Shape

I wrote a simpler post about body types in March.  Do you know how much fat you're carrying, compared to how much muscle?  The more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body burns.

Do you know where you tend to gain weight -- upper body, lower body, or around the middle?  Understanding your body is the first step to reaching your best shape.  Shapes are personal and go beyond the usual apple and pear.  Women can have three typical body shapes -- upper body fat, lower body fat, and upper and lower body fat.  Men usually only get upper body fat.

Hip to Waist Ratio Calculator to determine if you are an apple or a pear shape.

What Your Shape Means: Upper You carry fat in your upper body: face, neck, chest and waist. Includes women and almost all men. Upper-body fat is usually caused by diet and lack of exercise. Fat around the abdomen, narrow hips, larger breasts, and a relatively large waist; due to having higher androgen levels. Fat around the waist usually means that there is also internal fat (visceral fat surrounding the organs), which may cause serious health problems. Internal fat decreases insulin sensativity, raises blood pressure, and decreases levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, contributes to chronic inflammation and increase in blood sugar insulin.  These are key indicators of heart disease risk (heart attack, hardening of the arteries) and diabetes risk and breast cancer risk.  They are more likely to have anxiety, depression, menstrual irregularities, and fertility problems. Reducing internal fat can dramatically improve your health.   Cutting calories alone will not eliminate upper body fat. To lose this weight, remodel your percentage of lean body mass with calorie management, protein and exercise. The upper body stores fat in times of stress and some people can lose and gain weight rapidly in the upper body.  In times of stress the "fight or flight" mechanism of the body releases the hormone cortisol and stores this fat and glucose gland close to the liver where it can quickly convert the chemicals and hormones into energy. Women with more upper body fat tend to have more muscle than women with lower body fat.   A low carbohydrate program is recommended, with more protein in the diet to help control hunger, and high fiber to slow digestion of sugars and lower insulin and choleterol levels. Aerobic exercise for 15-30 minutes before breakfast is important to use more fat.  Then wait until you are hungry and eat a high protein, low carbohydrate breakfast to replenish muscle tissue.  Avoid snacking between meals because this raises  the insulin level and reduces the fat burning hormones. The medical benefits of losing upper body fat are great than losing lower body fat.  Losing weight around your neck, face, chest, and waist usually goes along with losing fat on the inside as well.  So as you look better, you are also improving your health tremendously. Lower You carry fat in your lower body: hips and thighs. Predominately women. Lower-body fat is partially inherited, partially a result of diet. Fat around the hips, thighs and buttocks, a smaller upper body and breasts, and a heavier lower body. This type of fat does not cause specific health problems. More susceptible to osteoporosis, cellulite and varicose veins, and eating disorders due to body image problems caused by unrealistic pressure by popular culture's obsession with rail-thin women. Cutting calories and increasing exercise may not be sufficient to reduce lower-body fat. Eat more protein and include lower-body exercises in your workout. The lower body fat in women responds to female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone and stores fat for breastfeeding a newborn baby. Losing weight is harder if you have lower body fat rather than upper body fat.  Resistence training will strengthen bones. Due to low metabolism, many women with lower body fat can't lose weight just by cutting calories.  These lower body fat cells are resistent to both exercise and diet.   A low fat program is recommended while making sure you get enough protein to control cravings and build or maintain lean muscle. Proportional When you put on weight, it is spread proportionately throughout your body. You may not notice weight gain because it’s spread throughout. Suggest overall body conditioning. Women who have both upper and lower body fat will lose their upper body fat first. A pear shape can turn into an apple shape due to weight gain, this is the hourglass shape; but can lose weight and return to the pear shape. Finally, there are two more body shapes to consider:  the shape you can chnage and the shape you can't change.  It is important to know the difference and work on the shape you can change, while adjusting your wardrobe and attitudes to the shape you cannot change. Remember you need a certain amount of fat for good health.  It stores energy your muscles need and serves as your body's shock absorber.  Too little body fat can be as unhealthy as too much.