My size goal has always been a size 10, I was a 10 in high school so that's where I wanted to be again. Now it's here, but I feel like it's not enough and I should try for an 8, why? I mean I'll probably get there I have 10-15lbs til goal, but why can't I just say...oh I got to a 10 a little sooner than I thought so let's stop now? Why don't I feel like a size 10 is good enough? Am I being influenced by societal pressures? I'm 5'-5 1/2", medium frame, a size 10 is good right? I think I look normal now, maybe even thin in the right outfit. Shouldn't that be good enough? I feel like such an insecure idiot posting this...but I'm confused by my feelings...Is it completely vain and ridiculous to keep going to just wear a smaller size? I mean it's not all that, I'm technically still overweight and I'd like a little less fat around the middle so size isn't the only issue, but it's certainly one of them.

For starters, a 10 from today is waaaaaaay different from a 10 in high school. Vanity sizing and all that, stinky as it is!

Also, if you are not happy with your body (shape, size, rolls, flab, etc. etc.) after you have worked SO HARD to come SO FAR, it can seem like giving up once you reach that goal size.

Remember, you can always back off for a little while, maintain, and see what happens. . .you might come to like your size ten body, or you might make that decision to go down to the single digits.

(Single digits is my goal, for what it's worth.) Good luck!

I think this might be part of my problem. I feel like my size 10s are a lie.

You and I are probably very close in size. I'm 5'6" and am currently at 152 pounds. I have kinda asked myself the same question. I have a lot of new size 10 clothing that I like, and my friends have been very complimentary regarding my weight loss. However, I like you, still have extra weight around my middle and my upper arms are still way too large. So, I have decided that I need to go on down to at least 140, maybe even 130 (plus continue exercise). I think when anyone has spent the tremendous effort to get close to their goal, they are not going to be satisfied with "almost good enough."
We want all that fat gone! I don't consider it just a vanity issue; I think it is a health issue, especially since fat around the middle is the most dangerous to overall health. So don't think you are being vain; I think you are demanding the best from yourself. At least, that is the way I see it.

Well there you have it! It's not necessarily the 10 that's the issue. You're not quite where you want to be. As far as the sizes go, well you really can't compare a size 10 from years ago to a size 10 from now. You can be much heavier today and wear a size 10, so for me, that's not a good barometer.

I am of the belief that I shouldn't settle for just *good enough* (weight wise). What, just because I started out soooo heavy I should stop losing weight before I'm in a comfortable spot? I don't deserve to be as slim, trim and fit as others because I had such a high starting weight? Why have a fat around the middle if you don't have to have. I'm done settling for second best. I want it ALL. Perfection is not what I'm looking for, just to be the best ME possible. I VERY much wanted to be in the *normal* range, it was important to me. And it really did make a difference getting into that normal range. The fat around the middle - was gone. And for me - gone is good. The best me possible.

I really, really would encourage you to stop focusing so much on sizes and even weight (the number and what it “signifies”, I mean). You seem to be questioning a lot (I’ve read some of your other more recent posts) and putting a lot of should be’s and will be’s out there.

Stop when you feel comfortable with your body and are happy with the results. If that means 5 more pounds, great. If it means 15 more pounds and a size 8, that’s great too. If you aren’t happy with where you are, keep going until you are. No one can say for sure what you will look or feel like (or what size you will be wearing) in 2 or 20 more pounds…you just do what makes you happy!

why not check in with your g.p. to help you set a final goal range?

Oh honey, I SO know what you mean. I struggled, (heck I still struggle) with a "goal weight". When I bought my first pair of size 12's (last spring) I was ecstatic, and shortly after while packing stuff away in the attic, I found a box of clothes in the attic from HS/collage/first married. I started pulling things out and thought they looked so small. I tried on a pair of navy blue corduroy slacks and I could NOT get them buttoned and they were a size 16. So here I was in 2009 in a size 12 but couldn't even button my 1988 size 16's. I was devastated. My size 12's were a lie...So now, even at a size 6, they are a lie. I am a 1980's size 10.

Anyway, just remember, you'll never be "done"...you'll never be at goal, because hopefully your goal is to never gain that 110 pounds back.

I am 146 5"8.5" (all good measurements) and 12's in jeans are what fits me. No big tummy as far as I can tell. Maybe I don't wear my pants as snug but I am baffled at my size compared to what others about my height and weight wear.

I just had a physical and my g.p. is fine with my current weight. She said I had good muscle tone and all was well. So I guess I'm on my own, because I don't think my current weight is acceptable.

I'm sure you've seen all the "what size are you" posts in the past. Everyone is proportioned so differently and carries their weight so differently. To be fair in jeans I think I'm still a 12, and my 10s are snug, I'm not spilling out of them, no muffin top but they are snug.

My original goal was 155 and a size 10. I hit a size 10 in the low 160s, and by my original goal, I was a size 8. Now I'm at about 154, in a comfortable size 8 (I wear my pants a little tight, but nothing outrageous--you can't see my pantyline or anything ). I thought this would be an amazing size, and I would be so happy to be this size, but my stomach is still not where I wanted it to be. Honestly, I've been seriously considering liposuction because I love my body now--my butt and boobs are perfect, and my legs are looking good--but I'm just not happy with my belly or my arms.

I have a problem with the term vanity sizing.

When the first attempts were made to standardize women's clothing sizes in the late 40's or early 50's, they were never meant to be permanent assignations, they were never meant to tell a woman anything about their bodies or the acceptability of the size. A size 10 was always supposed to reflect the "average" woman.

It also wasn't assumed that a woman would always fit in every size 10 (because while the sizes were standardized, women's bodies are not.) It was primarily meant to help women when buying clothes through mail order catalogs (where you couldn't try the clothing on). So it wasn't a crap shoot to order clothing. You still would have to return and exchange items that didn't fit the way you wanted them to, but at least you had a reasonable guess based on the size.

It was assumed that every few years (like a census), the measurements would be recalculated and a 10 would always reflect "average."

I believe the average size is currently a size 14. Which by the original intentions should be assgned the size 10. So we're actually not talking "vanity sizing" or "lying," because by the original intentions we're just overdue for assigning a 10 to the current 14's.

We're not going to see that change any time soon, because standardizing sizes has been essentially declared a failed experiment (in terms of requireing manufacturer's to adhere to standardized measurements). Currently only sewing patterns must adhere to standardized sizes (in the US).

In the scheme of things it was a short experiment. We've just returned to the pre-1950 environment, in which the manufacturer assigns the sizes they feel appropriate for their line of clothing.

The main reason the experiment failed, is because while the clothes were meant to fit women of a certain measurement, there were no standards for the clothes themselves. How a style was supposed to fit (where it was meant to be tightfitting or loosefitting) was left to the manufacturer. Also - women don't come in standard sizes and a woman might have to order different sizes depending on the style of the garment.

Women have twisted the meaning of sizes. They were meant only to assist you in finding clothes that fit, not to assign worth, identity, or status - nor to be a barometer for obesity.

I don't know.... I find the idea of sizing up disturbing. It feels too much like an acceptance of the state of our society. People keep growing? Well, we'll just change the sizing to accommodate them. Personally, I do think it is done to make us feel better about ourselves. I do think it is believed that someone will more happily buy an 8 than a 10, a 12 than a 14, and so on, even if many people (but certainly not all) do know that sizing has changed. But, whatever the reason, the message is still that it is OK that we are a larger society. We will just adjust. When do we stop adjusting: when the average size is 20W? 24W? Higher still? Maybe, if we didn't adjust sizing, some people's moment of realization and change would come sooner.

Maybe.

I think all people should love themselves, at any size. I think our society should support them at any size. But vanity sizing? I honestly don't think that is about self-love and support. And I don't think it is helpful at all.

When I was in high school, I weighed 130 and was a size 10. That was in the late 1980s. Now, I weigh 130 and am not sure my exact size. Most of my clothes are size 4 or 6. Sometimes I wear an 8.

Lori Bell - Your post gave me an idea. Wouldn't it be fun to find vintage clothes from the 1980s and try them on? I wonder how a size 10, circa 1985 would fit.

I think I might look around for some original 1980s clothes. That might be fun.

Or depressing.

I agree that it's a little disheartening to know that while I can wear a 12 now, 30 years ago it would have been a 14 or more.

BUT it's just a number. And I think part of what Kaplods was saying is that a 10 was never "supposed" to be a set of particular, specific measurements that would stay in place for enternity. So the frustration with "vanity sizing" might be a little misplaced. WE as women and consumers have our minds set about what a 10 should be and when we should be able to fit into one...but was that ever the intention or did we create that ideal for ourselves?