Apple Shaped Women...

Okay so i most definitely have an apple shaped body, and am only 5'0. I hate it. My gut is so huge it looks like i'm pregnant. I have a waist size of about 36 inches. Does anyone struggle with being an apple shape as well?

Also, Do any of you have trouble findings clothes that fit, especially pants?

Whenever i try to buy jeans, there are ALWAYS too long. And when i go to a smaller size, the waist is too tight and i have an extreme muffin top : /

No, I don't, but I do suffer from pear shape..   :)   I'll never have nice legs. 

Jean shopping can be tough.  Most guys have it easy- no butt.  Anyhow, I wish I could give you some advice but alas.  There was this one store I went to where the legs were too skinny but the waist was bigger- probably better for an apple body.  I can't recall the name but it's the store where Sarah Jessica Parker sells her stuff, and it sounds like a guy's name.

i have an apple shape.  i cant remember the last time i didnt have muffin top.  its almost like i have to make a choice.  either my pants are going to fit in the waist, and be extremely baggy on my legs or im going to have muffin top and have the pants fit my legs.  i cant ever find clothes that fit.  everything looks stupid, feels stupid, etc...

apple shape is the worst of them all for sure.

I struggle with it too.  I don't have a muffin top because I make sure the pants fit in the waist, but I DO have really loose pants around my butt and thighs.  People always make comments to me about how I should buy pants that fit - I totally would if it were possible with this body!  Grr - the apple shape sucks!

Have you ever tried taking pants that fit you at your waist to a tailor?  Some alterations are really inexpensive but can make a huge difference.

I am an apple shape and I find the low rise stretch jeans are the best and cheap.  Make sure the waist band is extra stretchy, and I also find if you wear a tight fitting camisole under your shirt of choice it helps minimize the muffin top.  Hope this helps,  I know first hand how much it sucks. : )

Have you tried mens jeans?  I like them because they are straight no small waist filling out at the hips. 

The Right Fit pants are pretty nice. I am a total apple. all gut and no butt. The Right Fit yellow are designed specifically for that body type and I think they come in a shorter inseam too. They are about $40 at Lane Bryant but I think Fashion Bug carries them now for cheaper. You just have to get used to wearing your pants a little higher. It feels weird at first but you get used to it and it totally hides the muffin top and for me wearing wearing my jeans higher gave me more of a butt too.

...and the boots with the Furrr

I used to have a muffin top but I found the sollution.  Its called the 5 tibetans.  A series of 5 excercises that have really made a difference in my waistline.  They only take about 10 minutes to do and I do them every morning when I get out of bed. They get my body moving in a gentle way and they warm me up and energize me better than any coffee will ever do.  You can find them just by googling 5 tibetans, there are several sites that explain them with diagrams and even videos of how to do them.  They are not an instant cure.  I started doing them for all the other benefits they give like energizing and making you feel younger but as an unexpected bonus I now have a flat belly when I used to be a total apple shape. 

I have this problem as well....being an apple shape sucks!

Somebody mentioned low rise stretch jeans..I'd have to agree with them, That's all I wear...and they work (hopefully I'll get rid of this belly soon tho!)

serendipity i'm kinda skeptical....how long after doing these exercises did u notice a flat stomach? And u mean doing them along with regular exercise right?

Ok no exercise is going to redistribute where your body wants to hold fat so no amount of tibetans or whatever is going to change that.

You got one option here: Lose weight and get yourself to some weights.

I am firmly entrenched in apple territory and have tried every imaginable way to not be one. All cardio and dieting makes you a lower case "b" with stick legs.  You're all stick figured limbs with a rounded middle. This was at 115lbs and 5'7". If I had been doing weights, I wouldn't have had that lovely skinny fat look even at that low of a weight.

A good, all over weight routine with the correct diet and cardio when I have time have been the BEST and most proven solution. I'll never be one of those tiny waisted people because I'm built like a damn man. I'm over that. Work with whatcha got. My hips and thighs are very slim at least!

Damn you apple shaped parents. Both of them but my sister the biatch got that pear shape out of the blue. I'm still trying to convice her she was adopted but that story stopped working after she was about 8.

Well, all I can tell you is what happened to me. I started doing those excercises for the other benefits they extoll namely rejuvenation and energizing.  I wasn't really looking to lose weight or dieting, I just liked the way these excercises may me feel in the morning. After a while, I noticed that my tummy was getting flatter.  All my life I have done many kinds of excercises I studied ballet for 4 years, I run, swim and bike, step aerobics, belly dancing and yoga.  I am pretty muscular but I've always had this tire around my waist.  Well, after doing the 5 tibetans for a while, (6 months maybe) on a regular basis, I noticed a flattness in my middle that I had never noticed before.  That was 2 years ago.  Last year I put on a few pounds and that is why I'm counting calories now, but guess what, my tummy is still not pouching out like it used to.  I can still see the muscles in my lower abdomen despite the extra 15 pounds I'm carrying.  Give them a try.  I could talk all day about how great they make you feel but unless you try them you will never know for yourself. 

OK, y'all I just had an idea.  Why don't we do a little test to see if these work?

Who wants to give this a try? It takes ten minues of your time to do them.  You could do them as a warm up to other excercise routines you may be doing.  Personally I do them in the morning just after I get out of bed.  I save my other excercise for the afternoon and on days that I don't do other excercise, at least I've done my 5 tibetans.  They are part of my morning routine. 

http://www.lifeevents.org/5-tibetans-energy-r ejuvenation-exercises.htm

I agree that they probably won't change an apple to a pear but they might change a granny smith to a red delicious.  They certainly strenghthen and elongate the abdominal muscles thereby improving your posture.  When you are better able to separate your rib cage from your hips the middle can't help but become thinner.

Icrachel!  I have worn mens pants forever.  I have no waist.  If the ladies pants fit in the waist then they are huge in the legs.  I don't want muffin top, but I also don't want tree trunks either.  I guess I'm lucky that I am a seamstress and can make anything fit me.   

To all others, it might cost you more money, but take your ill fitting clothing to a professional.  Some people balk at the prices, but I want to get paid correctly for my "experience" as does your mechanic.  If I hear one more time "it's only sewing" I think I will scream.  While I might not have 15 years of schooling and a PHd behind my name, or a Certificate of whatever,  I have the 35+ years of hands on experience that can make your old dumpy (or ill fitting) clothes come back to life again.  I've also heard that "I can buy a new one for that price", then by all means, go buy it!  Don't waste my time! 

I have some men's jeans. The low rise ones fit really well, but they um, look like men's jeans with the giant, widely spaced pockets. All my women's jeans won't stay on without a belt.

I always forget about using a tailor which is dumb. We have a decent one that doesn't charge much right down the street. How easy is it to tailor jeans, mommakitty?

I'm an apple and same height as you - plus 1/2inch! I wear low waist stretch pants too and longer tops to hide the muffin roll.

Has anyone tried those shaping underwear - the one that look hideous but are meant to help "hold it in". I haven't tried them and wondered if they were comfortable?

They're not uncomfortable, but IMO they're only worth it if you're dressing up.  I wouldn't wear them every day.

Original Post by bigtum:

Has anyone tried those shaping underwear - the one that look hideous but are meant to help "hold it in". I haven't tried them and wondered if they were comfortable?

 Definitely helps under clingy dresses and stuff but like already mentioned, I'd die wearing them all the time.

Also, from personal experience, it's really embarrassing when your  husband walks in while you're trying to stuff yourself into this rubber tubing thing