Weight loss and weight management: know your fruit

Hello friends, in this blog I explore how I lost 100 pounds in 2014 without drugs or gastric bypass and also how I maintain that weight loss. Losing weight is definitely gestalt: the whole process is greater than simple list of diet tips. Healthy weight maintenance is also a life-long affair. That's why this blog is in its 9th year and counting. Today's tip is to know your fruit, or body shape. 

Understanding body shape, not just body size, is crucial to weight loss. What is body shape? It's the unique structural design of your body, that differs from person to person. I'm not talking about "big-boned" vs "small-boned". That's a misnomer that gastric bypass patients on shows like "My 600-lb Life" often use. They will explain that their obesity is due being big-boned, which they claim is genetically inherited. Some people are taller statured and so can hold more weight and not appear overweight. But there's really no such things as larger vs. smaller bones. And it still wouldn't account for morbid obesity. 

Body shape is best explained in fruity terms: commonly, pear shaped and apple shaped. Pear shaped bodies (so coveted by us apple shapes) are curvier with larger hips and buttocks. Apple shaped are thicker around the middle with smaller buttocks and hips. There are also squash or hourglass figures with large hips and breasts and small waists. 

I've heard pear shaped say they covet our apple shape. Humph, not so sure about that. "I like big guts and I cannot lie" said no one ever. But I digress. The point with weight loss and body shape, is to know which kind you inhabit and therefore which of your body parts will be harder to lose weight in. I'm apple shaped and belly fat has always been a struggle even after I lost 100 pounds. When I weighed 109 pounds in college, belly fat was still an issue. Pear shaped will have trouble reducing in hips and buttocks.

Height is also an issue in weight loss. We short petite people can't gain a pound without appearing overweight. Taller people may actually be obese but it doesn't show as much. None of this should discourage us from losing weight if we need to. It is also not an excuse for obesity as so many on "My 600-lb Life" seem to think. Weight loss is doable regardless of body shape. In further blog posts, I'll discuss appropriate diet methods for body shape in upcoming posts. 

Keep your dial tuned here for more on how I lost 100 pounds, without gastric bypass.