question about pant size

DanceForever904
DanceForever904 Posts: 611 Member
edited October 6 in Health and Weight Loss
when i was 15 i was 199 pounds and i lost 50 pounds and wore a size 14 jeans at 149 pounds....then i gained the weight back and got up to 245 pounds at age 21. now im 22 and im 185 and i wear a size 14?! im so confused....only difference is the first time i lost weight i walked it off this time i use an arc trainer (similar to elliptical) any ideas why

Replies

  • khua0808
    khua0808 Posts: 95
    You may have more muscle/lean body mass, and its less dense than fat.. so even at 185 you take up the same space as you were at 149.. its a good thing!
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    Not to rain on your parade...but the last time I was at my current weight, I wore Ralph Lauren pants in a tight size 12. Over the intervening decade, I went up to what is labeled a 14. I just bought 2 pair of Ralph Lauren pants...they're a tight size 8. Clothing sizes appear to have expanded in the past several years.
  • lonelydove04
    lonelydove04 Posts: 9
    You may have more muscle/lean body mass, and its less dense than fat.. so even at 185 you take up the same space as you were at 149.. its a good thing!

    what is said is correct, and you want more lean muscle mass thats what helps burn the calories:smile: , but I also have to add jean sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.:mad: as a teenager at 175 I wore anything from a 12 to a 16. Now in my 30's and after 3 kids(amazingly) I can wear anything from a 5 to an 8:happy:
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    Vanity sizing?
    Most retailers have many different places producing the product and along with with crap levels of quality control you're lucky to wear the same size in the same exact item. Pants are hard. :wink:
  • AshDHart
    AshDHart Posts: 818 Member
    Not to rain on your parade...but the last time I was at my current weight, I wore Ralph Lauren pants in a tight size 12. Over the intervening decade, I went up to what is labeled a 14. I just bought 2 pair of Ralph Lauren pants...they're a tight size 8. Clothing sizes appear to have expanded in the past several years.

    I'm noticing this as I lose weight. I'm going to be wearing much smaller sizes at the same weight. Right now my waist is 4" bigger than it was when I last wore the size I'm now wearing.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    Not to rain on your parade...but the last time I was at my current weight, I wore Ralph Lauren pants in a tight size 12. Over the intervening decade, I went up to what is labeled a 14. I just bought 2 pair of Ralph Lauren pants...they're a tight size 8. Clothing sizes appear to have expanded in the past several years.

    Clothing sizes have been expanding for decades, especially pants. When I was in my 20s I was a fairly consistent medium or size 10, top and bottom - blouse, pants, skirt, dress, jacket, whatever. If it came in misses sizes, I probably wore a 10. Now 30 plus years later I'm back to a similar weight and wear a medium or size 8-10 top and loose size 4 pants. Because a current size 10 is expected to be overweight and bottom heavy? I don't think I'm any more top heavy now than I was when I was young.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    you must be in US? .. I'm in Uk and have clothes from years ago and they were bigger.. I think today's sizes are smaller.. I used to be a 10.. I can't see me getting in a 10 now even if I do reach same weight. eg I fitted in some old 16 suit pants whilst size 18 tracksuit bottoms were still too tight across tummy, by the time the tracksuit bottoms fit comfortably the suit pants were too big and had to wear a belt... I got current size 16 suit pants recently and the waistband on old ones are definitely bigger than the new ones.

    It always confuses me when people say stuff like they got in size 14 at 180lbs.. I'm only 145lbs and just got in a 16. I have some 14 jog pants but for me they feel too tight around tummy to sit comfortably in all day. Maybe its cos my tummy was biggest area and I've still got a bit to lose though I have lost 12" off it, maybe its cos I'm so used to baggy clothes I don't feel comfortable in anything fitted?
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    personally, i would like it if they'd stop playing around with sizes. i wear anything from a 29 inch waist to 33 inches, depending on the brand.

    seems that the more the pants cost, the smaller waist size i need in them.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    Oh, totally vanity sizing. I graduated from high school way back in '76 I weighed 120# with measurements of 36-24-37 and 22" thighs and I wore a size US-size 12 (and always had to take the waist in). After gaining some over the years, in my late 20's, I dieted down to 150# and wore a size 12. Don't recall my measurements but they were much bigger than my high school measurements. I am now 172#. I haven't measure in awhile but my waist is roughly the same size as my hips were back in high school yet I am again wearing a size 12.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Vanity sizing does happen, but to bring some sunshine back to the parade, having more muscle does mean you'll look the same size at a higher weight.

    I can wear some of the jeans I wore in high school at under 110# now 20-some years later at about 130#. Then, size 5 or 7. Now, size 5 or 7. Granted, the jeans from the 80s are painfully tight (and ridiculously high-waisted!*), but I'd have to imagine there might be some degree of shrinkage that occurs with multiple washings and being stored in a hot attic for two decades.


    *Seriously. It's crazy! The zippers in my newer jeans are about 3" long. In my lowest rise 80s jeans, it's 8" long! They practically come up to my underboob!
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