Why is it that some have an apple shape- carrying most of their weight in the middle while others have a pear shape- most of the weight is in the hips, thighs and butt.
What’s really behind these shapes?
Apple shape- When the adrenal gland pumps out too much cortisol you will get fatter around the middle. Usually, people with this shape have a long history of stress in their life.
Apples have a propensity to put on belly fat, have round faces, rounded upper backs and possible thin legs. If you have this body shape most likely you have chronic or high stress so cutting calories and crazy exercise will not work for you. The reason being is that low calorie dieting and too much exercise puts stress on the body and stress is why you have the apple shape in the first place. When you have too much cortisol it will slow down your metabolism and add belly fat or increase your waist size. Basically, cortisol releases sugar into your body and when your body doesn’t use it for energy it will get stored as fat. When this occurs over and over again you get high blood sugar and insulin resistance.
If you have an apple shape you probably have inflammation, joint pain and/or back and neck pain and, at a higher risk for illness and disease such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
A few tips for Apples- Eat foods with low sugar- low glycemic, cut out all simple carbs, low impact exercise- walking and yoga, eat omega 3 fats, try to go to sleep by 10pm and don’t get up before 6 AM.
Pear Shape- carry most of their weight on their lower hips, tummy pooch, thighs and butt. This kind of fat is influenced by estrogen, otherwise known as estrogen dominance. It’s when the estrogen is not balanced with the other hormones. Heavy periods or irregular periods are a sign of Estrogen dominance in women. There are only a couple of ways to store excess estrogen in the body; we either produce too much of it on our own or it’s obtained from our environment or diet. Sadly, accruing and storing estrogen is not difficult. We are continually exposed to estrogen-like compounds in foods that have pesticides, herbicides and hormones. A lot of of these toxins are known to cause weight gain by boosting the production of added estrogen from our own fat cells.
If you have a Pear shape you will be at a higher risk for osteoporosis, gallstones, varicose veins, uterine fibroids, cysts, cervical dysplasia or endometriosis as well as breast, uterine and prostate cancer.
Some tips for Pears- eat high fiber foods, limit alcohol, take a probiotic, eat organic, no tofu, ditch all plastic, eat foods that are rich in phytoestrogens and get proper sleep.