Size 12 vs Size 10?

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easily123
easily123 Posts: 5
in Motivation and Support
I'm writing from the UK, so the US equivalent would be "Size 8 vs Size 10" or maybe "Size 6 vs Size 8"?

Measurements of a UK size 12:
Bust - 36"
Waist - 29"
Hips - 39"

Measurements of a UK size 10:
Bust - 34"
Waist - 27"
Hips - 37"

I'm currently between a UK size 14 and 16 and I'm considering buying a bikini in either a size 10/12 as a way of solid, tangible motivation. Problem is I can't decide which size to aim for! My goal weight is 150lbs which is sort of on the heavier side of "Healthy Weight" in the charts, so I think I would be able to get down to a size 10 without dropping to an unhealthy weight for my height.

Additionally, can ANYONE really get down to that sort of size? Like could I get to a UK Size 8 if I even wanted to? Or does bone structure and genetics genuinely restrict how much weight some people can lose?

Thanks in advance for any responses! :happy:
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Replies

  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,631 Member
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    When do you intend wearing the bikini if you buy the smaller size? In how many weeks I mean?
  • easily123
    easily123 Posts: 5
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    DeeKayPea;

    However long it takes really! I aim to get down to a comfortable size 12 at least. And hopefully by around September, maybe August. I'm working my butt off in the gym so I'm anticipating that it wont take forever :)
  • jakkisr
    jakkisr Posts: 175 Member
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    Depends on your current size and inch measurements! I'm a UK 12/14 at 130lbs (I'm a standard size 12 really) - I went bikini shopping last week and was horrified to find that in some designer brands I couldn't even look good in XXL !!

    One step at a time - aim for that size 12, its a good achievable goal.

    Getting down to a size 8, its up to you - I did it 10 years ago through excessive exercise and strength training and thought I looked amazing at the time ... until I look back on the photos and see that I didn't at all, I just looked like a lollipop head.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,631 Member
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    DeeKayPea;

    However long it takes really! I aim to get down to a comfortable size 12 at least. And hopefully by around September, maybe August. I'm working my butt off in the gym so I'm anticipating that it wont take forever :)

    Right, the reason I am asking is because if you bought the smaller size and you didn't quite reach the weight you wanted by the time you came to wear the bikini, although you will be able to get into it, it may look slightly too tight and in turn, that makes you actually look bigger than you really are.

    I reckon you will easily reach it actually, Here's to your weightloss :drinker:
  • kri1977
    kri1977 Posts: 63 Member
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    mmmm

    I would actually go buy a bikini once you reach your weight goal as a celbration :)

    You do not really know how you will look at that point and in exactly which spots you will lose so you may end up buying something which does not look good in the end (even though you did reach your goal) and that would be really demotivating, right?

    K
  • tinak33
    tinak33 Posts: 9,883 Member
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    Depends on your current size and inch measurements! I'm a UK 12/14 at 130lbs (I'm a standard size 12 really) - I went bikini shopping last week and was horrified to find that in some designer brands I couldn't even look good in XXL !!

    One step at a time - aim for that size 12, its a good achievable goal.

    Getting down to a size 8, its up to you - I did it 10 years ago through excessive exercise and strength training and thought I looked amazing at the time ... until I look back on the photos and see that I didn't at all, I just looked like a lollipop head.


    LMAO @ "lollipop head"!!! :laugh: :laugh:
    Never heard that term before!



    To OP, sorry I can't help with sizes... My body is like 3 different sizes. :ohwell: Very frustrating....
    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • easily123
    easily123 Posts: 5
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    Depends on your current size and inch measurements! I'm a UK 12/14 at 130lbs (I'm a standard size 12 really) - I went bikini shopping last week and was horrified to find that in some designer brands I couldn't even look good in XXL !!

    One step at a time - aim for that size 12, its a good achievable goal.

    Getting down to a size 8, its up to you - I did it 10 years ago through excessive exercise and strength training and thought I looked amazing at the time ... until I look back on the photos and see that I didn't at all, I just looked like a lollipop head.

    Oh damn, sorry! hah but surely you look great in 12/14 bikinis? And oh that's odd.. My younger sister is like a Size 8/10 and I'm so jealous! She's a good height of 5'6" so that may be why she doesn't resemble a lollipop?
    So you're happier at size 12?
  • JessiBelleW
    JessiBelleW Posts: 821 Member
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    I say buy the 12. You may get there (to a size 12) and decide you want to go smaller, or you may get there and decide this is perfect. Either way you will have a nice bikini to wear and look and feel great it!

    I'm sort of having a similar delima. I'm trying to decide if I will still be a 14 by the end of the summer or if maybe I will have dropped to a 12. I don't wan to buy a bunch of UK swimsuits only to have them not fit come September!
  • Hellheels
    Hellheels Posts: 2
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    mmmm

    I would actually go buy a bikini once you reach your weight goal as a celbration :)

    You do not really know how you will look at that point and in exactly which spots you will lose so you may end up buying something which does not look good in the end (even though you did reach your goal) and that would be really demotivating, right?

    K
    Yeah I have to agree with this... Just wait I say but if you are going to do it then I would say go for a size 12 one step at a time and size 12 imo is smexy ;)
  • easily123
    easily123 Posts: 5
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    mmmm

    I would actually go buy a bikini once you reach your weight goal as a celbration :)

    You do not really know how you will look at that point and in exactly which spots you will lose so you may end up buying something which does not look good in the end (even though you did reach your goal) and that would be really demotivating, right?

    K

    I do see what you mean! Just, the way I had imagined it was that I'd have the bikini to at least have something real to look at every day and aspire to. You know, be able to wake up every morning and see it hung up in my room somewhere and the whole "HEALTHY HEALTHY HEALTHY DAMMIT" mood would be set for the day? Even if it didn't look amazing by the time I could fit into it properly, at least I would be able to go out and get a different one that did look good? Or no? You still stand by the suggestion that I save it as a congrats to myself?
  • mrsnecincy
    mrsnecincy Posts: 115 Member
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    You could buy cheap ones now in both sizes. I haven't thought about what weight I want to be but I think I'd be happier at a comfortable 12 rather than a 10. I do worry that a 10 would be a nightmare to maintain but that said if a 10 fit I'd be delighted. I've just got a lovely black and white polka dot tankini in a 14 and I don't feel gross in it I'm going to get the same one in a 12 too and I hope to be wearing in in a couple of months.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
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    go to primark
  • Delicate
    Delicate Posts: 625 Member
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    Get to a standard size 12 if your body allows it (you're unlikely to have exactly the same measurements as the 'standard' but everyones different

    Then judge from there if you want to go smaller
  • easily123
    easily123 Posts: 5
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    I say buy the 12. You may get there (to a size 12) and decide you want to go smaller, or you may get there and decide this is perfect. Either way you will have a nice bikini to wear and look and feel great it!

    I'm sort of having a similar delima. I'm trying to decide if I will still be a 14 by the end of the summer or if maybe I will have dropped to a 12. I don't wan to buy a bunch of UK swimsuits only to have them not fit come September!

    Thanks for your opinion :) what you said makes the most sense to me aswell, I'd just be annoyed if I got to fitting a size 12 bikini and then felt like I definitely wanted to get down to a size 10. Oh so have you found it takes a while to drop a dress size? Obviously I'd love to get down to a 12 ASAP but I don't want to end up with loose skin or anything like that.. Good luck with your bikini/swimsuit body though!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I'm a UK12 at 5'6 and 157lbs! I was the same size 10 years ago at 147lbs, only now I've had 2 kids and I do strength training.

    I'd like to be a 10 I think, and my goal is 145-150lbs, which puts me at about a BMI of 24 or just under. The dress I'm wearing in my profile pic is a size 10 from Miss Selfridge, but I am not really a size 10.

    I don't think you need to worry about sizes as such, just what you feel good in. Sizes vary from shop to shop anyway.

    As for bikinis, I got mine from Bravissimo. I was probably a size 14 when I got them, a small 14, and I looked fine. I bought them before I had kids though lol.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Hmmm. Firstly, all size 12s (or 10s) are not the same - they'lll vary from make to make.

    Secondly, you dont know what your body shape will be when you get to that size - you might find that a halter style top, or a shorts-style bottoms are the most flattering. I'm not a big fan of buying ANY motivational clothing for exactly this reason.

    And thirdly, it really is a great feeling going out shopping for clothes once you've reached a certain point. I'd hesitate to say a certain size, or a certain number on the scale - just when you know you're small enough to need new clothes.

    But if you want to do it - go ahead! But I wouldnt worry unduly about what size to go for.
  • mixedlollies
    mixedlollies Posts: 58 Member
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    My measurements are 34/27/34 and I'm a UK size 8 in most shops, so those specifications don't necessarily apply to everyone. As for whether it is possible for you to get to a size 8, it really depends on your height/build, but I was a size 14 six years ago so it can be done!
  • Izzwoz
    Izzwoz Posts: 348 Member
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    To be honest, I don't think I would bother trying to figure ... check this link out:

    http://sizes.darkgreener.com/

    It shows how hugely different sizes are, depending on the shop. With this sort of variation, my motivation has become "a size smaller than I used to wear" (I have, for the first time in my life, just bought a pair of jeans size 12) - but even that is not the ultimate be all and end all, as I am sure sizes will have been adjusted over the years.

    Also, it would depend on where you lose your weight as you move on ... I lost a lot on my waist to start with, now it's coming off from the hips and chest (well, back) ... So very tricky to aim for a particular size, I think!
  • missferoux
    missferoux Posts: 118 Member
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    Sizes are stupid.
    I was a size 16UK weighing 175lbs. Dropped to a 14 pretty quickly. I am now around 145lb (fluctuating between 142 - 146 as not concentrating due to upcoming wedding and can't afford to lose any!!)

    However, the point of my ramblings. I dropped from 12st7lbs to 10st2lbs. From Beginning of September to January/February.
    I bought:
    1 x Size 12 straight leg jeans - ASDA FIT PERFECT
    1 x Size 12 Straight leg jeans - New Look Too Small
    1 x Size 12 Skinny jeans - ASDA Too Small
    1 x Size 12 Miss Posh Flared Cords WAAAAYYYY TOO SMALL
    1 x Size 10 flared skater dress ASDA FIT PERFECT
    1 x Size 12 Flared skater dress PRIMARK FIT PERFECT
    1 x Size 12 Work Pants PRIMARK - FIT PERFECT

    So - some size 12s are perfect. a size 10 is perfect. some size 12s are a little tight. One size 12 doesn't even cover my *kitten*.

    Go figure! :explode:
  • mrsnecincy
    mrsnecincy Posts: 115 Member
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    I get mine from Primark too. They fit fine and I wear them every day. Getting them in different sizes means I can mix and match them. I think I'll be in size 14 bottoms longer than tops for example. But I agree about shop sizes. Last time I measured my waist I was 31" yet I have a denim skirt in a 12 from M&S that fits fine but I'm still an XL in Mango and Zara so I don't think the ideal of picking something off a peg in one size and it'll fit is ever going to happen no matter how much I weigh. I'm never buying a 16 again tough that's for sure!

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