Something about sizes I don't understand... - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

MauiKai · 08-05-2013, 04:48 PM

Something I've never understood, is what is so weird about me and clothing sizes.

At my "best" weight I was 145lbs, keeping in mind I am 6'1" tall. I still felt fat. I wore a size 12, maybe a 10 at times.

How is it that other people in the same weight range and SHORTER than me, wear a smaller size? Am I just shaped weirdly or something?

Tuscany · 08-05-2013, 07:51 PM

You're not shaped "weirdly"! But my guess is that you carry most of your weight in your torso, and have relatively slender arms and legs.

To compare, I'm the opposite. I carry most of my weight in my arms and legs. I currently weigh 155 and I'm only 5'5", but I wear a size 12, sometimes a 10. The standard measurements for a size 12 (US) are 36"-29"-39", and those are my measurements. I suspect they were also yours (or approx) when you weighed 145. However, my arms and legs are disproportionately large for my torso size...because I carry most of my weight in my arms and legs. In contrast, I suspect your arms/legs are nice and slender (or were when you weighed 145).

So, we have different body shapes...although I'm likely the "weird" one of the two of us. I say that because there are many things I simply can't wear, and you likely don't have that problem. For example, I can't wear jeans...short of having them custom made. Those that fit me in the legs drown me in the waist, and those that would fit me in the waist, I can't even get over my knees. So I give up!

Candeka · 08-05-2013, 08:40 PM

I carry most of my weight in my butt/thighs. There are MANY women who are 3 inches shorter, 20 pounds heavier and still wear pants that are 2 sizes smaller.

I weigh 143, am 5'6 and I wear a size 11/12. It sucks hearing about all the women who are either 5'6 an 190, or 5'3 and 160 and wear a size 8 or something.

MauiKai · 08-05-2013, 10:23 PM

I carry the majority of my weight in my butt/hips. While I'll wear a 12 in jeans or pants, on top I'm a small or medium. It's super frustrating when people who are way shorter than I, same weight, wear an 8 and I'm stuck in a 12. I have trouble bending my brain around that one.

Thousandsunny · 08-06-2013, 08:10 AM

I've also come to realize that "women's sizing" is ridiculous and I think that plays a part in all this. I'm a 10 in some brands, an 8 in others, a 6 in Jenifer Lopez (so I try to buy her stuff all the time

) or a 12 at the GAP but the GAP jeans are smaller than my 8's from Lucky! Seriously, fashion world? You can't just make pants like you do for men? with my waist and inseam? Why are we stuck with this archaic "00-0-2-4-6-8-10-12..." system?! And how about some freaking real pockets once in a while? I carry a wallet! .../rant

Tiffkuhn · 08-06-2013, 09:16 AM

I have always dealt with this too, but I am opposite, my scale weight is always higher that what my size would predict. I wear a 10 and weigh 173 and am 5'2". When I was 135, I wore a 4. When you look at the ideal weight range using BMI for my height it starts at like 101! I haven't weighed that since grade school! I would never want to weigh that little either because I like looking like a grown woman lol.

The numbers on the scale and in our clothing are all relative. I try to focus on how I look and feel.

jaimie1980 · 08-06-2013, 12:19 PM

I have that issue too. I have a friend who is about 20 pounds lighter, same height. She wears a 8, I wear a 16. It cause she is all hips, butt, thighs, and a tiny waist. I am the opposite. 8s fit my legs and hips, but my waist needs a dang 16. So my pants always look huge. I carry 90% in my gut, 5% in my upper inner thighs, 3% in my upper arms, and 2% in my chest/chin. Lol, I am a normal size person strapped to a size 16 torso. I hate it. And even at 130 pounds I still have a thick midsection. But I looked good in clothes at least. The only time I felt thin was at 115-117, and I was kinda 'too skinny' then, but still measured 28" waist. I also wore a 32A bra, and had 34 inch hips. Sometimes genetics just plain suck.

MauiKai · 08-06-2013, 01:38 PM

Me at 150, sz 12. See, my weight, even at my best still gives me a big butt/hips.

astrophe · 08-06-2013, 02:49 PM

Could maybe look at it like this -- it isn't the pounds that changes your dress size. It's the INCHES and the shape.

Like 5 lbs of rocks in a plastic grocery bag? That's one thing but loosely shaped.

5 lbs of brick, that's another thing and another shape.

5 lbs of feathers? Prob take more than one bag to hold.

All are 5 lbs. But take up different space in different ways.

You look lovey shaped in your pix. Don't sweat the size -- there's nobody looking at your size tags but you.

A.

Krazy · 08-06-2013, 04:11 PM

It could be because you have bigger bones (bone structure) than someone around my height. You can lose fat, but you can't make bones smaller.

MauiKai · 08-06-2013, 04:42 PM

I actually have a very small frame. I wear a size 4 ring. I can't even blame my weirdness on big bones. Having a small frame probably even means I'm actually "fatter" than I might appear, I guess! Yuck, that's a sad thought.

Sum38 · 08-06-2013, 05:39 PM

It looks like your clothes fit you well. Some people "say" that they are 8 but in reality they are squeezing out of them and 12's would fit them better.

You look fab!!!!

Sirius Amadeus · 08-06-2013, 06:06 PM

I carry all (and I mean "ALL") my weight in my boobs; at 5'8 ish and 165 lbs, I'm still a size 16 on top (38 DDD), but an 8/10 pants. I have skinny arms and legs and a high waist, so womens clothes do not fit. I wear 34" waist Mens pants (around my hips) and usually rock t shirts or girly tank tops.
It's no wonder my clothing designs don't fit standard frames!

MauiKai · 08-06-2013, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sum38

It looks like your clothes fit you well. Some people "say" that they are 8 but in reality they are squeezing out of them and 12's would fit them better.

You look fab!!!!

Thank you but that is an older photo...pre-regain of my weight Haha!

ShyHeather · 08-12-2013, 05:24 PM

Well, this thread is depressing and motivating at the same time. Guess if I want to be in the smaller sizes, I have to get to 140 and I weigh 309 right now (gained a pound from depression-endued bad week).

That being said, the fashion world loves to change the sizes. One year you'll be in a 12, the next a 10, and then back to 12 or for snitz and giggles a 14. Sadly the sizes don't reflect the fact that each one of us is built differently.

I know my sister and mom can share pants, and there is a good forty - fifty pound difference between them. They just happened to carry their weight differently. My mom is an arms and torso woman, and my sister is a torso butt girl.