[icmethinner]

Hi everyone - I am wondering why at 5' 9" and about 185 pounds I am just now getting into 14s when lots of people my weight wear much smaller sizes? I exercise a lot and I don't understand why my size is so much larger than others my weight. When I weighed 210, my 18s were super tight. But I read other people's posts and they are around 200 and wear 14s. Any clues??

Thanks!

[wednesdaymorning]

It's all in where you carry your weight. I have large hips (and quite the backside) by nature. They're always going to be big, because the bones are big. So I wear a bigger pant size than other people at my weight simply because I have a different shape. Same with you, probably.

[GonnaLooseitagain]

Weight in pounds will depend on amount of fat vs. muscle tone, the size of your frame and your height, how you carry your weight (like an apple shape or pear, or hourglass) but I can totally sympathize with you. At 215, I was a TIGHT 16, yet my friends who weighed substantially less wore the same size. Now at 172 I am in 10's. I am a hourglass/pear shape ( I toddle between the two)

[Deanna7272]

I know EXACTLY where you are coming from... I am the same size as you BUT... some 14's are still tight on me. I went out the other day becasue my 16's are a little too baggy and most of the 14's I picked up didn't fit me right... LOW RISE sucks...lol Mid rise is more like it...lol

I know that there are people in much smaller sizes than I am in, it's all in the way we are built, I guess.... I have always been athletic (broad shoulders, muscluar legs, etc)... now I am just big..lol There's no way at 172 that I could THINK of fitting in a 10... I was in a 10 at 153, when I worked out 2+ hours a day (way back when I had no life...lol)... Hopefully I 'll be there again...

[lucky]

I agree that your overall build plays a big role in determining your size. But, do you include any weight training in all of the exercise that you do? That can also make a big difference. There have been a couple of times that I've dropped a size without the scale ever budging and I know it is because I was losing fat and building muscle. Conversely, there have been phases when I slacked a bit on my weight training. I lost weight per the scale but my jeans started to get tight.

[NowOrNever!]

Hmmmm...and the brand and style of the clothes you're trying on too. Reading this thread makes me realize just how much clothes sizing has changed over the years. In the mid 70s I was in high school and weighed 145 (at 5'8") and THAT put me in a 16 in just about EVERYTHING.

[Deanna7272]

Yep... I saw once where a group was doing a study about the difference in sizing and there were like 27 different size 10's...

I have noticed that a lot in shirts... I go to pick up an XL and I am like.. yea, for who, BARBIE? I knew at that point I was in the WRONG section...lol

[Glory87]

I was a tight 18 at 192 and I was a comfortable 14 at 153. I'm a comfy size 8 at 135 or so. I'm a size 6 at J. Jill but they are obviously some kind of vanity sizing FREAKS.

[Deanna7272]

Hmmmm... the last 6 I can remember was a 6x... WHEN I was 6...lol

[SmartButt]

I'm 5'6" and 175, and size 14s can be tight on me in different brands. I carry most of my weight in my gut (apple shape) so thats pretty much why, I think.

On a side note: I *hate* being around a size 14. It's the worst because nothing in the "regular" stores fits as its too small and they skip right to 16 and up in the plus-size stores so I can't wear anything from those or I'm swimming in it.

[pixiefalls]

I'm 5'6'' and 243 pounds and a fit size 18.. but thats because I hold most of my excess weight in my upper body like my stomach.. blah. My legs are a lot slimmer than the rest of me (I guess from many years of bicyling!) I remember when I first lost some weight years ago.. at 232 I was a 16.. at 200 I was around 15/14.. then at my lowest back then of 170 something I was a 13.. it all depends on your body shape.

[Softykins]

I'm 5'8" and when I weighed 155, large tops were really
tight on me. So I know that I will never be smaller than
a large. Sucks to be me. Ah well!

[LovesBassets]

I agree with Jawsmom/Lucky that weight training can make a big difference. I lost a lot of weight back in the mid-1990s via cardio, got to about 150 lbs, and was a tight size 12. When I hit 150 lbs this time around (weight training 3 times a week + cardio), I was a loose size 10. Same person, same weight, different muscle tone, means a different size. For me anyway (and I've always worn a lot of Eddie Bauer clothes, so the size 10s and size 12s were from the same company).

[DaisyBug08004]

Just another thought - clothing manufacturers vary tremendously. If you buy jeans for instance at - old navy or gap and they are a size 18 - then you go to Lane Bryant or Avenue - you will find a 16 likely suits you just fine. But - even there there is variation - I have two pairs of size 18 jeans - both from the avenue. One fits one does not.

Size is irrelevant - only fit matters. Don't bother about the numbers on the label. They basically mean nothing! Look at how the clothes fit you.

[Sheila53]

My clothing size started to change when I added weight training. I am the same height as you and generally wear a 12, sometimes a 14. I was surprised about the 12s, but I've decreased my body fat percentage while my weight has stayed the same for a while.