What nobody tells you about losing weight
Replies
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MadDogManor wrote: »imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »No one told me that when I lost 40 pounds I would still be in a size 16 pants! WTH?!?!? I am losing from top to bottom. My shirts are looser, but the pants size just won't budge.
Same here. I went from a US size 18 to now a 16, with 45 lbs lost. Kinda discouraging
It seems to me that the smaller the size, the smaller the weight range within that size. So an size 18 will accommodate 20-30 pounds range but a size 10 will only manage a 10-15 pound range. That range seems to apply both directions, going down and going up. Does that makes sense?20 -
jrh_this_better_work wrote: »MadDogManor wrote: »imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »No one told me that when I lost 40 pounds I would still be in a size 16 pants! WTH?!?!? I am losing from top to bottom. My shirts are looser, but the pants size just won't budge.
Same here. I went from a US size 18 to now a 16, with 45 lbs lost. Kinda discouraging
It seems to me that the smaller the size, the smaller the weight range within that size. So an size 18 will accommodate 20-30 pounds range but a size 10 will only manage a 10-15 pound range. That range seems to apply both directions, going down and going up. Does that makes sense?
This seems to be true. I stayed at 16 forever, then 14 a long time, but now I seem to have flown through 12. Weird. Could also be body composition changes as you get more fit.
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jrh_this_better_work wrote: »MadDogManor wrote: »imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »No one told me that when I lost 40 pounds I would still be in a size 16 pants! WTH?!?!? I am losing from top to bottom. My shirts are looser, but the pants size just won't budge.
Same here. I went from a US size 18 to now a 16, with 45 lbs lost. Kinda discouraging
It seems to me that the smaller the size, the smaller the weight range within that size. So an size 18 will accommodate 20-30 pounds range but a size 10 will only manage a 10-15 pound range. That range seems to apply both directions, going down and going up. Does that makes sense?
This seems to be true. I stayed at 16 forever, then 14 a long time, but now I seem to have flown through 12. Weird. Could also be body composition changes as you get more fit.
Also, it seems to be based in the origin of the 16. When I had moved from 16s to 14s in Lane Bryant and decided to brave my first "non-plus" store (JCP) only to have the 14s not fit at all and the 16s be snug. It was shocking because previously it had felt that 16s were big! That's the point I realized that 16s in non-plus sizes are not the same as 16s in plus sizes.22 -
MadDogManor wrote: »imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »No one told me that when I lost 40 pounds I would still be in a size 16 pants! WTH?!?!? I am losing from top to bottom. My shirts are looser, but the pants size just won't budge.
Same here. I went from a US size 18 to now a 16, with 45 lbs lost. Kinda discouraging
It is, but since i still see the scale moving I will stick with it. I plan to do more body weight exercises and keep walking in the hopes that one day it will let go. I trust that my body will know what to do! I set out for July 1st as my goal so I have a while to keep at it!5 -
jrh_this_better_work wrote: »MadDogManor wrote: »imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »No one told me that when I lost 40 pounds I would still be in a size 16 pants! WTH?!?!? I am losing from top to bottom. My shirts are looser, but the pants size just won't budge.
Same here. I went from a US size 18 to now a 16, with 45 lbs lost. Kinda discouraging
It seems to me that the smaller the size, the smaller the weight range within that size. So an size 18 will accommodate 20-30 pounds range but a size 10 will only manage a 10-15 pound range. That range seems to apply both directions, going down and going up. Does that makes sense?
That is interesting! I am keeping tabs on everything that is happening to my body during this journey so I will make sure to note once I am comfortable in the next size down.2 -
Yeah, I count going from a 16 plus to a 16 straight as one size, because there's a two inch difference at hip and waist in my preferred brand of jeans between their 16 plus and their 16 regular. The two are NOT the same.12
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AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »Yeah, I count going from a 16 plus to a 16 straight as one size, because there's a two inch difference at hip and waist in my preferred brand of jeans between their 16 plus and their 16 regular. The two are NOT the same.
IMO, clothing really shouldn't be this confusing. *shakes fist*!!15 -
AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »Yeah, I count going from a 16 plus to a 16 straight as one size, because there's a two inch difference at hip and waist in my preferred brand of jeans between their 16 plus and their 16 regular. The two are NOT the same.
Oh, that is silly. I wonder if that is what happened today as the size I put on was a 16 medium. What the heck does that even mean? I am so nervous to shop for clothes because after the weight I have lost I want to be able to say I can bu a different size. Oh well, I guess I shop at the second hand store for a while until I am solidly a size down. Ugh...4 -
I second jrh...I’m a size 10 and if I go up 5 lbs my pants get a touch on the snug side and if I go down 5 lbs (why can’t I stay there!), they get a touch loose. I would guess that 15 lbs would be the max weight range for a size 10.3
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imgwendolyn2015 wrote: »AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »Yeah, I count going from a 16 plus to a 16 straight as one size, because there's a two inch difference at hip and waist in my preferred brand of jeans between their 16 plus and their 16 regular. The two are NOT the same.
Oh, that is silly. I wonder if that is what happened today as the size I put on was a 16 medium. What the heck does that even mean? I am so nervous to shop for clothes because after the weight I have lost I want to be able to say I can bu a different size. Oh well, I guess I shop at the second hand store for a while until I am solidly a size down. Ugh...
Medium would either refer to it being Misses or it refers to the inseam, which is a different measure altogether, so they might offer their jeans in Short, Medium, or Tall lengths. (Depending on the brand, I sometimes take a tall. This is why I know this.)4 -
On jeans sizing..this weight/size range definitely rings true. All brands size & shape differently, it seems.
I found it to be encouraging and helpful to find jeans that fit to wear, from anywhere, and I also buy the exact same jeans in one size down. When I can fit into the smaller pair and the larger becomes more loose, then I give the larger away and buy the next size down still to have to wear. It helps me guage in a tangible way how I'm losing, in addition to the scale.
I've done this from 300lbs (size 22W in a specific brand) and as I've lost about 55 lbs I've worked my way down through 20W, 18W, and now in a 16. I just tossed the 18Ws a few weeks back.
I wear the 16s now and have a 14 waiting in my drawer. I try them on occasionally to see how far up I can pull them. Right now it's about to my knees! haha But, from experience with the other sizes, I'll be able to get them over my thighs.. and then all the way.. and then eventually button them. And then eventually button AND breathe in them! Ha!
Interestingly, I have bought 16s in other brands online and some fit but some I can't button yet! I didn't decide to branch out to other brands until I hit size 16.12 -
StephanieLWS wrote: »On jeans sizing..this weight/size range definitely rings true. All brands size & shape differently, it seems.
I found it to be encouraging and helpful to find jeans that fit to wear, from anywhere, and I also buy the exact same jeans in one size down. When I can fit into the smaller pair and the larger becomes more loose, then I give the larger away and buy the next size down still to have to wear. It helps me guage in a tangible way how I'm losing, in addition to the scale.
I've done this from 300lbs (size 22W in a specific brand) and as I've lost about 55 lbs I've worked my way down through 20W, 18W, and now in a 16. I just tossed the 18Ws a few weeks back.
I wear the 16s now and have a 14 waiting in my drawer. I try them on occasionally to see how far up I can pull them. Right now it's about to my knees! haha But, from experience with the other sizes, I'll be able to get them over my thighs.. and then all the way.. and then eventually button them. And then eventually button AND breathe in them! Ha!
Interestingly, I have bought 16s in other brands online and some fit but some I can't button yet! I didn't decide to branch out to other brands until I hit size 16.
My problem is that regardless of how much I weigh, I have a butt. I have lordosis, and while it's not always comfortable, it means I have a butt, had one when I was fat, and I will have one when I am at goal weight. And some jeans are not cut for women with butts. (This is okay. From my observation, some women regardless of size have a flat butt.) So I don't try other brands, because I found one that works for my particular shape. But I do that thing you do. I have two pairs of 14s waiting for me in the drawer. That way on the day that the 16s get just annoyingly too big, I just get those out and it's all good.
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StephanieLWS wrote: »On jeans sizing..this weight/size range definitely rings true. All brands size & shape differently, it seems.
I found it to be encouraging and helpful to find jeans that fit to wear, from anywhere, and I also buy the exact same jeans in one size down. When I can fit into the smaller pair and the larger becomes more loose, then I give the larger away and buy the next size down still to have to wear. It helps me guage in a tangible way how I'm losing, in addition to the scale.
I've done this from 300lbs (size 22W in a specific brand) and as I've lost about 55 lbs I've worked my way down through 20W, 18W, and now in a 16. I just tossed the 18Ws a few weeks back.
I wear the 16s now and have a 14 waiting in my drawer. I try them on occasionally to see how far up I can pull them. Right now it's about to my knees! haha But, from experience with the other sizes, I'll be able to get them over my thighs.. and then all the way.. and then eventually button them. And then eventually button AND breathe in them! Ha!
Interestingly, I have bought 16s in other brands online and some fit but some I can't button yet! I didn't decide to branch out to other brands until I hit size 16.
When I was losing the bulk of the weight, I stuck with one brand of jeans. Because you're right, it is so much easier to determine when it's time to go to the next size down if you're not always dealing with "this one is cut this way, this one is cut that way, etc, etc." It is only now that I've branched out (I only have about 8kg left and they are going so slooooow). I find that sizing tends to be more stable (+/- a size) unless the material changes then everything is in the wind. XD
One of the best things about losing weight was changing sizes. It was a key indicator of progress. I slayed many a dragonpants in my downward spiral, but now... I have to go by fit since my size isn't going to go any lower unless I start shaving bone (ew). So now, it's more about how soft I am and what spills over and if my inner rubber ducky floatie can be seen or not. Which isn't quite as immediately thrilling, but it is thrilling in its own right.13 -
StephanieLWS wrote: »On jeans sizing..this weight/size range definitely rings true. All brands size & shape differently, it seems.
I found it to be encouraging and helpful to find jeans that fit to wear, from anywhere, and I also buy the exact same jeans in one size down. When I can fit into the smaller pair and the larger becomes more loose, then I give the larger away and buy the next size down still to have to wear. It helps me guage in a tangible way how I'm losing, in addition to the scale.
I've done this from 300lbs (size 22W in a specific brand) and as I've lost about 55 lbs I've worked my way down through 20W, 18W, and now in a 16. I just tossed the 18Ws a few weeks back.
I wear the 16s now and have a 14 waiting in my drawer. I try them on occasionally to see how far up I can pull them. Right now it's about to my knees! haha But, from experience with the other sizes, I'll be able to get them over my thighs.. and then all the way.. and then eventually button them. And then eventually button AND breathe in them! Ha!
Interestingly, I have bought 16s in other brands online and some fit but some I can't button yet! I didn't decide to branch out to other brands until I hit size 16.
I can see this as good and bad. My brain automatically goes to "oh you are failing" when I can't get into the next size jeans. I would rather wait until they are literally falling off my hips to even try the next size down. This is a mental issue for me that I need to get over, but it is hard!9 -
I can't afford bariatric surgery and my at my age, I'm not putting myself through it. All the people I know who had the surgery (5 of them) have regained their weight and their stomachs have stretched to their bigger weights. I'm doing it the old-fashioned way, cutting calories, exercise and writing it all down. I haven't always been successful, but this time feels "lucky" and it's going to stick!29
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I'm doing it the old-fashioned way, cutting calories, exercise and writing it all down. I haven't always been successful, but this time feels "lucky" and it's going to stick!
I'm with you. I just turned 50 and am having some health issues. It has taken me so long to feel like I am actually really ready to make that change.
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I can't afford bariatric surgery and my at my age, I'm not putting myself through it. All the people I know who had the surgery (5 of them) have regained their weight and their stomachs have stretched to their bigger weights. I'm doing it the old-fashioned way, cutting calories, exercise and writing it all down. I haven't always been successful, but this time feels "lucky" and it's going to stick!
Yeah, my sister did it, and she's regained about half of it back, and more problematically, I think it set off her rheumatoid arthritis. That's not something I'd wish on ANYONE, and she's got a six year old daughter. There's a lot of stuff they won't be able to do together.
And my boyfriend did it to make his back hurt less and help his apnea, and it has to some degree (He had Schuermann's disease and it left him with a pretty bad hump/scoliosis in his thoracic spine) but it has seriously changed what he can eat and how he eats, and all in all, when I thought about it, I just didn't want to mess with my guts if I could do it with willpower and time.
Given the way I carried my weight I will probably wind up with an abdominoplasty to deal with the loose skin and the diastasis from the babies. I still look six months pregnant, and I'm seriously wanting THAT to go away, knowing that it will probably be the last thing. And of course, unrelated to weight loss I inherited my father's bunions and have a torn ankle tendon and still have midfoot pain so may have to have midfoot fusion eventually. I have quite enough surgeries in my future.
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As you size down the pockets in your trousers size down to. Only half my iPhone fits in my jeans now.24
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AwesomeSquirrel wrote: »As you size down the pockets in your trousers size down to. Only half my iPhone fits in my jeans now.
Lol.1 -
AwesomeSquirrel wrote: »As you size down the pockets in your trousers size down to. Only half my iPhone fits in my jeans now.
Oh the whole pockets on women’s trousers thing frustrates me so much. Even my 6 year old daughter comments on how silly it is that girls trousers have shallow or even fake pockets.
The thing I hadn’t expected or really thought about is how difficult it is to understand your size when you lose weight. Before I knew I was a size 22 (U.K.), I knew which shops I could buy clothes from and what styles would suit me.
Now 33lbs lighter I go into a shop, can’t try anything on because of Covid, and honestly have no idea what size to buy. I look, hold things up against me, but just can’t gauge at all whether something will be too big, too small or just right. I’ve sent back so many clothes recently.11
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