I know this is a personal question, but would you share your measurements? I would like to know what size a size four body is....
Thanks!!

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I haven't measured in eons... I just go by clothes fit personally.

I DEFINITELY have an hourglass figure (hippy, busty and small-waisted) which of course my husband LOVES. I have a pair of low-waisted jeans, but just don't feel comfortable wearing them since I like to show off my waist.

My boobs have gotten bigger since my TT, so although I can wear small tops, I feel more comfortable wearing medium tops right now. I'm in a size 34/36 C bra, most of my bottoms are size four with some size sixes. I love Old Navy and wear their small size sweats, workout shorts, and yoga pants.

Like Meg, I'm 5'4", but I weigh a bit more than her - 150 pounds give or take about 3 pounds. The lowest I've been scalewise is 143, but at that point I stopped having periods for a few months, so for me I'm probably at my 'healthy weight' now.

Isn't muscle a great thing -- and you've got tons of it (well, OK, not tons -- that doesn't sound right -- but lots ) ! Look at you, weighing what you do and comfortably wearing smalls and 4s! I'll bet people guess you weigh at least 20 pounds less than you do based on your size.

And on that note, I just have to include my fave picture of why we want to build muscle :

I'm not a maintainer yet, but I'm hoping to be there soon. I'm a six on most occasions. I'm 5'3", 134 pounds, and measure 36-27-36.

Meg - you just inspired me to go back and check my beginning measurements. 200 pounds, 42-37-47. Wow!

StarPrincess! on the measurements! I hoped you saved one big outfit from your heavy days (like the big pants in my avatar). I know Mel says whenever she has one of those bad days when she feels huge, she gets out her old jeans, tries them on, and watches them fall to the floor without unbuttoning or unzipping them.

Do you really think you can get down to 120? You're getting awfully tiny as it is!

Man! that really clarifies the importance of body composition vs body weight. Mrs. Jim, do you know what your body fat percentage is? Meg, I think I read that you're abouth 15%, right? Star Princess, do you track yours?
Thanks ladies, this is very informative!!

Thanks Meg I did keep one pair of jeans. And I do the same thing! Put them on when I'm feeling fat just to give myself a reality check.

As for the 120, I'm not sure I'll get there, but I am sure that I don't care. I'm far more interested in removing the "squish" factor.

Ginny - I don't track my body fat. I think I'd like to check it eventually, though.

Ginny -- I think body composition is far more important than scale weight, from both a health and an appearance standpoint. The last time my body fat was measured (a nine-site caliper test), it was 15.9%. It's been lower (lowest was 12.5%) BUT that's very hard for me to maintain on an everyday basis -- I was doing an hour and a half of cardio a day. I'd like to stay right around 14-15% and hope to be able to do it with just a half-hour of cardio a day (and eating clean and weights, of course!)

Do you track your body fat %?

Meg -
Unfortunately, I didn't track it when I first started working out, but I did check it when I reached my "goal weight." Like Star Princess I still feel "squishy" so I'm maintaing my current weight but trying to build lots more muscle. That appears to be the key to getting into those size four/six clothes.

Where I get confused is trying to figure out how much "squishy" is fat and how much is skin that hasn't caught up.

I stopped doing BF percentages back in 2002. I'm not a 'numbers' person - I'm more of a kinesetheic (sp?) "Look & Feel" person, KWIM? When I was doing the bodyfat percentage, it just about drove me nuts.

My (riding) trainer's nickname for me is "muscle girl" - I'm FAR from looking like a bodybuilder, but IMO I definitely look like a strong woman and I'm fine with that.

Man...I got rid of ALL my fat clothes - gave them to a lady who really needed them (a lot still had tags on them!). I do regret not keeping the red and white polka-dot dress though, it would come in handy as a tent or for curtains or something!

I'm with you on that one, Star Princess! I have some "wiggle" under my arms that I can't figure out - there's great muscle, but there's a half inch of squish underneath. Is it skin or fat?? How can you tell? My friends say it's skin but I'm inclined to believe it's fat and that given enought time/peristence I can have beautiful cut arms like others on this site. Some one said that your skin is only as thick as what you can pinch on the back of your hand - so that would still leave me with a layer of (removable!) fat...

I only kept that pair of jeans because one of my darling chihuahuas chewed a hole in the crotch so they weren't going to be worn again anyway. The rest went to friends in need and goodwill.

I also like to play a little game where I grab a pair of pants in the size I used to wear and hold it behind a pair in the size I wear now. It's fun