Weird question about regain.

DanniB423
DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I lost 60 pounds over 2 years. I gained it all back in a year due to craziness I won’t get into. Before I lost weight I was a size 24. I got into an 18. Now with my regain I was a 20 and now that I’ve lost 20 of the 60, still a 20. How did the regain only give me one size up when before at this weight I was a 24? Like where did the weight distribute because I can’t tell. Or maybe it has to do with how long I’ve been carrying the weight. Sisterhood of the weight loss pants.

Replies

  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Both weight loss and weight gain are not necessarily proportional. You might gain/lose more quickly in some parts of your body than others. And if you have gained/lost repeatedly in the past, your weight distribution might be different every time.

    Don't worry too much about your clothing size as an indicator of success. Just keep going, keep working to lose the weight, and measure your progress by how you look and feel, as well as the scale number. Good luck!
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    Both weight loss and weight gain are not necessarily proportional. You might gain/lose more quickly in some parts of your body than others. And if you have gained/lost repeatedly in the past, your weight distribution might be different every time.

    Don't worry too much about your clothing size as an indicator of success. Just keep going, keep working to lose the weight, and measure your progress by how you look and feel, as well as the scale number. Good luck!

    Thank you so much. :)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited January 2021
    Different manufacturers size clothes differently. I can wear a S, M, or L on any given day depending on the brand and style. I also wear different sizes on top than bottom.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    There's also the question of clothes sizes changing over time or being different with different manufacturers. It may be that you current size 20 used to be a 24. I have old clothes in size 10 and 12 that fit me but in current models I'm a 4, because of vanity sizing.

    Yeah, this is true. My first real interview suit (which I've kept for sentimental reasons) was an 8, but when I was a 4 in most clothes it was tight. The 4 was in 2015 and after, the suit was purchased in 1993.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    edited January 2021
    I regained too last year after about 18 months of maintaining. I built a little muscle though rowing, strength training and keeping an eye on my nutrition so have a different body composition at the same weight. I was about 7kg (15lbs or so) higher than my previous highest weight when I had to go back to some of my larger clothes.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I have two pairs of capris from the same BRAND, slightly different styles, that are supposed to be the same size but are actually a size apart >.<
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    My "size" varies so much by brand, fabric type, tops vs bottoms . . . I don't pay much attention
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I have two pairs of capris from the same BRAND, slightly different styles, that are supposed to be the same size but are actually a size apart >.<

    i find old navy one of the worst brands for that!!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    It is just so hard to tell.... I thought I had just about all my covid lockdown weight off.. but my upper body is still not close to as small as it was at my goal weight. Somehow.. I feel my body is losing differently then before too..yet I have no real proof. I didn't think to document every measurement when reached my goal.
    Also.. I am trying on the same clothes I wore at my goal weight..so it isn't vanity sizing or new clothing line.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    My "size" varies so much by brand, fabric type, tops vs bottoms . . . I don't pay much attention

    I need you in my head when I get dressed in the morning. Women's sizing is exasperating, especially because I hate shopping. I buy most of my clothes discounted, online. I can't remember the last time I was in a shop actually trying things on, come to think of it. But I still feel crappy about myself when I have to put on a Large something when I have other somethings in Medium... It makes no sense.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Women's clothing sizes are made-up BS, don't base anything in your life on that number. Measure your actual body if numbers are important to you.
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    edited January 2021
    I need you in my head when I get dressed in the morning. Women's sizing is exasperating, especially because I hate shopping. I buy most of my clothes discounted, online. I can't remember the last time I was in a shop actually trying things on, come to think of it. But I still feel crappy about myself when I have to put on a Large something when I have other somethings in Medium... It makes no sense.[/quote]

    Cut the labels out if it makes you feel bad.

    My measurements are what they are, whatever corporate decision has been made elsewhere about what to call it is irrelevant.
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    Body composition changes too; it's not just clothes sizing. I lost 30lbs and regained it, but was exercising more and still fitted into my previous small clothes (just, in the case of the trousers). I have just lost the 30lbs again, but was onto the tightest hole on my belt well before I reached my goal weight, and have had to punch another one.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    girlwithcurls2 wrote: »
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    My "size" varies so much by brand, fabric type, tops vs bottoms . . . I don't pay much attention

    I need you in my head when I get dressed in the morning. Women's sizing is exasperating, especially because I hate shopping. I buy most of my clothes discounted, online. I can't remember the last time I was in a shop actually trying things on, come to think of it. But I still feel crappy about myself when I have to put on a Large something when I have other somethings in Medium... It makes no sense.

    I hear what you're saying, but am really grateful not to feel the same way.

    I've got the linebacker-width shoulders and bigger arms (always have, by nature, not simply via muscularity). Even at BMI 20-21 (5'5", lower 120s pounds), I always need tops with sleeves in at least a Medium, possibly large, even XL sometimes in things like sweaters/jackets to avoid the sausage-casing effect . . . when the same brand, same line for simple t-shirts lets me fit an extra-small or at most small, in tank tops.

    There are all kinds of weird things about sizing. The blame belongs to the very simplistic sizing, not to our bodies.
  • ahclay
    ahclay Posts: 36 Member
    The answer is that bodies are weird. The older you get, the stranger they are. I used to lose weight from my face down, my thighs being the last to go. Now I lose it more all over. Hormones can make a difference, so can the types of food you eat. I wouldn't sweat it. Just get back on track and you'll feel better, even if you're stuck in that 20 for a while.

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