You know how when you are approaching a store you see your reflection in the door class? For a long time now, that reflection has looked alien to me; however, it’s finally happening. I’m finally beginning to recognize my own reflection in the glass.

The truth is, I’ve never really had a good idea of what size I am. For a long time, I would see someone on the street or in a store and would ask my son, “Am I the her size?” He would answer yes or no; but, looking back at photos from the Great Before, I have an idea that either he didn’t look at them or he just said what he thought I wanted to hear since I was much larger than I thought I was. Now, my family says that I am smaller than I think I am.

Part of the issue may be my shape. Some people are shaped like apples (which is really unfortunate for may reasons), some like hourglasses (we don’t like them), and some (like me) are more pear shaped. My upper body didn’t look all that big to me, but my lower body was taking up a whole lot of real estate.

The Apple People carry their excess weight almost exclusively around their middles. Their legs and perhaps even arms are surprisingly free of excess fat given what is around their abdomen. This means that pants that fit their waists will alway be super saggy in the rear.  Or, if they go with skinny jeans, the waistband of the jeans will have to fasten somewhere near their pubic bone. (I saw a woman dressed like this the other day. It was, let’s say, an unfortunate look and one I’m sure she wasn’t going for.) Apple People have more fat stored around internal organs, putting more stress on them.

Hourglass People would be more like Hourglass Women and V Men. Think Sofia Vergara and Shemar Moore – those are the kinds of people I’m talking about. We hate them on principle. Now, stop thinking about them and let’s get back to the subject at hand.

Seriously, stop it.

The Pear People carry their weight more in their hips and thighs. According to the Mayo Clinic, Pear People are less likely to have metabolic syndrome and have a lower risk for heart disease and for developing diabetes than Apple People. A study at UC Davis finds that having a lot of junk your trunk is just as bad for you has having it around your middle.  These studies are like any others in the world: they find what they are looking for, I think. Eggs are good for you or they are bad for you. Chocolate is good or bad. Red wine is good for you – that is all. The findings so often depend on who is funding the research. Regardless of who is signing the checks, all studies find that having excess body fat is detrimental to our health and we have to get it off. So, although it may not make a difference, if you want to know your fruity shape, find it by calculating your WHR or waist-to-hip ratio.

When we do shed that excess fat, we see new muscles, we get new clothes, new energy and a whole new reflection to greet us in the mirror. It’s takes some getting used to; but, it’s totally worth it.