Normal weight for a size 18 Woman.

245

Replies

  • Posts: 400 Member
    I think I understand your confusion. At first to read the stats I thought how could she be a size 18, but I'm guessing you must be pretty tall (cuz it looks like your weight distributes fairly even). I started out 250, size 18-20. I'm 5'7". Now at 202 I'm in size 14 regular (NOT plus, yay!), and I'm also evenly distributed weight-wise. So you just never know.

    You look good and have obviously dropped a good amount already. I'm sure the stall-out must be frustrating. Some others have made good suggestions about possibly upping the cals or trying some online calculators for your TDEE. Even at 202 I'm at 1650 on non-exercise days, maybe 1900-2000 on exercise days and I am still consistently losing each week 1-2 lbs. Good luck!
  • Posts: 10,740 Member
    When I was at my heaviest ever - 307 lb at 5'8" - I wore size 22 jeans and most 2X and 3X tops worked for me.

    4 years later I had exercised my little heart out (MILES of walking every week), was in the neighborhood of 270 and I still wore size 22 jeans and 2X and 3X tops!

    It took me getting to 250-ish before I could routinely buy size 20.

    When I got in the neighborhood of 230, 18 was perfect and 1X tops worked for me.

    Now I weigh 199 lb and have 14, 16, and 18 in my closet although the 18s will be on the way out really soon as they're getting baggy. I have noticed just in the last 5-10 lb that my 1X tops are too big and I'm buying XL, which is super weird to me because I can buy them in misses and juniors. Did not expect that this soon.
  • Posts: 586 Member
    For the record, you look great! :D

    I think it's probably variable to height. I'm 254 at 5'2", and I can get into some size 18 pants, depending on where they fit. I'm widest in the spare tire area, so size 18s that close at the hips aren't even close -- but ones that fit high on my waist, where I'm much leaner, do.

    I expect to be stuck at 20W for a while, lol.
  • Posts: 7,001 Member

    I'm no expert, but I believe if you a lot of weight to lose, and lift heavy weights, you can do both at some point.

    Nope. You can lose fat at the deficit, and use weigh training as a way to burn calories, but the muscles you will be seeing are the ones that were there under the fat. Muscle building requires a surplus of calories so there is material to build the muscle from.
  • Posts: 100 Member
    I think I understand your confusion. At first to read the stats I thought how could she be a size 18, but I'm guessing you must be pretty tall (cuz it looks like your weight distributes fairly even). I started out 250, size 18-20. I'm 5'7". Now at 202 I'm in size 14 regular (NOT plus, yay!), and I'm also evenly distributed weight-wise. So you just never know.

    You look good and have obviously dropped a good amount already. I'm sure the stall-out must be frustrating. Some others have made good suggestions about possibly upping the cals or trying some online calculators for your TDEE. Even at 202 I'm at 1650 on non-exercise days, maybe 1900-2000 on exercise days and I am still consistently losing each week 1-2 lbs. Good luck!

    I am 5'3". fairly short.

    Is it just possible to have a bigger structure?

    As far as the rest of the mentions -- I think I might seek help with a nutritionist -- Because when I started this last year, I was doing almost the same things I am doing now -- and I lost 30 lbs in the first month. And I continued to do it the rest of the year. Just plateaued. So, i think I will continue with what i"m doing and see help with a nutritionist and see what I should tweak and change to help with this change.

    Thank you all for your help.
  • Posts: 809 Member
    Well looking at your picture you know that whatever you are doing is working for you . I would just keep doing what your doing because weather its inches coming off or lbs on the scale going down , Its all good :) Sooner or later that scale will start to move again.
  • Posts: 1,759 Member
    I am a size 18 and weigh 233. I'm 5'7" and must say the sizing confuses me. I am 57 years old and when I was 18 years old I weighed 160 and wore a size 16. If I can wear an 18 at 233 I can't imagine what I will wear when I get down to 160! :happy:
  • Posts: 185 Member
    I'm 5'8 and I was a size 18 around 220-230 pounds.
  • Posts: 499 Member
    Your height, muscle tone, bone build, etc all determine your pants size, also your body shape. For example, a pear shaped person who keeps morst of their weight in their butt and thighs is going to wear a larger pair of pants than someone with a tendency to keep more weight higher up, such as in their belly, breasts, upper arms. Then there are those who kind of carry it all over, and are neither "top heavy" or "bottom heavy". It all effects the size of clothing. OTher things to consider are that some people like their clothes lose and comfortable, while some almost need a shoe horn to get into their jeans. If you ask one of the people who wear lose and comfy clothes what size they wear, and also ask one of those who seem to enjoy not breathing, even if their bodies are the same size its probably a safe bet that their clothing "size" is at least 2-4 sizes apart.
  • Posts: 74 Member
    My concern is that my scale hasn't moved in over 6 months for me. Inches have continued to drop - which is fine. I don't mind that. I'd like to see the scale move too, at some point. I vary 5 lbs give or take for the week. No big deal, as I know it’s probably water retention -- monthly… you know that type of thing. No big deal.

    I am a size 18. And I also average weight 285 lbs. (again give or take the 5 lbs) I always eat at a deficit. I manage to keep my calories at or around 1250 -- I work out. I don’t always eat the calories back (because I don’t know for sure how accurate they are. ) And I'm not hungry.

    My boyfriend and I joke around that I will be the “heaviest” 280 lbs size 8 around and probably should be contacting Guinness world records. ;) haha. What could it be?


    I'm guessing this is a US size 18 ?
    I'm a UK16 and 178lbs and I eat 1700 Dailey and run / weight train 2.5 hours 5x a week


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  • Posts: 15 Member
    I agree you are not eating enough....fuel your body ..you are doing fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!! what is your activity set to? mine i slightly active as I am stay at home mom..I work out 45-60 minutes 6 days a week....my net calories is usually 1300 calories.(meaning I eat 1600-1800 a day) .what does your net say daily? and when I was 205 (5ft8) I was sz 16... eat your biggestmeal mid day...lots of good snacks (fruits and veggies and protein) lots of water...MFP already figures out at a loss..so eat to ZERO remaining or maybe a few hundred to be safe...and I agree have some high days and low days..hope this helps!!
  • Posts: 3,024 Member
    I'm 223 pounds, 5'5'' and a size 16.
  • Posts: 499 Member

    I'm no expert, but I believe if you a lot of weight to lose, and lift heavy weights, you can do both at some point.

    Yes but don't expect anyone to every believe you if it hasn't happened to them personally. I've been blasted quite a bit for that claim, yet most of them will admit to the concept of "newbie gains", yet if you call that by a different name they assume you are lying.
  • Posts: 10,740 Member
    ChristianWife, Just saying, you are a very rude person.

    lmao at this for so many reasons. Not getting involved...It just sounds awesomely funny to me. Because of the username and the polite way you said it. Struck my funny bone twice.

    And its normal to weight almost 300 lbs, and be a size 18? I am losing inches, Im not looking for wise-*kitten*-ery one liners. Im looking for serious answer, Bully.

    I DO think it sounds a bit off to be size 18 at 280-285 lb. But I've also had others express surprise that I wore 22 jeans (every brand I tried) at 300 lb. Some at that weight wear 26 or 28+, and even 24s were kind of big on me then.

    How tall are you? This sounds rude/weird but do you have a bigger bum or fairly flat? These things could make a difference. Based on the right hand photo you posted, you look rather hourglass and similar to me at around 220-230, which is also when I wore an 18 exactly. But I have a very large round bum, so maybe that could be the difference, if you don't. As weird as that sounds to type it out.

    Also, could it be brands...or do you find that 18 works in most brands? I ask this because when I was heavier I always loved shopping at certain stores where 18/20 would fit me even though I was definitely more in the 22/24 range. And there was at least one brand of jeans that I could get into a 20 when I needed 22 in all others.
  • Posts: 921 Member
    You can't gain muscle on a deficit!!! JS

    Yes you can, albeit very slowly.

    OP, scales lie. Get a body tape and some calipers and measure your body fat percentage each week. Weight doesn't matter as much as your ratio of lean muscle mass to adipose tissue.

    If your clothing size is shrinking (losing inches), that's a reasonable assumption that you're reducing fat and gaining muscle. Don't listen to the haters, stay awesome. :D
  • Posts: 1,492 Member
    Everyone is different. I am currently 225 and a size 16. I lost 50pds last year and never changed out of a sz 18. It all varies on height and muscle tone! If you are wanting to lose more weight I suggest uping your calories a few more!
  • Have you talked to your doctor about your plateau? If so, did he or she check your thyroid. Most people that aren't losing underestimate the calories they are eating, but maybe your thyroid is not working properly.

    I see a big difference in your pictures by the way. Great work! :)
  • Posts: 356 Member
    I'm 5'9" and I was wearing a size 18 in trousers, and 16 in jeans when I was 225.

    I eat about 1500 cal/day and have been steadily losing for the past 6 months. I'm now at about 190 and I am wearing a size 14 trouser, and size 12 jean.

    If you are as strict about calorie counting and exercise as you say, I would consult a doctor. Calories in < calories out over that amount of time should have resulted in more lbs than it has.
  • Posts: 1,639 Member

    Nope. You can lose fat at the deficit, and use weigh training as a way to burn calories, but the muscles you will be seeing are the ones that were there under the fat. Muscle building requires a surplus of calories so there is material to build the muscle from.

    You repeat this so often as if it's dogma, but it's not. There are some demographics for which it's possible to lose fat while adding muscle, at least for a short period of time. I'm not trying to be rude, but if you did your reading beyond this forum, you'd realize that it's not impossible and that it does happen for some people at least for some period of time.
  • Posts: 1,639 Member
    Have you talked to your doctor about your plateau? If so, did he or she check your thyroid. Most people that aren't losing underestimate the calories they are eating, but maybe your thyroid is not working properly.

    I see a big difference in your pictures by the way. Great work! :)

    Agreed. If you've been plateau'd for 6 months, you're eating too many calories, but what constitutes "too many" varies from person to person. I would talk to your doctor to see if there's something else going on with your body. If he says everything checks out though, the answer is to cut your calories down (say ~200-300/day) and see how you do on that caloric intake for a month or so.
  • Posts: 123 Member
    "When I Was a size 18 I Weighed about 225 pounds. Now i am 189 and size 12-14. I am 5'5. I guess it depends on your shape ect. Keep it up! You look great!!!
  • Posts: 483 Member

    Nope. You can lose fat at the deficit, and use weigh training as a way to burn calories, but the muscles you will be seeing are the ones that were there under the fat. Muscle building requires a surplus of calories so there is material to build the muscle from.

    ^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^
    you already have muscle, a surplus is needed to build MORE muscle than you already have.
    ****In other words a deficit reveals muscles, surplus with heavy lifting bulks without the fat(or that much)****
  • Don't worry about what the scale says. If you look thinner (which you certainly do from the pictures) and your clothes are looser and you are losing inches, that is all that matters. I have always weighed MUCH more than I look. I am 5'6" and when I weighed 255 I was a size 20. I lost 90 pounds and went to 165 and I was a size 10. Technically 165 is still considered overweight for 5'6" but I had people tell me I looked like a size 6 and not 10! I could not get any lower than that no matter what I did. That is where I stayed for the longest time. People were shocked when I said my weight and size. I totally feel your pain though. It's so easy to get hung up on a number...the scale number, the size on the clothing. If you look good, feel good and are happy with that, that is all that matters!
  • Posts: 100 Member

    lmao at this for so many reasons. Not getting involved...It just sounds awesomely funny to me. Because of the username and the polite way you said it. Struck my funny bone twice.


    I DO think it sounds a bit off to be size 18 at 280-285 lb. But I've also had others express surprise that I wore 22 jeans (every brand I tried) at 300 lb. Some at that weight wear 26 or 28+, and even 24s were kind of big on me then.

    How tall are you? This sounds rude/weird but do you have a bigger bum or fairly flat? These things could make a difference. Based on the right hand photo you posted, you look rather hourglass and similar to me at around 220-230, which is also when I wore an 18 exactly. But I have a very large round bum, so maybe that could be the difference, if you don't. As weird as that sounds to type it out.

    Also, could it be brands...or do you find that 18 works in most brands? I ask this because when I was heavier I always loved shopping at certain stores where 18/20 would fit me even though I was definitely more in the 22/24 range. And there was at least one brand of jeans that I could get into a 20 when I needed 22 in all others.

    I do have a "rounder" type behind, but i dont have a gap between my behind and my back when i wear jeans, and i wear an 18 everywhere. If i buy jeans at walmart, Old navy, or Lane Bryant. i dont hate it. and i feel very lucky that I am an 18, when I read other sites i should be a 24/26.
  • Posts: 6 Member
    I was thinking the same thing. Try and weigh yourself on a different scale. I wear an between 16-18 depending on the brand and I weigh 204 and I am 5'2".
  • Posts: 176 Member
    You mentioned Old Navy
    I'm a size 4/6 in all brands EXCEPT OLD NAVY, I have to bump up to a size 10!!
    When I was 207lbs I was wearing size 15/16 but again not in Old Navy, that was like a size 20
  • Posts: 187 Member
    I never know what size I'm in. At 208 I was about a large 16 or an 18, now at 161 I'm 11/12 but they are really loose in the legs, so I could possibly get a 9/10? Also depends where I buy the clothes. I'm 5'1 so short too. My mom claims to be a size 7/8 and says she weighs in the 150's... I used to not believe her since I look so much smaller then her, but after hearing others stories here on differences in sizes I will allow her thoughts, lol! You can see a difference in your size, you must be doing something right. I agree your calorie intake is very small for your weight. I think at 208 I was eating 1500 or 1400 calories, and that was before exercise calories.
  • Posts: 8 Member
    This probably won't help you much because I am a bit of an outlier, but I am 6'0" and I wore a 24 at (approximately) 330-345, 22 at 300-330, 20 at 280-300, and 18 once I got below 280 (working my way back down there at the moment!)

    Also, for the muscle/fat question, I've lost about a pound of muscle for every 5 pounds of fat.
  • Posts: 243 Member
    I don't know if anyone has suggested this but there is a huge (no pun intended) difference between a size 18 and a 18W. I can fit a 18W no problem at 244 but have to be about 180 to fit a regular 18.
  • Posts: 2,654 Member
    When it comes to jeans, size doesn't mean squat. Due to vanity sizing, stretch jeans, different brands/stores etc, we can no longer know what our true jeans size is.
    At only 5'3" and 285 lbs, I find it hard to imagine that you could fit into a size 18, non stretch, non elastic waist jean.
    I am 5'6" and at my heaviest of 237, I had to have a size 22 in a non-stretch jean to get them buttoned. So I wore stretch pants mostly at that weight so I could say I was a size 18.

    A better way is to take your measurements. What is your hip and waist size?

    My hips are 39 now and I can wear a size 14, but only in stretch skinny jeans as my waist is still over 40 inches. But they are loose in the hips and thighs. I also am 180 lbs now. You are 3 inches shorter, and 100 lbs heavier and only 2 sizes larger?
    Are you CERTAIN you weigh that much? Because you don't look it in your pictures.

    Comparing the 2 pictures, you look like you lost your weight mostly from your upper waist area. (I am a bit jealous as I carry all my extra in my waist and am waiting for my belly to finally be gone!)
    But since you are losing it from there, and your hips don't look a whole lot smaller, I would think that you would be staying the same size in jeans, but losing scale weight.
    The fact that you are doing the opposite, is indeed baffling.

    However, my body does a weird thing where I lose scale weight first, without losing much inch-wise, then the scale stops for a while and my body starts shrinking. You may be doing the same thing.

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