totsandfries I totally know where you are coming from!! I have gone from over 200lbs to almost 165 (which is a healthy BMI) and am still wearing the same size 12 bottoms and size 14/XL tops. For some reason I really thought a healthy BMI would mean I could buy something that wasn't the biggest size in the store!! Ugh......

Although, like HLS mentioned I probably should have been wearing a 16/18 rather than a 12/14 but I've convinced myself that I liked my pants tight! I mean how bad could I have looked....

Quick question: Do those of you who are having trouble going down in sizes work out 3-5x a week with not just cardio but also weights? I read that working out really helps you go down in sizes as your body is tightening and firming up.

Thanks everyone for all the support! Glad to know I'm not the only one out there that's frustrated with this.

On a happier note, I met someone at work today (I work in a building with over 5,000 employees so I get to meet someone new everyday -lol). She is also losing weight and has dropped from a size 28 to my old size of 24. Now, I don't have to burn all those clothes - I am giving them to her! And she is so happy to get them! Strange how the world works sometimes.

I did buy my size 20 pants today and if I suck in my stomach, hold my breath until I'm almost blue, lay down on the bed and get my husbands help, they will zip all the way up. The button is another matter. ;)

As far as the exercise is concerned - I am walking on a treadmill every day of the week. I usually walk 2 miles at about 3 mph. I have to exercise in the gym at work because I have a demanding little one at home that requires my full attention (he's 5 years old, wheelchair bound, developmentally delayed, has had nine brain surgeries, spoiled rotten and is the love of my life). The exercise I do gets my heart rate up but physically I could manage alot more. I know my exercise routine needs to be kicked up a notch but I am exercising on my lunch hour at work and can't get all sweaty and put dress clothes back on. I'm going to have to deal with the slow movement in clothing sizes because right now I have no other time to dedicate to exercise other than my lunch!

I know it is so frustrating! Sometimes I wonder if the scale is lying to me.... I would LOVE to take one of those pictures to where I can put on my "fat pants" and show how much weight I lost. But all I get are these sort-of baggy jeans that I could probably still wear. :mad:

Yep, I weight train as well as run 5k and 10k races. I have always had a larger muscular build, and when I tell people today that I weigh in the mid-140s they look at me and go... no way, and believe I am somewhere in the 120s . :?:
When trying pants on they are typically very tight in the thigh and calve area, and loose in the stomach/waist area.

Don't worry! I dropped five sizes, but I did it very slowly. Be patient with yourself. It'll come off slowly.

Cool site!!!!! I looked at people my height and my goal weight - I can look fine at 190!!
Here is the link www.mybodygallery.com

Hey, you're doing what you can and that is all anyone can ask of you! It is A LOT to take on just life in general and then throwing exercise and eating right into the mix =)

I just asked because it seems like when people incorporate weight training they seem to drop inches quicker.

As for the website, mybodygallery.com, I am in LOVE with it! THank you for posting! It is so nice to see the different body types for my height and how they shape up as you go down in pounds! Definitely gives me something to look forward to. We all carry our weight SO differently!

Oh my gosh your "fat pants" comment has me in hysterics!!!:rofl:

I felt the same way, I am 40 lbs down but have only gone down 2 sizes, so yes it gets frustrating but the clothes ARE getting smaller and I do look and feel better, thats what matters most!
As for exercise Ive done weights 3 times a week along with my cardio, so I dont think everyone drops inches more quickly with weights, the weight and inches will come off as needed.

this is a really neat site. i went ahead and joined it. i saw a woman on there same height, close in weight, with an almost identical shape as me. it's such a wide range of appearances even within ur wt/ht class.

I think a lot of it may have to do with body shape and composition. I weigh a lot more than many of you who are in size 22-26, but I am fitting very well in a 20, even an 18/20 on elastic waist pants, at 278 pounds. I think I am shaped like a reverse pear, though. All of my weight is in my breasts, so my butt shrinks a lot while my chest doesn't. The only thing shrinking up there is my band size. As a matter of fact, my band has shrunk, but my actually breasts really haven't, so I went from a 46DDD to a 40G. I wish everything would get smaller uniformly.

That is how I am shaped! I thought I was alone =) It seems like my thighs, butt, legs, even my ANKLES have shrunk but up top the only thing that is going down is my band size. My breasts are only a D but they aren't going anywhere! They still sag however =)

I agree with Sonata... Body structure has A LOT to do with it. I'm 5'4 and weigh 213 pounds. But I don't look it because most of my weight is on my stomach and pulls it forward to make me look like I'm pregnant. My thighs are a little thick too... So finding pants that fit is a real chore.

I prefer sweatpants and cotton pants with elastics... Tying things up to keep my pants up ain't my thing. I have a weak thumb, so I have difficulty doing a lot of things. And tying up tiny little drawstrings on my pants is out of the question! I have enough trouble tying up my bootlaces, for cryin' out loud! I'm in a ladies' XL for my pants, but I like my shirts baggy so I go for a 2XL or bigger. (Hides my tummy better until I get it gone.)

I have the reverse problem. I am losing weight initially because I have to have a lower BMI for some surgery. I managed to go down a whole pants size (into old ones I'd had stored in the back of the closet for years) and on the scale I lost only 1/4lb! Fate seems to know which is important, when you want to look better the lbs come off and the pants stay the same, if you need to weigh in then you get into slimmer clothes without losing any weight. I swear to myself that at some point it will all even out.

I saw this thread and just had to post on it. I am 5'2" and currently at 271 lbs. I started out at 316 wearing a 26/28 and even that was tight at times. Now that I have lost the 44 lbs. I am down to anywhere from a 20-22 depending on how its made, what store it came from and where the item was made. I love my jeans that are a 20 because they hug what few curves I have without pushing the fat up where I look even bigger. I went a couple of places the other day looking for new clothes because almost all of the jeans I own are too big now. I tried on a pair of 20's at target and couldn't even get them up over my thighs and the 22's fit my thighs and hips but still lacked about two or three inches buttoning. I nearly cried when I left the dressing room I was so upset. I went over to wal-mart and tried on a pair of 20's there and they fit about like the 22's at Target. I love shopping but it is really starting to be a big hassle. My mom used to work in a clothing factory and she said that they were told that if they didn't have enough of a certain size to fill an order to take the next size up or down, change the tag on them and fill the order that way. I think that is a horrible practice on the part of the manufacturer.