People who tend to accumulate weight in the lower portion of the body have a pear-shaped appearance. According to Dr. Marie Savard, author and weight loss expert, people who are pear shaped tend to gain excess fat around the hips, thighs and butt. They're more susceptible to cellulite and varicose veins. While spot weight reduction is not a feasible option, there are various ways to prevent fat accumulation and even shed excess weight at the waist and under.
Spot Reduction Myth
If you've ever dedicated a few a hours to lunges, squats, situps and stair climbing exercises, your goal may have been to reduce the size of your hips, thighs and buttocks. Attempting to target and reduce fat, regardless of how intensely you challenge certain muscles, you will never be able to target one area for weight loss. The American College of Exercise fully stands behind findings of a 1980s University of Massachusetts investigation that found that 13 males who did vigorous abdominal exercises for 27 days saw a reduction in fat all over their body, not just in the area targeted by the exercises.
Low Fat Diet
Savard, who wrote the book "Apples & Pears: The Body Shape Solution for Weight Loss and Wellness," explains that your cells are drawn to fat and will continue storing fat as long as you introduce the macronutrient into your body. She suggests a combination low-fat diet along with resistance exercises most days of the week. Resistance exercise refers to routines that use your own weight, free weights or plate-loaded machines. Lunges and squats are a great way to tone lower-body muscles without any equipment. For weight loss, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests doing resistance exercises at least twice a week and cardio activities, such as brisk walking or biking, for 60 to 90 minutes, five days a week. Also, keep fat intake to a minimum. The Mayo Clinic suggests taking in less than 35 percent of fat from your total calorie intake and avoiding saturated and trans fats altogether. So if you're on a 2,000-calorie diet, you don't want to exceed 700 g of fat daily.
Calorie Restrictions
If you're like most Americans, you've tried dieting in the past, perhaps even multiple times. The trick, for some, is simply calorie restriction. In 2009, researchers who were part of the largest controlled study of weight-loss methods, found that people who restricted calories successfully lost more weight than people who went on a diet that restricts macronutrients, such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates. The results of the study were published in the "New England Journal of Medicine." Each plan cut 750 calories daily, but did not dip below the National Institutes of Health standards of consuming at least 1,200 calories day. Creating a daily 500-calorie deficit in your diet could lead to losing at least 1 lb. a week.
Commercial Diets
For some, it's just easier to come home from work and toss a prepared meal in the microwave, or read a book that plans your meals in advance, complete with grocery lists. If you have more faith that a science-backed commercial diet could chisel away at lower body weight quicker than if left to your own calorie calculator, consider the results from a 2005 "Journal of the American Medical Association" study that compared several popular commercial diets. After one year, volunteers lost 2.1 lbs. on Atkins, a low-carb plan; just over 7 lbs. on the Zone, a balanced macronutrient plan; nearly 6.6 lbs. Weight Watchers, a calorie-counting regimen; and 7.2 lbs. on Ornish, which strictly discourages fat, refined carbs and animal products.
References
- CBSNews.com: Are You a Pear or an Apple?; February 11, 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with These Nutrition Guidelines: Fat; February 2011
- "The New York Times"; Study Zeroes in on Calories, Not Diet, For Loss; February 2009
- MedlinePlus: Tips for Losing Weight
- ACE: Why is the Concept of Spot Reduction Considered a Myth? Jan/Feb 2004
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk; Michael Danzinger; 2005
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