Attention women 5'2"-ish tall...SOS....

[Salsa Dancer]

:eek: I badly need some input.....

 

I have a question about size range versus weight range after trying out my husband's new digital scale. I stepped on that thing and weighed 18 lbs. MORE. Needless to say, I am very deflated. I just put up a long post on the "Need a buddy..." thread and am going to post the same stuff here, in hopes of flagging down other women who are at or near my height....

 

 

:( Okay...I am planning on contradicting my own self in some ways here, but I just got so bummed out (very 80's of me)! I don't know what to think. I just tried my husband's new HealthOMeter scale out. I've been avoiding it. It's digital; supposedly measures body fat, etc. I stepped on our regular scale that I've been weighing myself on for years, with clothes on, then the new one.

 

I thought, "Can't be that big of a difference. Don't be afraid. You won't be any fatter after you step on it, than before." So with my clothes on, I weighed 180 on our regular scale, then disaster happened. I stepped on that &%##@@ digital scale (I had to insert Fred Flintstone language) and I weighed 18 lbs. MORE. 18 lbs. Eighteen pounds. EIGHTEEN POUNDS. Did I really start out at 206lbs.???????? My hubby thinks it is absolutely accurate.

 

I'm not trying to make excuse here but here's the deal.....I know clothing sizes and range. I am 5'2" tall. Here is my sizing in "misses"....all approximate, of course. What I've known for my whole life, from pre-teens to mid-life woman is that to go down a clothing size, I have to lose between 12 and 15 lbs.

 

?-122= Size 8

122-137= Size 10

137-152= Size 12

152-167= Size 14

167-182= Size 16

182-188= WAY TOO TIGHT SIZE 16s 'cause I refused to buy 18s

 

Right now, I'm in 16s which are getting noticably loose. They went from way too tight, to comfortable, to on the loose side. Next stage will make them too big and ready for the Goodwill bag. Another 10 lbs. and I should weigh about 168 on MY SCALE (or 186 on his); so I would wear some 14s that would be on the tight side. Before our last cruise, I weighed about 165 and wore all of my 14s well.

 

Can you tell that I am freaking out a bit at seeing 198 on ANY scale this morning?

 

I need any of you who are in my height range to tell me if you think my WEIGHT/SIZE estimation is off. I cannot believe that I was truly over 200 lbs. Is it possible? Or is that digital scale crazy. To be over 200 lbs., wouldn't I have worn a much larger clothing size. I couldn't even wear size 16 tops, at my top weight, as I am a pear shape. So I have worn tight 16s in pants and skirts and 14s in tops.

 

Okay...I've vented. If I have been or am self-deceived, I am ready for the truth. Don't say anything to make me feel better....just give it to me straight. I'm bracing myself.....

__________________

[srlafleur]

#1 - clothing size is just a number! (yeah, I know easy to say!)

What matters more is comfort and fit. Clothing too big or (god forbid) too small will suit neither comfort nor figure flattery.

#2 - what the scale says is also just a number. (again...I know, easy to say) What matters more is health. Some people, predestined with a body-type that is "fluffier", are quite healthy and active. Becoming more healthy by improving diet and increasing activity should be the priority, rather than attaining a certain clothing size, which will come, probably easier, if the focus is changed.

[bobandkelly]

Like srlafleur said. These are numbers. Use them as a guide. Every scale is going to be different. Just like sizes on clothes are different. A size 14 in one brand might not fit like a size 14 in another.

Don't make yourself crazy over what the numbers say. Yes you want to keep the numbers going down so keep working towards that. Keep working towards your goal of being healthier. Celebrate the fact that you are losing, your clothes are now looser than they were before. You did not put the weight on overnight and it won't go away over night. Don't be discouraged because you saw a new number. If you are going to start using that scale as your guide then you will have to make up your mind not to let it bother you. Just keep on toward the goal.

Kelly

[misty57]

I am also about the same height and find that I fit into the same clothing size range that you do at the corresponding weights. Even at the same height, it does depend on your build. I can gain 10lbs with mainly fluid retention. I did this on our last cruise. It had to be fluid retention because it was gone in a week. I usually weigh after I have cut back on intake for a while, not before because I don't want to know the worst number! Try weighing again in a week and see what it is, or just go by how your clothes fit.

[Salsa Dancer]

I am also about the same height and find that I fit into the same clothing size range that you do at the corresponding weights. Even at the same height, it does depend on your build. I can gain 10lbs with mainly fluid retention. I did this on our last cruise. It had to be fluid retention because it was gone in a week. I usually weigh after I have cut back on intake for a while, not before because I don't want to know the worst number! Try weighing again in a week and see what it is, or just go by how your clothes fit.

 

 

I've read everyone's encouraging posts and wanted to pop in and say "Thank You" for responding. I've been so befuddled by the thought of being over 200 on my first day of changing myself. I've got numbers and weight ranges stuck in my head from weighing in on the same scale daily, for years. So until this past year, my all-time-high was 181. This year I went up to 188, or so I thought.

 

I wanted to tell Misty that I have the same problem with water weight gain. Just last night, knowing that our thread weigh-in is on Monday, I stepped on the scale and was up 6 lbs. My rings were so tight! My feet felt like fluffy socks. I can physically feel the excess water and it is an uncomfortable feeling. I drank lots of water and took a water pill. I'm not a pill person and actually bought that box years ago and had only taken one of them a couple of years back, but decided to take one last night. With that, I drank 4 large glasses of water, was up 3 times in the night, but down 6 lbs. by morning. What a relief.

 

Aside from that, I still don't get it. If my current weight is 198 or 197 and not the 179 that it appears to be on my own scale, why don't I wear a much larger size than 14 tops and 16 bottoms? I don't get it. If I were to go to Lane Bryant and put on the 14/16 women's top, it would be too big. Maybe a skirt would fit, but that's it. I figured I'd wear about a size 20 if I were at or over 200. Not sure what to think on weight. I'm taking the other ladies' advice and trying to focus on how I feel but it's hard to say that I am focussing on how I LOOK because I think most overweight people can have a skewed view of that, too. I look in the mirror sometimes and with the right outfit on, right hairstyle, right make-up and accessories, I think, "Hmmm. Not bad." Then i see a picture of myself at some later date and think, "Oh my gosh!!! Is that how I REALLY look?" It's hard to see ourselves, sometimes. We run from scales, run from tape measures, run from cameras, and really run from video tape. I guess I just have to stay with what I'm doing, even if the loss is slow, and wait until I physically feel good and listen to the input from close friends and family to know I've reached my goal.

[srlafleur]

If you've been working on increasing your physical activity, and your clothes are actually fitting looser, ignore the number on the scale. If you've increased your muscle mass, muscle actually weighs more than fat.

Good luck!

[cruise kitty]

sorry- but you can't judge weight by sizes, manufactures have been fudging on sizes for years to make American woman "feel" thinner. The scale is probably accurate. The thing is you ARE losing weight! Keep it up and good job!

[misty57]

sorry- but you can't judge weight by sizes, manufactures have been fudging on sizes for years to make American woman "feel" thinner. The scale is probably accurate. The thing is you ARE losing weight! Keep it up and good job!

Maybe you can't judge weight by sizes, but when clothes that you already own fit differently you can know that your weight ( or measurements) are changing... good or bad. When the scale doesn't budge but you can finally get your "skinny" jeans zipped up, you know you are making progress.:D I have started buying a smaller size of the jeans I always wear, so when those start getting loose, I will get the next size. When I was losing weight after my last child was born, I would go to a department store every few weeks and try on jeans. It was fun when I would be able to fit into another size or the previous size was fitting better.

[cruise kitty]

Maybe you can't judge weight by sizes, but when clothes that you already own fit differently you can know that your weight ( or measurements) are changing... good or bad. When the scale doesn't budge but you can finally get your "skinny" jeans zipped up, you know you are making progress.:D I have started buying a smaller size of the jeans I always wear, so when those start getting loose, I will get the next size. When I was losing weight after my last child was born, I would go to a department store every few weeks and try on jeans. It was fun when I would be able to fit into another size or the previous size was fitting better.

 

I totally agree, I have my "skinny jeans" that I use as a gauge, when they are too tight, I know I'm in trouble, it sounded like the op had been slowly buying larger and larger clothes and trying to gauge her weight by them. (I still think it's great they she is now weighing and losing!

[sacway]

sorry- but you can't judge weight by sizes, manufactures have been fudging on sizes for years to make American woman "feel" thinner. The scale is probably accurate. The thing is you ARE losing weight! Keep it up and good job!

 

I agree, drop into a 2nd hand store and pick up a size 12 or 14 skirt. You will be shocked at the waistline (my shock is what has happened to size 10). Not your fault, but if you've been "watching" your weight by the size you wear, you've likely gained without knowing as the nation overall has got "fluffier". This is true even if you have been wearing the same label for years.

 

Give yourself a big bear hug for working up the courage to jump on the new scale. The best of these won't change 2 lbs just by getting on/off or leaning one way or the other. The body fat calculation, while rough, clues you if your weight gain/loss is water weight (you biochemists out there might be able to explain this). Switch to a tape measure, for accuracy, if you want a stable comparison.

[adoptmom]

I have to agree. Keep your tape measure as your guide. It will be the most accurate account. I keep a journal with my measurements from month to month.

 

Heck, with sizing on clothes I can pick up one size from 4 different lines and it will fit me 4 completely different ways. I do like my new digital scale but I have one of those fancy ones that let me figure body fat, BMI, etc. Our old digital scale was completely freaky. If you sat it in different spots on the floor you could get a difference of up to 20 pounds. And if the battery was starting to go... oh lordy. I literally went from 190 to 260 over night. That was when I decided to buy the new fancy scale. :D

 

Tami

[Salsa Dancer]

I agree, drop into a 2nd hand store and pick up a size 12 or 14 skirt. You will be shocked at the waistline (my shock is what has happened to size 10). Not your fault, but if you've been "watching" your weight by the size you wear, you've likely gained without knowing as the nation overall has got "fluffier". This is true even if you have been wearing the same label for years.

 

Give yourself a big bear hug for working up the courage to jump on the new scale. The best of these won't change 2 lbs just by getting on/off or leaning one way or the other. The body fat calculation, while rough, clues you if your weight gain/loss is water weight (you biochemists out there might be able to explain this). Switch to a tape measure, for accuracy, if you want a stable comparison.

 

 

I agree with all of you...manufacturers are adding more fabric while leaving the sizes the same. I've been to vintage clothing stores and have picked up what USED TO BE a size 12 and was shocked. It looked more like a size 6 now. Currently, I'm using a scale, a tape measure, and a pair of tight capris. ;)

[cb at sea]

Usually, the more expensive, the smaller size I can wear! (I guess they want you to feel good about spending a bunch on a little piece of nothing!)

[Jfultz81]

My friend, Kate, just lost 50 lbs. and is now down to 200.. she's been wearing a L shirt and a 14 bottom at Old Navy. My body is different.. I lost 75 lbs. (sadly, its come back) but I only went down 2 sizes in tops and 1 size in bottoms.. so really, we are all different.

 

Congrats on your loss!! Thats all that counts!

[smoothdancer]

I am a weight # watcher! But I am more interested in the change in my weight, not how much I actually weigh. My scale is pretty old but I know that it will be consistant... If day one it says I weigh 120 and day 10 I weigh 115 I know I lost weight. I dont try any other scale because this will not be a true measure of what I have gained or lost.

 

Regarding your sizes, I weigh in between 118-120 now at 5'5 and now way could I wear an 8. I usually wear a size 4, sometimes a 6 if it is a small cut.