Skewed perception of what your weight should be...

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babscan73
babscan73 Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've noticed over many friends on FP there is a great deal of focus on the number on the scale, but not necessarily the size of the clothes you are wearing. I've been many different shapes and sizes throughout my life. I'm 5'6" and when I was in my early 20s was in a size 8 when I was 140 lbs. Now I am currently in a size 10 at 153lbs. So the question is, should my goal really be lower than 140 lbs if I want to be in a size 6 or is it possible to get there even though the scale doesn't go past 140?

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  • gwenr
    gwenr Posts: 139 Member
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    Clothing sizing is so arbitrary and completely varies from brand to brand. Not only that, vanity sizing has increased (I'm guessing you were born in 1973, so that would make you 39 or so) since you were in your 20's. Just set a goal and see what size you're wearing when you get there.
  • babscan73
    babscan73 Posts: 18 Member
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    So true! Not like I ever saw a size 0 when I was in my 20s! Size 4 was about as small as they would come.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    I have such a hard time with this myself... my "goal" is arbitrary, and I know it will change the closer I get... really I think when I look in the mirror and am happy with what I see is when I will stop.

    I have no idea if my "goal" will even be close to accurate (weight or size wise). Right now I'm aiming for a size 10, like 145-150 pounds.... will this be correct? I have no clue!
  • babscan73
    babscan73 Posts: 18 Member
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    145 is my current goal...and yes, it may change when I actually get there. Good luck!
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
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    I'm 60 yrs old and way the same that I did when I got married at 23. I think the size I wear now may be smaller.....but I really have no idea what size I wore then.
  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
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    my goal is only to lose another 5-10lbs.. I am focusing on loosing body fat and inches. :)

    I am more concerned with the body fat and inches.. I am not too concerned with the scale anymore!
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
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    My ideal weight is six pack abs.

    Seriously, weight is just a number. How you feel and how you wear the weight is much more important.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    use the mirror as your goal then
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I just manage my BF% and aim for a particular body composition. I could give a rats *kitten* what size my clothes are or what some number on the scale is. I care about being at a healthy BF% and having a fitness body.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    Nope. The scale doesn't really have much correlation to what size you will be. It all depends on the type of activity your doing. Someone weight lifting and some one only doing cardio can weigh the same but the person doing weight lifting will fit into a smaller clothing size.
  • Isakizza
    Isakizza Posts: 754 Member
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    I see your point.

    I do depend on the scale still, it gives me the "overall" idea of how I'm progressing. However... In the last 6 months I've really learned to really look at my body and how it's changing. The way my clothes fit, body composition/BF% and inches is what really counts for me.

    I may not reach my "goal weight" but if I look fabulous and fit, I could care less. :wink:

    21525558.png
  • titianwasp
    titianwasp Posts: 139 Member
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    Skewed is an understatement. At 5'8 and 117 as a runway model, I was short and fat.

    Go by bodyfat %, or the mirror. There are also plenty of sites (some better than others) that can give you the "healthy" range, the "ideal" range, or BMI (which, should be caveated for weight lifters and similar).
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    My goal was to just get back in my favorite size 8 jeans. I liked how I looked when I wore them and my weight was in the "healthy range". But when I got to goal, I weighed 7 lbs more than the last time I wore them. *shrug*

    I was happy with my victory, though I would still like to drop these last few lbs. They are being quite stubborn. :grumble:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    clothes sizes do vary a lot per brand, and theres no question that sizing has changed over the last 20/30 yrs to help make us feel 'better' I would hazard a guess at a society who are all getting larger?
    I wish I'd kept a catalogue from years ago showing the measurements for the sizes, I am pretty sure what was once size 10 measurements is now the measurements for a size 8. I say this because when I was two stone lighter alllllll those years ago I was always a UK 12....fast forward 20+ years and I'm now a UK 10!

    anyway I was digressing there a bit lol....we go by the measuring tape, and the mirror...I wish I could say I go by the scales too, but they don't play ball with me at all these days!

    You also have to consider each of us are different shapes, that factors in the sizing too.

    I'm not sure we'll ever be totally happy with our shape, we've been bombarded with media pictures of thin girls for years and whilst I don't want to be thin theres a part of me feels that I wont look right until I get that bit more slimmer than I am right now...
    SIGHHHHH lol
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
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    It depends on how you are losing the weight and if you are working on body recomposition. I am 5'6 and have been within 3lbs of my maintenance weight for around 6 months, but I also added in a great deal of weights and ab work and although I am now 131 instead of 134, I went from a size 8/9 down to a 5/6. With vanity sizing I can fit the cut in some 4s, but I don't go by that number as being what I wear. So in my case, no the scale does not define the size.
  • CantStopWontStop92
    CantStopWontStop92 Posts: 165 Member
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    Honestly I think going by sizes is far more skewed than a number on the scale. But that's just me perhaps :flowerforyou: This has already been stated but for real, go off of how you feel and the mirror! At the end of the day, no one but you knows what size jeans those are. But they will know how well you fit into them!

    Just some perspective, so I am 5'6'' and am incredibly grateful for having always been thin. Just about every pair of pants I've ever bought have been a size 0. However when I went to H&M this weekend, I finally gave up trying on a certain style as I couldn't even get a size 8 up and over my hips. So ladies, don't tear yourself down over the numbers! If you feel good, then you're on the right track:)
  • babscan73
    babscan73 Posts: 18 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback everyone. It definitely is food for thought. The media has played its devil cards for sure having placed into our subconscious what is acceptable in our society. Soon as I figure out the body fat thing, I will probably go towards that...and yes, as long as I'm happy with what the mirror has to show me, all is good in my world.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    If you want to get smaller without losing weight - and it's possible - you'll need to do body recompositioning. Build muscle (& fat), then lose fat in cycles until you're where you want to be. I understand it's a very slow process but certainly doable.

    BTW - there were definitely size 0's in the US even 35-40 years ago. I think I'm your age - within a year or two, anyway, - and I was a size 0 for a very, VERY brief time in high school. My mother wore a size 0 wedding dress and had it taken in several inches. She was seriously thin and would have fit the 0 anyway, but she got food poisoning a week and a half before her wedding and dropped inches everywhere. :sick:

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