When I was younger, I had a tendency to pear shapedness, but eventually as I got fatter, I got more and more apple shaped.
Now I’ve lost a stone, and my waist has suddenly reappeared (I wasn’t expecting it back until I’d lost another stone), and I am very definitely pear shaped, to the point of having saddlebags!

It’s well reported that pear shaped is healthier than apple, and that insulin imbalances cause more gain around the waist so I am wondering if this indicates that I have resolved potential/budding insulin issues? And by extension perhaps I need to change tactics somewhat . . . less fat?
I have found sites that are all about different body shapes needing different diets, but they don’t give much science to back them up, other than I have read elsewhere about diabetes and round shape.

I’m hardly an expert. I do know however, that putting on more weight round your hips over against your middle definitely does not cause so much pressure on your organs. That is what I tend to do, when I’m fatter its always further down! I wouldn’t necessarily say insulin issues were resolved if your BS readings were normal before you started as my relative is apple shaped and she has no insulin problems.

Ah, yes, visceral fat = very bad. In a nutshell, that’s why pear shape is better. Thanks 🙂

I didn’t officially/according to tests have any issues with BG, but as this diet has had greater effect on my middle, I suspect that it (the fat round my middle) was indeed due to too much carbs/insulin. I’m not about to start eating more carbs again though, that would just put back the fat I’ve lost.

I’ve done a bit more poking about on the internet, and found some better information, but mostly they’re just stating what I’ve already discovered; that “lower fat deposits are harder to shift”, not so much on how to shift it.
Livestrong does indeed suggest cutting down on fat, and another site I’d not previously come across suggests balancing eating with exercise, rather than the usual eat less exercise more (https://www.metaboliceffect.com/how-to-lose-stubborn-fat-belly-butt-hips-thighs/) as well as giving an in depth explanation of why low down fat is so hard to shift. And I keep bumping into articles that include sleep as one of the most important things for weight loss. I don’t get enough sleep, and carbs in moderation (50g or less), do seem to help so if cutting out loose fat (cream, butter and cooking oil) and eating more when exercising/less on lazy days, doesn’t start it shifting again, and I’m not sleeping any better, then I’ll pay more attention to getting 50g of carbs and what time is best to eat most of it.

For me, sticking to the BSD format and keeping carbs no higher than 30g daily, with protein and fat accounting for a large proportion of my intake has worked for me. I have traditionally been pear shaped and to some extent still am, but the excess fat around my hips has definitely dramatically reduced, I no longer have a muffin top, love handles, or saddlebags. For me, this was the last area for the fat to leave, with the waistline, stomach and midriff being the first to see major improvement.

It may not be the answer for you, but I would suggest giving it a bit longer, as you might well see improvements yet. Best of luck, Ancient Weaver.

Thanks SunnyB, that’s encouraging.
I’m definitely not shifting off BSD, just trying to tweak it so I start to lose my saddlebags.

Recently I tried eating 50g carbs, and it did improve my sleep a little, but I’m going back to my previous ‘no loose carbs’ (no predominately carbohydrate food without significant trace nutrients to justify it’s place in my digestive system) as that’s what worked before, and is easier to stick to than ’50g’ which needs weighing and nutrition information. I rarely had as much as 30g though and I had stalled with that method, which is partly why I was tinkering with carbs, but the stalling was probably due to eating too much cream/not counting enough calories for the amount that I ate, so that’s the next thing to try cutting down on. It will actually be easy to avoid while I’m away too.
I’ll only go back up to 50g carbs IF cutting down on fats doesn’t help. At least I’m maintaining the loss without going hungry at all.

Oops, looks like I forgot to press send after writing that.
In the meantime, cutting out cream and only eating according to appetite (plus a protein shake), I’ve dropped to the next mark on my scales. 🙂 Sleep was pretty weird though.