I am so pleased to be in size 10s. But I keep seeing posts from others who are shorter/about my height and 20lbs heavier, but in size 8s. I know size/shape varies, but here I am wondering if when I hit goal (140) I will be in a size 8 if I'm lucky. I made my peace with never wearing a small shirt when my band size hit 32/34, but my chest was still 40" (big boobs can be fun, but get less fun the farther above D you go.) But I thought I had broken through the mentality of "You are made to be size 10, there is no hope of smaller for you." Apparently not.

So my question to you is, at what weight did you hit size 10? Do you feel you wear your weight well? I always thought so when heavier, but now I'm a 10 pants, 12-14 XL/L top, and people think I'm a 10 or 12.

(please forgive if this offends, I don't mean to disparage anyone's losses or appearance, this is just me airing my insecurities and hopes/dreams. )

I think it depends because sizing is so strange nowadays. Just today I was wearing a dress that's a size 14, but I bought pants two weeks ago that are a size 10.

Different brands, different sizes. My waist, however, is just under 34 inches, if I remember correctly.

Is your waist around 34? Or less or more?

I started to take my measurements because I know that the number on the scale and even the number on the tag in my clothes doesn't say the whole story.

I was thinking about some of my clothes 20 years ago that were a size 8 or 10, that I think are now a size 6 today. I think sizes have changed a lot in the last few years because I still have some of those clothes and I still don't fit into them!

The other thing too that can happen is we wear our weight differently. My legs are pretty muscular, from years of exercising, so I'm not sure I'll ever be able to wear thigh-high boots, for example. But because I do exercise so much, I think I look like I weigh less than what I actually do.

I think i read somewhere that Marilyn Monroe was around a size 6 but by today's standard's she would be a 14 or a 16 depending where she shops! Don't get discouraged and if you think your goal weight should put you in a smaller pant size, write the size in on the label I'm sure clothes sizing will continue to change due to marketing.

I know how you feel girly!

Right now I weigh 147.4 and My measurements are 34.5 Chest at nips/26.5Waist/36Hips. I would think I would be able to wear smaller clothes than I do, but pants seem to be stuck at 9-10s, shirts are S-M at the moment. I've always been more concerned about my pant size, I'm not sure how much smaller I CAN go as my hip bones are protruding and there isn't much I can do about that.

On the other hand people have always told me I look smaller than I am, but I guess thats just because of my shape (pear).

It's frustrating for me too. I think I need to workout more though. I am a size 10 exactly (not tight, not loose), but a lot of people my height and size are 8 or 6. It's very hard, but I try not to worry about it too much.

That's a misconception Marilyn Monroe's dimensions were 37" 23" 36" which makes her a size 6-8 by todays standards I believe. She did have a fantastic hip to waist ratio though. XD

I'd love it if the Marilyn story were true, but unfortunately vanity-sizing went the other direction. A 6 from years ago is smaller than today's 6. The other problem is that clothing back then (and today, for stars who can afford it [see Christina Hendricks]) was made for you, to fit your measurements and very little standard or off the rack sizing existed. So Marilyn always looked great because her clothes were cut to make her great, not because she conformed to a standard size.

Rana- I'm 40.5" bust (34G bra) 30.5-31" waist (right above belly button) 38" hips. I'm pudgy between waist and hips but no more than 37" I think I have a larger butt than most 10s however they're all more snug at the waist than butt or thighs.

my measurements are pretty big, 37/29/39.. it's pretty dramatic. and i wear size 10 pants, and M shirts. we all just have to play the cards that were dealt to us and make the best of it while we're at this size.

fromthebox - there you go! My waist is actually bigger than yours, so my size 10 pants are bigger than your size 10 pants! My hips are 40" and my chest (not breasts) is around 34.

Those clothing sizes don't mean anything. I buy at department stores like Macy's, so maybe your sizing is from different types of stores (more boutique or whatever).

So you're wearing small clothing that has larger sizes on it than I am.

Don't feel discouraged! You are smaller than someone that weighs 12 lbs more than you do!

I absolutely feel like I should be in smaller clothes!! Maybe not much smaller, but smaller! I have talked to people here that were my weight but wear significantly different sizes. It's all about weight distribution though, and as an apple shape, my weight is very concentrated in my stomach, so that's keeping my sizes a bit inflated. Patience!

I have small bones and going by skeletal structure and my face shape, I am "meant" to be very slim, like 100-110 lbs. Often I'll see white girls my weight and height with bigger bones, and they will look totally thin and have bones sticking out everywhere.

Sizing is nuts and vanity sizing makes me want to rip my face off and eat it. Stupid really how a number on a tag inside a piece of clothing can have such an impact on us.

When dealing with people in real life, there's also the possibility that people lie--to themselves, if nothing else. I've done it: it's possible to work your head around to the place where yes, the only pants you technically can wear are your "fat pants" that are size X, but since you have a whole closet full of size X-2, and you are going to get back to that weight ANY DAY NOW, so you are still "really" that size on some level. You're just having a fat day/month/year.

This is why every woman secretly thinks she "carries her weight well". Three identical women--Alice, Betty, and Carol--are sitting around talking about their weight. Say they all weigh 180. Alice says she weighs 170. She isn't lying, exactly, she'd just pretty sure she was retaining water the last time she weighed and the 5 lbs from Christmas don't "count" because she's going to lose them, so 180-5 lbs water - 5 lbs Christmas = 170 "real". Everyone politely acts shocked: "I would never have guessed you weighed more than 150". Alice figures that she carries her weight well. Betty says "165" without even thinking, because she has no idea what she weighs and doesn't want to "sound fat" after Alice. When everyone nods, like that makes senses, she figures it must be right. When she weighs later and sees 180, she figures she must carry her weight really well. Carol weighed recently and knows she weighs 180, but she is sitting there feeling like a cow compared to the other two. However, she knows dang well she looks like the other two, so she figures she "carries her weight well".

ME!!!!!! At this weight before I had kids I would have been just about a 14...but I'm barely making a 16. Before I had kids I had a flat butt and now, WOAH!! I have a budunk-a-dunk-dunk!! LOL!! I know womens bodies change after pregnancy but gees...

Oh I found this survey on calorie count that could be helpful for those who wonder what weight usually equals what size. Not sure how many people answered completely honest but http://caloriecount.about.com/stats-...t-size-ft13819

Looks like the average 14 is 160-175 which is shocking to me since that's what I wear and I'm 208. o.o

Going through the articles and looking at all the results the average weight of a size 8 before taking height into account (which suprisingly doesn't affect the numbers very much in this survey) appears to be 125-140.

I'm about the same as you- I haven't measured myself, but I'm 5'7", a 32G (so fun to find shirts that fit and don't become "belly shirts") I'm weighing in at 150 today, and I'm between a size 8 and 10 in pants. Some 10s are too big, some 8s are too tight. I buy pretty much all of my clothes used- can I just say that I am really over the low waist thing! I don't like pants up around my waist, but the super low rise (which seems to be all i can find) makes me feel like my pants are always falling down and what used to be "hips" now looks like "muffin top."

Anyway, I try to just focus on finding clothes that fit and feel comfortable, and not worry about which size they are. But I admit, I'd rather be solidly in 8s.