The other day, I was upstairs before work and one of the girls was in there with me. We were discussing pants (we have to wear black pants to work), and got into a discussion about our sizes. She asked what size I was, and I told her a 7, sometimes can fit into a 6 depends on the clothing store. She had me repeat it because she thought I was smaller then that. I laughed and told her I wish. That was the second time this month that someone said that.

But yet, I always feel like I look more like a size 10 or so because I am pear shaped, and have big thighs, bottom, and hips (and when I say big, I mean HUGE lol). I personally haven't seen any change in my lower half in years, but of course the pants say differently, as I was going through older clothing from 3-5 years ago, and I was a size 12/14 and around the same height (maybe grew an inch, nothing major).

Does anyone else get comments like that where someone is shocked to learn what size you are, but you always feel bigger? If that makes any sense..

Sure, but that's because (at least IMHO), people are terrible at guaging sizes and weight. That's why you have (shallow) guys walking around that think that 100 pounds or so is a reasonable weight for an average height girl or that anything over 140 is fat. I would never presume to know someone's size, but when I've ventured a guess, I find that I'm usually wrong. Very wrong

People never thought I weighed over 200 pounds, but I did. There are so many shapes, sizes and variances, that it would be impossible to be able acurately eyeball everyone.

Sweetie, it's not POSSIBLE that they are "HUGE" if, at 5'7" you wear a size 6 or 7.

Well, if they are "huge" in regards to the rest of your body, I can see that. I see that about my own hips, actually. When I lost weight I had these monster, child bearing hips to deal with that I never knew I had. I actually called my parents and asked them "where in God's name did these come from?!?!?" I have a small frame, small chest, long legs, and these wide hips.

It was quite the surprise. It would be a shame for me not to have children, I think

I'm sure you've heard this before, so I'm sure you will ignore me, but I feel it's sometimes helpful to mention unattainable or unhealthy goals...

120 pounds at 5'7" is medically underweight, even on a small frame. Please be careful, and do lots of toning/strength training exercises--you may find a gorgeous body at a higher weight than you think!

To me it's not about what the scale says but more about my body fat percentage and how I look!

You can be 170lbs but IN SHAPE and look damn good because you're toned. Muscle weighs more than fat. I haven't lost much weight since I started with my trainer, but I have lost inches and when I did my body fat percentage it has dropped 2%.

At 5'7.5 and 181lbs I have 31% body fat..which is considered in the NORMAL range for my age...not saying it's healthy..but it's normal.

So don't beat yourself up for what you see on the scale. The scale doesn't tell the difference between fat and muscle.

When you're a little taller than average you tend to look more stretched out, hence people think you're a lot thinner or smaller than you are. I do admit to having body dysmorphic disorder, but I'm a hair under 5'9" in a size 8 and one of my best friends was trying to give me her itty bitty size 4 jeans just the other day because they are too small for her. She kept insisting that I just "try them on" because she couldn't believe I was a size 8 when she's a 6. She thinks she's bigger than me! I had to get one the scale and show her I weigh 165 lbs before she even believed that I was an ounce more than 130 because according to her I am "model skinny". I wish! I feel like a bloated whale!

Now, of course I declined them because 1.) she's barely 5'3" and they would be bermuda shorts on me, and 2.) there is no WAY i'm pulling a size 4 waistband up over my Kim Kardashian-esque rump.

Take it in stride, my dear. It's a weird sort of compliment.

It was recommended to me by a doctor though, otherwise I wouldn't go that low. Because of my shape, I have a lot of body fat. If I lose weight, I lose it from the top half only no matter how much weights I do with cardio. I don't follow the BMI just because it's so unaccurate for me.

Yes, my family seems to be in denial about just how fat I am. My mom thinks I weigh about 40lbs less than I do. My husband thought I wore a size 8 when in fact I'm just down to a 14. I went to the doctor one day and had to get on the scale. The nurse looked at me and said "no, you can't weigh that much" she made me get on again. She said it like 5 more times while I just stood there feeling a little stupid. I wasn't sure if I should be embarassed or happy that I didn't look as fat as I thought. My family knows I need to lose weight but I don't think they realized I had a good 50-60lbs to lose.

I'm glad you got the advice from your doc - it sounds like you are one of those that doesn't fit the average "mold" of bmi. As long as you are healthy and your doc is happy, whatever goal you pick is OK by me.

I'm also VERY bottom heavy, so I feel your pain. I remember very well being like a size 10 bottom and a 4 top one time when I was in good shape . Have you asked your doc about trying to build upper body lean muscle mass? I'm trying that as a way to balance out my build.

Oh, and since I wandered away from the original question - I recently went to a kayaking class where the instructor fitted us with boats. I found out after when I was looking at info on my boat online that it was intended for a max weight 15 # lighter than me Bless that instructor's heart!! And I kept the boat

That's what I was going to say!

Isn't strange how differently we carry weight? And how distorted our judgement is?

I recently told my grandma that I weigh over 160 lbs., and she just looked at me in astonishment and said, "No! You can't possibly!" I do, and I have for years.

I'm 5'5 and I can't imagine EVER being able to squeeze into a size 6. I'd be tickled to get back to a size 8, which is what I wore in high school. I was a freaking hottie at size 8.

Bodies are weird.