a million times, but I think that the secret to a better version of your body really is strength training. I can definitely tell a big difference between doing it and not doing it. Pilates and yoga are also good for strength and flexibility and may help you whittle your waist a bit, no matter what your natural shape.

And I think part of this is, like Denise said, realizing that none of us need to look like swimsuit models.

I am nearly waistless--- "sausage shape" is what I used to call it. I don't feel as much like a sausage any longer-- tube shape sounds better.

Nbox, it has been and still is really, really helpful for me to process and "talk" about this stuff. Sorry I missed lots of the conversation.

quote:

Originally posted by Nbox:
I don't know why, but it seems there aren't many pears in this country. We have string beans and apples galore (not to mention muffin top girls and waistless wonders), but no pears.

Where are you? Those would be my people - the waistless wonders and Mr. Potato Head.

I think if you are apple, pear, string bean or kiwi, everyone is going to have some type of issue with their body.

I have always been a pear. Even at my highest weight, I always had a very tiny waist (my butt and thighs are a WHOLE different story though). I am VERY small boned, so like D, I can't claim my bones as an excuse. Of everything that I have ever done to help my body, I will have to say that running is what worked best for me.

So much of body image really does depend on your frame of mind at the moment. For example, I was looking at some pictures a few days ago of a Christmas party we had about 3 years ago. I remember thinking, I am so fat, I don't want to look at those pics. When I looked at them the other day, I was surprised by thinking, WOW....I looked thin there.

In early 2004, I was in great shape and SHOULD HAVE BEEN at my goal...or should I rephrase that as SHOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT I WAS AT MY GOAL. Like I said, I was in great shape, could run circles around lots of folks, toned, fitting into clothes I liked and actually pleased with wearing a bathing suit to the beach. But guess what? I kept wanting to go lower. I look back at those pics now and think "Why can I never be pleased with myself?"

I had never fully understood when they say anorexic people can look at their bones in a mirror and only see fat. No, I am FAR from anorexic but I understand how they look at themselves now. It was so strange for me to remember looking at myself and my pics and thinking "FAT, FAT, FAT!!!!" and now to look back and think, "Wow, thin & toned " .

I don't have any answers or advise for this because I struggle with the same thing. I've never been pleased with my body, I wish I could be. If I reach a goal, I keep thinking I want to go lower; it backfires and then I just want to get back to where I was and I have to start over again.

Then I'll go through a phase where I think, to heck with it all...but that can either be bad or good. Sometimes it means I'll just eat healthy & exercise but not worry about whether or not I'm loosing weight.....Sometimes it means that I fall off the wagon......But the good thing (I suppose) is that I will eventually climb back on the wagon and head out again.

Nbox, I suppose I haven't answered your question very well but there are a whole lot of us in this world that have these or similar issues with our bodies. I suppose the most important thing is to never give up.....on yourself. (((HUGS))) to you.

Re the apples, pears and string beans...

I don't know why, but it seems there aren't many pears in this country. We have string beans and apples galore (not to mention muffin top girls and waistless wonders), but no pears. That's part of why I've somehow always felt "wrong" - I'm very pear-shaped. Makes me wonder about my genetic makeup (is there something you haven't told me, mommy??)

Anyway, today is a better day. I can't say I feel healthier or healthy as such, but some things have definitely improved. I was sitting in my chair at work and suddenly realized my rear doesn't get caught in the armrests when I sit down! That used to happen a lot. I have slightly more energy, my clothes are a looser fit, and yet I still feel I'm "me". And even if I don't always like myself, it's better to be someone I know and work with that.

I need to tell myself "Be healthy" instead of "Lose weight".

For me, measuring my weight is most effective when I either have goal pants or go shopping and can fit into smaller sizes.

I still have days of "I feel like a cow, MOOO", but I am also happier with my body and my looks than I have been in a long time.

I do know I do better when I wear things that are flattering. Maybe one thing you can do is list your assets. Find a pic of someone who is attractive who has the same body type as you.

I have an hourglass figure. In some ways, its hard to dress, being petite and curvy, and yes, I still have some jiggle, but now you can see the curves in a good way. I'm sexy. I feel sexy.

I think sometimes its just getting used to your skinnier body too. Maybe you could go out shopping? Try on a size you'd previously have worn, and see how much bigger it is. (This is actually why I would suggest that people keep one piece of clothing from when they were fat, so they can see and feel the difference). I can get both legs into the leg of a pair of jammies I wore when I was fat. I am literally half the size, and yet sometimes I can't feel it.

D, your body shape sounds a lot like mine, and at my skinniest I was supposedly still "too fat." So Denise, you may take some comfort in the fact that all my life, I've been wishing I looked like a string bean and been annoyed with my body shape for being "wrong" too.

I weigh 160 right now at 5'6" and that puts me in a 12. So I'm really fairly averaged-sized at what seems like a pretty high weight.

P.S. The last time I measured my waist, it was 32".

Here is an interesting web site.

Instead of the BMI chart and using a height/weight ratio to determine over-weight... this doctor uses a height/waist measurement ratio to determine overweight and obesity.

quote:

Originally posted by TriGirl:
I think that people with an hourglass shape might tend to weigh more than people with an apple shape and still look and feel good.

I think so. I was Google-ing photos of tummy tucks (not that I want one or anything).

This person’s “Before” photos (in the link above) look pretty much like my stomach does now with loose skin. I think that it is interesting that with her height and weight… her BMI is 25.8 and she is technically “overweight”. And I would kill for a waist like that.

My BMI is 22.3 (smack dab in the middle of the “healthy” range). The woman in this photo would have to lose 22 lbs to have the same BMI as I… but she looks fine, to me… She doesn’t look like she needs to lose weight to me. And I think her hourglass shape helps a LOT.

It is also our culture. Not too many people look at the figure on the left and think, “Ooooo!!! I want that figure!!!” although the two figures might be the same height and weight. Our cultural ideal is the figure on the right.



Not to mention... people with smaller waists don't have to read all the time about how dangerous their basic shape, which we can do nothing about, is to their health.

quote:

Just my opinion: I wonder how much body type interacts with this -- I think that people with an hourglass shape might tend to weigh more than people with an apple shape and still look and feel good.

I wish I knew. I have teeny wrists and ankles, so the whole "big-boned" thing was never an excuse. I do, however, have what might have been called in an earlier age "child-bearing" hips, and a bosom to match. And neither I, nor any of the women on my mom's side of the family, have ever been "slender." My grandmother is thin now, but that's because she finds it hard to eat as much as she'd like.

I like to think we're hardy stock. Farmgirls.