How much do you have to lose to drop a dress size?

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Vanessa181
Vanessa181 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
hey everyone,

Right I have been trying to drop the weight for ages, I am finally making some progress after joining a gym and going 3-4 times a week one session being with a PT, I am also eating better and paying attention to what I snack on (that's the hardest bit).

So far I have lost 16lbs ( just over 1stone for those from uk) I'm a size 22 (uk) and am in desperate need of trousers, as my own trousers are loose I went shopping and came home empty handed, I couldn't even get a pair of size 22 to fit my bulky frame.

How is it that I can lose weight but not fit into my orginal size clothes or drop a size. How much do I have to lose to drop a size??

Sorry I think that turned into a rant, the positive aspect is that instead of crying behind the dressing room curtain about this latest failure I went home packed my gym bag and worked out. I believe you need to find the positives in every situation!!

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Well there is no specific scientific answer for this. Theoritically, you don't have to lose any weight but can still lose inches. Replacing fat with muscle is how you would do it. This is actually the process I am doing right now. I am working to turn fat into muscle while maintaining weight. Now for me, I lost 10 lbs and that brought me down 1" in the waist. (not really a full pant size). But also keep in mind, since you can't target a specific area, you may lose weight in the face or arms before you lower body. This is also why building muscle throughout yoru body is critical as more muscle burns more calories which in turn burns more fat. Eventually, your lower body will catch up.
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
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    It's going to vary from person to person.

    For me...it's around 10 lbs, although I've lost less on the scale and still had pants getting big because inches went down despite scale. But if I would average it out, it would be about 10 lbs or so. I've lost 33 and have gone from 18 to 12 and my 12 work slacks are probably close to a size too big.
  • aiyana1228
    aiyana1228 Posts: 100 Member
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    Don't get discouraged! So many factors play into sizing including (at least in the US) who manufactures the clothes. I can go into one store and can't fit my big toe in a pair of jeans and at the next store the same size is too loose. My favorite way to shop[ during weight loss is at the resale shop cause you have a lot of variety to choose from... How you gain (and loose) weight plays a big role too. I tend to gain and loose pretty equally all over but have a friend that gains and looses in her bottom half. I go down pant sized faster than she does but it took forever for me to change shirt/jacket size. You will get there!

    I have lost about 50-60lbs (is that 4 stones?) and have gone from an 18/20 (40 inches-101.6 cm?) to a 10 (32 inches-81.28 cm?).
  • FitBridget
    FitBridget Posts: 30 Member
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    It really depends on body shape. I'm an apple, and unless I want severe muffin top, I wear a size 10. I'm 5'2", 141 pounds. When I was 155 pounds, I wore a size 12. When I was 135 (which is my next mini-goal), I wore an 8. So, it takes me about 10 pounds to drop a size. I know other women though same height and weight as me who wear a much smaller size - just depends on your body shape and probably how much is fat versus muscle.
  • aingersoll07
    aingersoll07 Posts: 17 Member
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    I think 8-10 pounds is ideal. I have a wedding soon too and hope my fitted dress FITS perfectly!

    Good Luck!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    It depends... what is going to work for one person, may not be true for you. Plus it doesn't matter how many pounds you lose.. inches are what really plays the biggest role.

    For me personally, I've lost 28 pounds have dropped 2 dress sizes and 2 pants sizes just about. Around the 15-20 pound mark is where I saw the pants and the very end of my journey is where I saw the dress.
  • TheNewAdventuresofDanni
    TheNewAdventuresofDanni Posts: 106 Member
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    It all depends on the person, I have dropped like 26 pounds and still wear the same size (16). I am hoping to get into a 12 here soon:)
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    It does largely depend. In pants, I still don't feel comfortable dropping a size even though I've lost 25 lbs because very little of that loss came from my thighs. In shirts, however, I feel like I could drop almost two sizes from where I was before.
  • Puffingmuffin
    Puffingmuffin Posts: 76 Member
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    For me, it's 5-7kg to drop a dress size. Don't worry girl, keep going at it and all the best.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    For me its 20lbs per size.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    It does largely depend. In pants, I still don't feel comfortable dropping a size even though I've lost 25 lbs because very little of that loss came from my thighs. In shirts, however, I feel like I could drop almost two sizes from where I was before.

    Me too. Last night I tried on a pair of white Capri pants and my thighs looked as big as ever. Now when I wear black pants, they then look smaller. I have gone from a x-large to a medium for tops.
  • A_Fit_Mom
    A_Fit_Mom Posts: 602 Member
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    Depends on your starting weight and where you lose your weight. When you are closer to goal..it won't take as much weight.


    I have lost 25 pounds and went from a 12 to an 8. But most my weight was in my lower belly from my pregnancies, so my belly has really tightened up.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
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    well that depends on about a million things.

    Dress brand is a big one..
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    It took me 20-25 lbs to go down a size (20 to need a size smaller, 25 for them to fit well). At 5'4" I started at 195 lbs and a size 16 (US). Now I'm almost 170 and wear size 14 comfortably.
  • sampeza
    sampeza Posts: 1
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    I think some of it does depend on the individual but it also depends on your age, the food you eat and the type of exercise you do, I am 42 years old and so far I have lost on average 2 lbs a week on the myfitnesspal diet however I carry most of my weight on the bottom half of my body and also have a desk job which doesn't help, therefore to concentrate on my lower body I do an ultimate fat burning class twice a week and walk or jog at least two or three miles, 3 days a week (I have a rest at the weekend lol).

    Before this diet I was starting to creep up to a UK size 14 and would ideally like to be a UK size 10 and to do this I need to lose about 20 lbs which is what I lost about 3 years ago and was able to fit into a size 10, however it does depend on the brand of clothing, some are definitely more generous than others. Good luck everyone. X
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    That's going to vary depending on your body type. For me, it's about 20 pounds to go down a size.
  • xpanda1969x
    xpanda1969x Posts: 2
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    for me i've found its around 10-14lbs but im a tall girl im 5ft 10. However ive found now in strength training its changed a lot and i find it harder to drop a size

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