I started out at 270 and am now at 256.2. My clothes have been getting looser, but I haven't dropped a size yet. I know that plus sized clothes are cut bigger, so it is going to take me a while to drop a size. Should 30 pounds do it? I know everybody is different, just trying to get an idea of when I might go down a size. I'm so tired of being an 18W!

It takes a little less for each size down. I started at 333 pounds and at a comfortable size 30. It took around 30 pounds to drop to the the next size down, (28). It took around 25 to drop to the next size (26) then it was pretty much 20 pounds per size for a while, and by the time I got to a size 10 it was around 10 pounds per size. All I can tell you for exact sure is it took me 190 pounds to drop 12 dress sizes...from a 30 to a 6!

My theory is, once you make it out of the 20's it takes the number of pounds as the size your are trying to get out of! LOL

I have no idea if that actually works, but I like the sound of it!

It takes A WHILE! I started at 275 so pretty close to your starting point wearing a 20 or an 18W. It took me 40-50lbs (225) to need a 16W (although to be fair I probably could have gotten into the 16W sooner maybe, but that's the weight when I really couldn't deny I was no longer an 18W), then a further 20 lbs (205) to need a 14, then 10lbs (195) to get into a 12 and need a belt for a 14. And another 10 lbs (185) to need a size 10. Right now I'm at 183 and can comfortably button and zip size 8 jeans but I'm very self conscious about any appearance of muffin top so i'll wait maybe another 3-5 lbs but I think when I'm 177-180 it should be fine.

It IS very frustrating, but keep at it, the further you go, the faster the sizes drop.

Have you tried on 16's at all? You're taller than me and I was wearing (tight) 16's at 225lbs so they might actually fit pretty soon for you! After that it really depended on where I lost weight. I was in tight 14's before I hit Onderland so it was about a 20-25lb difference. I was in 12's in the low 190's and now I'm in 10-12's in the low 180's (in the last 10lbs I haven't lost much around my bust/waist/hips but rather my arms/thighs/face/back).

So, yeah, I think maybe 20-30 per size in plus-sizes and then roughly 10lbs for non plus-sized clothes. I like to track my measurements so I know where I'm losing so I don't get disheartened if I'm not dropping clothes sizes as quick as I'd like. For instance, right now you might be losing a lot in your arms/back/neck/calves/thighs etc but not in the mid-part of your body, which is what allows you to drop a size.

BTW, good job on your weight loss, I'm sure you'll be seeing the next size down soon!

I started at 261 and it took a good 25-30 to see a difference in clothing sizes and it's still going pretty slowly to see a full fledged size change at this point (over 45 lbs now)

Dropping a size doesn't mean that your clothes will be falling off you Have you tried on any 16s? You could drop a few sizes and still be able to wear a bigger size depending on the garment as there aren't any HUGE differences between sizes usually.

I can still wear some of my bigger clothes depending on how they're supposed to fit. For example I still wear a pair of size 14 jeggings (I'm a size 6/8 now) that don't fit like they're supposed to (i.e. skin tight) and are quite loose. However they're really really comfortable and great for days when I feel like lounging around.

I know I started out at a 16/18, but I can't tell you how much weight it took for me to drop to a solid 16. Looking at pictures of me in high school (I didn't weigh myself in hs) I can see I was probably above 200 and didn't realize it. I got down to 200 as I left high school and was a solid 16 at that point.

Now you all got me worried - I just bought a slew of size 12s as they now fit (14s are wearable but baggy). I have 10 more pounds until my initial goal and I'm sure it will take me at least 2 months to lose those 10 pounds now that the weight is coming off more slowly. I assumed that in 10 pounds or even 15 pouds I would still wear a size 12 and not need a 10. I hope this size will last through winter!

It really, really depends. Like I mentioned above it's been slower for me to get into 10's completely vs. 12's because I've been losing weight everywhere else but my bust/waist/hips. Also, I wouldn't go by sizes that you used to wear in the past due to sizes getting bigger, in general. I used to wear 8's in HS at 140lbs but considering that I'm already into mostly 10's and some 12's, well it seems like I'll be there way before 140lbs! I have a feeling, though, that my 8's then are probably like 4's or 6's now. I'm honestly not sure. Also, you lift right? So that helps you fit in smaller sizes sooner, just to add to the fun!

What a great question. I don't know the answer, as I'm just starting my journey, but kudos to all you size dropping folks!!!

Speaking about my first time losing weight:

Took me a good 50 pounds my first time.

I was sausage-casing stuffed into my size 24's. Took 50 pounds to fit comfortably into a 22, but I didn't actually buy new pants until size 20's/18's.

Sizes have DEFINITELY changed - I wore a size 12 for a microsecond in HS. I wore 9/10s when I was 140 pounds and still growing/filling out. I wore a 14 most of HS at 160s and got up to a size 16 when I graduated HS at 179 in 1988. I know they did a shirt in sizing in the mid 90s, but they must have done another in the 2000s.

I have my wedding suit in a size 16 - it fits me now (getting looser though). I weighed 189 or so when I got married. I have a LLBean skirt in my closet in a size 16 that just fits now.... vanity sizing - big time! I about died when I had to buy a ten in a couple designer's stuff - so what do TRULY small people wear - a negative 4?

For sweaters/shirts I need a large - but in some sweaters, medium and i'm chesty - 38 DD/DDD. I actually feel sorry for the petite/thin women - finding clothes has to be getting harder and harder in the US.

I think they're actually making/talking about making negative sizes. I know there was some backlash because size 0 is "too skinny" apparently. I think most people just think of 6+ foot tall models who are size 0 or 00, but forget about shorter women and naturally petite women who are size 0 naturally when at an ideal weight.

I've read some petite fashion blogs and the women there often lament that an XXS is too big for them!

Vanity sizing... Ugh.

You know what I'd love to see? INCHES! Like guys use.

Just... measure my inseam. Measure my hips. There. There's my size. You can't vanity-size my hips!

It'll still be like before in that you have to find the right brand that fits correctly, of course. (And guys have to do that, too.) But, at least it's no-nonsense.

Vanity sizing is ridiculous. When I was at my low weight a couple years ago I was wearing a size 4 - even had a 2 in a couple brands. I pulled out my favorite size 10 jeans from highschool (acid washed baby!) and I could not button them. Granted in highschool I had to lay on my bed and exhale to button them, but they were still a size 10.

How people order from catalogs baffles me because I have no idea from day to day and brand to brand what size I am.

I had been wearing gap size 8 jeans at one point on my journey and lost weight so I ordered a pair of size 6 SAME STYLE AND CUT online 1 year after buying the 8's and they were BIGGER than the 8's. One year

As to the original question the first size always takes longest because most people are squeezing in to a size before they make a change in their life and then once you get used to clothes feeling comfortable instead of pinching you you dont want to go back to sausage so you lose way more than a size before you change sizes. Right now my clothes are uncomfortably tight so I am guessing a good 20 lbs before I move 1 size because really I should be wearing a bigger size but I refuse to spend $$ on fat clothes.