Weight loss and dress size changes

It varies depending on weight, height, and body type. I think the average is about 10-15 pounds, though. If you can't fit into it by then, congratulate yourself on how much you've lost anyway.

It has taken me 35-40 lbs to go down two sizes (down from a 16 to a 12). I'm sure your body frame and height can affect those things as well. I am 5'7" and have large hips and thighs, so some size 12 pants fit me well and others are too tight, depending on the manufacturer. I just bought a Banana Republic dress in a size 12, and I currently weigh 175. My weight when I was a size 16 was 210-215.

It depends. Most recently, I lost 0 lbs, 0 inches but went down a dress size. The store changed their sizing. So really... weight and dress size isn't 100% correlated. More like 50%.

It was about 10 lbs. for me.

I've also found that the target demographic for clothes affects the sizing. I have bought t-shirts from the university bookstore and needed to get size XL when I am wearing M in tops from places from Lands' End. The former is targeted more at college age people while the latter is more for people a bit older than college age. Maybe the college sizing is juniors? I don't know. I always think of juniors as high school clothes.

Kalikel wrote: »

Depends on how fat you are when you begin losing. The higher plus sizes have a lot more room built into them, so you have to lose more pounds for each size. As the sizes get smaller, there is less room for fat. (I actually think this is part of the reason some people don't realize how big they're getting - the clothes keep them in the same size even when they gain.)

I went though 24. 22 and 20 in about the same amount of time as the next few sizes, but I had to lose a lot more weight to click down those sizes than I did for 18 and 16. I lost weight a lot faster when I was 250 than I do at 175.

I have a couple in 14, but I'm really trying to skip 14 and go to 12. Lots of belting and clothes that are too big, but I'm so tired of paying for new wardrobes constantly and then having to say goodbye to things I liked. I'd like to skip 14, lol.

Lol. Yeah, screw 14. You can skip it.

I'm 5'2" and fluctuate up and down between an all time high of 160 down to an all time low of 121 and I find that I typically go down a size in pants about every 8-10 pounds or so. For me, dresses are more flexible in that I can wear dresses and skirts that are 1-2 sizes bigger or smaller than my current pants size without looking like I'm wearing the wrong size (vs. how clownish pants that are the wrong size look).

With that said, though, I agree with other posters that your body shape probably has a lot to do with it. I have an hourglass shape that tends to be late in the hour when I'm carrying extra weight ;-). I don't carry much weight in my tummy, which helps dresses fit better than pants.

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

VeryKatie wrote: »

It depends. Most recently, I lost 0 lbs, 0 inches but went down a dress size. The store changed their sizing. So really... weight and dress size isn't 100% correlated. More like 50%.

Hilarious!!!!! I find a lot of fluctuation between brands and even within some brands. :-)

So true. I tried department store 6's that I was swimming in. A better quality, well made 6 was fine.

For me it was about 10 lbs, but seems to be more like 5 lbs as I get closer to my goal weight. I figure it has to do with where the weight is coming from. Now it seems to be coming mostly from my midsection, which is most effecting how clothes fit me.

jillianajones wrote: »

It has taken me 35-40 lbs to go down two sizes (down from a 16 to a 12). I'm sure your body frame and height can affect those things as well. I am 5'7" and have large hips and thighs, so some size 12 pants fit me well and others are too tight, depending on the manufacturer. I just bought a Banana Republic dress in a size 12, and I currently weigh 175. My weight when I was a size 16 was 210-215.

See...this is where body types and shapes comes into play. I'm 5'7 and my starting weight was 210 and I was a size 12. Now I'm about 170 and wear a lose size 8 from Banana, J Crew, Express, etc.

For me, it's about 10-15 pounds. I was a size 20@230 and a size 9/10 now @ 170. I am 5'5".

I've been tracking my pants sizes. I am 5'7" and here are my sizes at each weight (I carry extra weight in the hips/thighs):

188: Size 16
176: Size 14
164: Size 12
157 (current): Still in 12s, but may be ready for a 10 around 150.

So I guess for me it's time for a size shift around every 12 pounds...

tracyannk28 wrote: »

jillianajones wrote: »

It has taken me 35-40 lbs to go down two sizes (down from a 16 to a 12). I'm sure your body frame and height can affect those things as well. I am 5'7" and have large hips and thighs, so some size 12 pants fit me well and others are too tight, depending on the manufacturer. I just bought a Banana Republic dress in a size 12, and I currently weigh 175. My weight when I was a size 16 was 210-215.

See...this is where body types and shapes comes into play. I'm 5'7 and my starting weight was 210 and I was a size 12. Now I'm about 170 and wear a lose size 8 from Banana, J Crew, Express, etc.

And for me, I've been wearing size 11-12 since high school (and 120lbs) simply because I have very wide hips and long legs. I can't go below a size 11 because they'll either be too short or I can't fasten them well over my hips. So, yeah, you can't rely on other's experiences as anything more then a general guideline.

Since clothing sizes vary so much by brand, I tend to pick a brand I wear a lot as reference. I'm 5'1" and 10lbs down so far, and that was good for one size in the same brand -- Banana Republic 14 Petite to 12 Petite. My goal is to get back to a size 8 Petite, which is a healthy weight for me, even though plenty of women at 5'1" would probably be able to wear a size 2 or 0. That will never be me, since my hips just don't go that small even without the fat. That's okay.

Having said that, it really depends on height and weight and how you carry your weight (hips, mid-section, etc.) BUT... it also depends on body composition! A woman who is 5'4" and 130lbs and 25% body fat will be a very different size than the same woman who is 40% body fat.

So weight loss, yeah. But also exercise. Because you can lose pounds without losing inches if you aren't toning.