Normal weight for a size 18 Woman.

mammamia811

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!!

ValerieMartini2Olives

I'm 223 pounds, 5'5'' and a size 16.

ThriceBlessed

I am in a size 18 and weigh around 220. I am only 5'4". Your height, muscle tone and water retention can affect your weight and size. It sounds like you are gaining a lot of muscle and so you are becoming more trim and fit even though the scales are not moving.Your pictures show a lot of progress. Hang in there. The scales will eventually start moving again.

You can't gain muscle on a deficit!!! JS

You can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

but not at a calorie deficit.

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.

seltzermint555

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.

bacitracin

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.

Sunshine2plus2

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!

nikkiofthelake

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!

jbee27

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.

parkscs

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.

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.

parkscs

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.

nytdreamer80

"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!!!

4daluvof_candice

I am in a size 18 and weigh around 220. I am only 5'4". Your height, muscle tone and water retention can affect your weight and size. It sounds like you are gaining a lot of muscle and so you are becoming more trim and fit even though the scales are not moving.Your pictures show a lot of progress. Hang in there. The scales will eventually start moving again.

You can't gain muscle on a deficit!!! JS

You can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

but not at a calorie deficit.

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.

^^^^^^^^^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)****

josiedahling

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!

RAREBIRDART

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.

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.

dawnrenee67

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".

terem00

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

Liss_Bee

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.

Nekton

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.

Runner5AbelTownship

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.

DebbieLyn63

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.