Help! Started pilates and my shape has become boxier! How can I reverse the effects?

I started doing pilates despite sites I'd visited that said pilates makes an hourglass shape boxier. After a month or two (doing 40 minutes of pilates 3 times a week), this is exactly what happened to my hourglass. I need to know how to reverse the effects... I read about muscle disuse atrophy and basically understood that if I stop pilates now, my abs should disappear.

However, I'm also on a diet and do cardio 3 times a week. Basically, I also read that doing cardio will help maintain that muscle mass which I don't want (because to maintain muscle mass you have to stay active, etc.). But some sites said that eating junk, being sedentary, etc. should undo any muscle I've built. So I plan on regaining weight (five pounds) once I reach my goal weight and being quite sedentary for a while to reverse the effects. Then relose the five pounds. Is this enough? I'll also be doing this over the course of about 2-4 months. Due to following an intense regimen of pilates, I built the "abs" somewhat fast, but I don't think they're that "developped". Is it possible for them to disappear just as quickly and completely? Or am I too far gone for it to go away as fast? I also heard that the longer you've had your current muscle mass (ex: abs), the longer it takes to go away.

My goal is not to counter the effects by adding other ab workouts. I just want these abs gone, plain and simple.

ummm, you want your abs gone???

Okay, I'll take this post at face value and try to adress each topic you mention:

Pilates will not make you bulkier. Personally I don't think it will make you much fitter either, but it certainly won't make you huge. If you think that you are bulking up in the midsection, the biggest culprit is excess fat, which can be dealt with through diet and exercise.  It is also possible that you have built up those "dreaded" abs underneath the fat layer and thus your waist looks a little bigger.  But that should be temporary anyway.

Cardio will not maintain muscle mass.  Yes, cardio is important to general fitness and can aid in weight loss.  But it will absolutely not build or maintain muscle. The only thing that builds and maintians muscle mass is weight training.  Why is the world do you not want more muscle?? I'm not talking about getting all huge and bulky...weight lifting will make you look sleek and raise your resting metabolism.  Why not??

In fact, why are you bothering to lose weight at all if you don't want to look better and be in better physical condition? Because that is exactly what " eating junk and being sedentary " will do to you.

So if I read your post right, you want to lose all your muscle and become a flabby and sedentary person with no strength and no abs (or any other muscle)? Is this correct?

First of all, people who say cardio will decrease or not maintain muscle are incorrect! Look at any sprinter's legs and...you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more muscular shaped leg.

Secondly, to the OP...what? You want to lose muscles you've built in your abs? Then stop working your core.

True.  Most people really mean "steady state endurance cardio" when they say cardio though.  And while sprinters may have killer legs, marathon runners tend to be less muscular.  So, it would be more accurate (but take longer) to say that steady state endurance cardio alone tends not to maintain muscle mass.

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

First of all, people who say cardio will decrease or not maintain muscle are incorrect! Look at any sprinter's legs and...you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more muscular shaped leg.

Secondly, to the OP...what? You want to lose muscles you've built in your abs? Then stop working your core.

Oh man, I definitely lost muscle this past summer from all my cardio. I lost 7lbs very quickly (like a month into my official 17 week marathon training), but my BF% stayed the same....which means I lost muscle :(

However, I started incorporating weights in late June, and I can already see so much more improvement. I've always had nice muscular shoulders, but they seriously disappeared with all my cardio. Glad to say I now have my nice shoulders back :) 

OP: I was like you a month ago - I hated my abs and wanted them gone because I thought I looked like a boy. It didn't help that I have really narrow hips, either. However, after going to the beach and seeing the alternative - soft, flabby abs - I decided to keep my muscular abs! I bet you look fantastic with your more muscular body. My little brother tells me all the time that the hottest celebrities are those with really toned bodies - Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel are two of his favorites. Muscle is good, and you're lucky to have defined abs! 

Original Post by susiecue:

True.  Most people really mean "steady state endurance cardio" when they say cardio though.  And while sprinters may have killer legs, marathon runners tend to be less muscular.  So, it would be more accurate (but take longer) to say that steady state endurance cardio alone tends not to maintain muscle mass.

 Nothing ''alone'' will maintain muscle! Even weight training needs proper nutrition. With the proper nutrition...and incorporating a well rounded exercise routine - including cardio!! - will give optimal health and fitness results, IMO.

EDIT: I posted the below link in another thread but I believe it would be beneficial to read in this thread, as well.

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_ article/training/the_cardio_secret

Yes, I want my abs gone. They're not killer, but I want the little I've developped gone. My goal is not to be sedentary. I do want to lose weight but only to be able to climb up the stairs at school and not be out of breath; basically, to be that much in shape. The only problem is I don't want abs period. It's weird to explain. I pretty much do jump rope and that's all I do to stay in shape. However, this time I added pilates and I don't like the results. I want to "start over" again in the sense that I want to go back to just having a flat stomach and no abs, but somewhat in shape (not out of breath climbing up the stairs, etc.).

But I have no idea how to reverse the effects completely. That's what I meant by regaining weight because I read on some sites regaining fat is the worst thing that can happen or not maintaining them are the worst things that can happen to abs or any other developped muscles. It's like a reverse psychology thing seeing as the info I found was for people who wanted to know how to maintain their muscle mass but I want to do the opposite. 

I just want to know if it's guaranteed my abs will disappear if I stop pilates (stop maintaining them) and just continue with cardio and my diet like usual? Or do I have to regain some weight (then turning the abs to fat) so I can rid myself of the abs once I try to relose that weight. And I was only planning on regaining 2-5 pounds. I definitely don't want to undo my hard work.

I don't hate my abs completely. I just feel like I built them the wrong way. I feel like I worked up my obliques too much to the expense of everything else. Like it would be nice to start from scratch because I might want to work my abs in a different way (not with home DVDs like I did this time) and get the look I want. I don't want a boxy look, I want a "tight" look I feel pilates botched.  And I checked out the people (ex: celebrities, friends who work out) who have the abs I like and their workouts usually incorporate weights, etc. I didn't use any weights whatsoever.

Try bellydance!

For some reason my last reply didn't work, so just go here:http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_get_an_h ourglass_figure

The simple answer to "how do you get an hourglass figure" is "be born with the right genetics".  Yes, it takes work if you start with those genetics, but it is impossible to make someone with an apple or pear (or banana or boxy) shape become an hourglass through any exercise program; that's simply not how their body will lose fat.  They can still look awesome though - and I'd believe that bellydance would help contribute to that.

Original Post by zhen_zethus101:

I don't hate my abs completely. I just feel like I built them the wrong way. I feel like I worked up my obliques too much to the expense of everything else. Like it would be nice to start from scratch because I might want to work my abs in a different way (not with home DVDs like I did this time) and get the look I want. I don't want a boxy look, I want a "tight" look I feel pilates botched.  And I checked out the people (ex: celebrities, friends who work out) who have the abs I like and their workouts usually incorporate weights, etc. I didn't use any weights whatsoever.

not to be sarcastic but how old are you again?