Janexxx

Hi!
What a great forum! I hope some of you might be able to help me with some of my thoughts on bodybuilding. I have lots of questions to ask, and I'm not really sure where to begin, but I guess I'll start from the beginning (...that's a very good place to begin!!!)
I am a 25 year old, slightly overweight (by about a stone, I reckon), female. Despite my extra stone, I like my general figure as I am quite curvy (my waist is 26 inches, my bust 44 inches, my hips... nothing to brag about - FAT!!!). My extra weight seems to be on my thighs (mostly), belly and arms.
A couple of months ago I bought 'Hard Bodies' and 'Hard Bodies Express Workout', both by Gladys Portugues, from a second-hand book shop. I found them really inspiring as having spent over ten years trying to lose my extra stone by depriving my body of food (even exercise has always been a case of wanting to 'burn off' my body, rather than add 'good' to it), this seemed like completely the opposite ~ doing something positive for my body instead.
I have never been very impressed by the figures I am supposed to envy in women's magazines ~ I don't want to be thin, and with my natural figure I never could be. I have therefore never really felt 'happy' when following the types of diets and fitness regimes aimed at women ~ I could almost feel my body sagging like a deflated balloon when on these regimes.
What I want to know is this... If done correctly, could bodybuilding help me accentuate my figure, tightening my waist, lifting my boobs, etc, helping to give me a figure more like Sophia Loren, rather than the muscular figures usually associated with female bodybuilders?
I guess I'm trying to find the 'inbetween' ~ I like my soft body and want to keep my woman's shape, but I do need to lose a little weight (or rearrange it!), and if I could increase my woman's shape at the same time, that would be great!
I hope I don't sound too confused (the truth is, I am!), but I have heard so many women say "Ooh! I don't want to look like Arnie!", whenever using weights is suggested ~ I've always laughed at them, but I suppose I can't help wondering now if I may spoil the figure I have/want by bodybuilding.
I'll leave it there for now (I have lots more questions but I don't want to bore you with all of them at once!!!). Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!