Ok, so hear is my problem, I have been wearing a size 18-22 since I was in sixth grade. But then I only weighed about 215 or so and now at my heaviest weight 288 I am still wearing most of the same cloths...I just don't understand what is going on? I am only 5'7 so it just doesn't make sense. I was just wondering if any one else has this problem? I am also wondering that if I end up loosing weight do you think I am going to be able to where different size cloths? I was just thinking about this...I don't know.

Well, it depends where you wear your jeans - if you wear them on your waist, they will be bigger, and if you wear them on your hips/pelvic area (low rise) then they will be smaller. Maybe when you were younger your just wore pants that were too big for you? And also, you may have grown taller since grade 6, and that count account for some of your increase in weight. That's just what I think though. I'm no expert!

Oh, and I don't know about if you were to lose weight, if you would need smaller clothes.. It depends on your bones! You may have wide hips or something.. Lol. But I bet you're beautiful, regardless!!

I think that it may depend on how you carry your weight. Also, depending on how recently you've bought clothes... It seems like every stores clothing is the same size, but it tends to run differently. I can wear a size 18 at lane Bryant, but old navy 18s don't fit right through my thighs. I would def think you'd be wearing a differnt size as you lose weight, especially when you hit goal.

Some clothes also stretch. Knit tops and t-shirts, and even jeans, if you wear them frequently while you're gaining weight, some will grow with you. I had two pairs of jeans that fit perfectly when I bought them (on the same day), but I didn't like the lighter pair, so I wore the darker pair alot more often (every week in fact) and the lighter pair I only wore if I ran out of laundry (ok, I'll admit it, the lighter pair was actually pastel pink, what possessed me to buy pastel pink jeans I don't know. Yes it was the 80's, but still pastels and fat butt DO not go together in any decade). Oh, and the darker pair was overdyed purple, but a really dark, slimming (or so I imagined) purple, and I LOVED those jeans.

I gained weight and went up a clothing size and a half, but still those dark purple jeans fit pretty well (ok, I had to inhale deeply to zip them, but I didn't have to lie down on the bed or use a pair of pliars to zip them - yes I've done that before). It didn't seem likely that the jeans had stretched THAT much, so I dug out the pastel pair from the back of my closet and tried them on, and I could barely get them past my thighs, and definitely couldn't zip them.

Knits stretch even further, and I have some turtleneck tunits from Lane Bryant that I still wear 20 years after I bought them (they're a really soft knit, and they've stretched out beyond what my body could do, because they've never fit snuggly, they've always been a bit baggy, but the more they're washed the larger they've grown.

I remember once working in a plus size retail store a woman brought back a sweater that had grown out of shape after washing. It was about 6 inches shorter and about two feet wider than it had been on the rack. Probably blocking would have prevented some of that, but I've had sweaters that did the same thing, no matter how carefully I washed or blocked while drying.

Maybe you have gained muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less space.

Kaplods That is totally true. I wore the same jeans (most of them) from a 20 pound weight difference The minute I lost 15 pounds I went to OLD Navy and tried to get the size I bought before I gained weight and heck I get two sizes UP. I was thinking WTC I have size 12 jeans how do I have to buy 14's and LOST 15 pounds.Then it dawned on me oooooh they grew with me and I really wore a 16.

Maybe there's some vanity sizing also at work here? I know you're only 20, but perhaps the sizing has shifted a little in the past 9 years or so?

Also, as you get older your weight can re-distribute to various places. Perhaps you just gained that weight in different areas? Also, I'm sure you were a bit shorter in the 6th grade.

When you will lose pant sizes totally depends. Some people lose in that area immediately, for others it takes a big chunk for that to happen. I lost pretty consistently at age 22, but it took about 30 pounds to get out of the 18-20 pants. I've regained some weight and it ALL went straight to my hips and butt and I'm sure some of it has to with my age as well (I'm almost 27).