Pear shaped people - help

[peachsmuggler]

Have recently lost weight. Have always been bigger on the bottom half than top but now getting to the point where I feel scrawny on top but still kind of heavy on the bottom. I'd say I carry most of my weight on my hips and thigs.

If I keep losing weight, will it come off the bottom, or will I continue to lose off the top too. Anyone any experience of this?

I am in the same boat as you! I am size 12 on top which I am fairly content with but my thighs and my hips are huge by comparison. I am trying dieting and swimming using mainly my legs to power me through the water if that makes sense. It's early days yet, have lost a couple of lbs but not noticable where it's from yet obviously. I am interested to see if anyone comes up with any good tips!

I'm similar to, so will be watching this thread for solutions to try

I know I am overweight, but am a size 12 /14 on top, have a size 14 waist but have to go up a waist size in a lot of clothing because I carry all my weight on my abdomen and hips.

It also means that I often have to buy tops that are bigger, to hide the "bump", but it means they gape at the top.

Yes, am starting to think might have to do some intensive "working out" on bottom half. I run now which has certainly helped the muscles in my legs but they still have loads of fat on them, which doesn't seem to dissappear at the same rate as it does on my top half.

I think maybe weights would help turn the fat into muscle but who the hell wants to spend hours in the gym??! I am continuing to do normal leg streches and general toning stuff that I found instructions to oof the web. The lags and bum are apparently notoriously hard places to shift the weight from but the good news is that it's the safest place to carry fat in terms of risk of heart problems and diabetes etc. Not much help though!

As a fellow pear when I last went on a diet I lost loads of my top half. I found varying the excercise helped to tone up the bottom half. I would recommend a bums, legs and tums exercise class - usually found at local council rec centres. Also lots of walking, cycling and circuits help.

good point smiley.

I'm a pear and have recently lost baby weight. I found that as well as cycling, walking etc to burn fat off thighs, I use weights for arms and shoulder in order to increase muscle on them. This has broadened my top half to balance out the pear, without my gaining fat. Definitely helped me.

I was reading a really good website last week (can't remember what it was called but I googled large thighs or something)and a woman had asked the same question. The website woman replied that once your body had burnt off the fat calories from the top half, then the fat from your bum/hips/thighs would be next. She said if there's fat there, it will go eventually but a lot of dieters didn't carry on the helathy eating & exercise for that long so always assumed it was because they carried weight on their bums/legs. If they carried on for a couple more months, it would all shift.
Have you tried heat wrap treatment for thighs/bum - the heat is supposed to speed up fat burning process.

Have been doing weights for upper body pippin but never thought about it evening me out, so that's a good idea.

lucie - Ahhh, that's kind of what I needed to know. My worry is that I won't have a scrap of fat left on the top half before the bottom half starts losing fat, but I guess I have already lost fat on the bottom half, just not as much as I thought I would so hopefully if I keep going for a bit it will go, combined with lots of toning stuff.

Wrap treatment sounds expensive - Is it?

don't think it would be too bad but you could have a couple.
I saw a programme (might have been Gok's) about a new piece of equipment that you lie in and it warms up your bum and thighs a lot more quickly than if you were exercising and therefore, the fat bruns more quickly.

Oooh that sounds good. Will look into it!

obviously fat doesn't 'brun'......but burns!

I agree as a fellow Pear that the fat will go mostly from your top half before starting on the bottom.

Put another way, you're halfway there - well done!! Keep going!

I would say walking is best for reducing bums/legs as it tones without muscle building like cycling and cross-training does.

If you can get to a gym then a running machine set to walking speed is good especially when combined with a slight incline.

The best IMO is the treadmaster machines - they don't feel like major hard work and can burn 300 calories in 20 mins, largely by working out your bottom half.

PS you have inspired me to join an online slimming club RIGHT NOW

mmm is the treadmaster the stairclimber one?

BTW, I use foodfocus.co.uk, which isn't a club but is a free calorie counter and it's been great.

Good luck!

Hi, it's not a step machine or cross trainer, it's more like a walking machine on an incline but the floor panel has been split down the middle so its like you're walking on two giant parallel steps IYSWIM. You can alter the pace and pressure of your pace to burn more calories.

It works you out like you're climbing uphill at quite a pace, but it doesn't feel as hard as that - which is why there is always a queue for them at our gym and some stay on a lot longer than the 20 mins timer ...

Gotcha, know the one you mena.