The Truth About Sizes

I've been quiet on the blog because I'm feeling at a loss of words to describe what's going on for me. I'm in another plateau. My last drop in size was late June. I don't track my weight loss or my plateaus, but I recently became aware of a pattern in my thinking after my last plateau: I quickly forget I dropped an entire size.

Following my friend Aime's advice, I read the blog from the first entry backwards, to remember my weight loss journey and where I've been. I was looking for inspiration to shake me out of my "boo hoo I am at a plateau again" mood.

I only read the first and second entry before I realized focusing on size can be just as frustrating as focusing on the scale. Neither is an accurate measure of weight loss. Scales can vary, depending on whose scale you're on, and sizes are all over the place, depending on the brand.

In my 9/25/11 entry, I wrote:
  • When I started this journey, I wore size 30/32 tops and pants and I couldn't fit into anything in the women's section of JC Penney or Macy's. 
  • Last weekend I bought a Macy's 1X blouse and it fits perfect. 
  • Yesterday I wore a size 20W front-zip pants (hand-me-downs)
Those statements were all true, but here's the truth about my size clothes today:
  • In June I bought my first dress and it was a size 20.
  • In August I bought two dresses at Lane Bryant (yes, I said I would never go back, but if the shoe fits....). One dress was a size 14/16 and the other was a size 22/24. Both fit beautifully.
  • The clothing in the women's department in Macy's are mostly too big (yes, I went back there too), but there are a few items that fit.
The moral of my story, and my lesson learned: not all sizes are created equal. This is not like any other diet, including how the weight comes off. This journey has been steady: Drop weight. Hold. Appetite increases. Weight drops. Hold. Repeat. Sometimes I forget that this is the process, that my body is healing when I am a plateau, and that if I just keep doing what I'm doing, I will get to my ideal size. It is working. I sometimes get impatient.

When I look at the photos of me below side by side and a year apart, I have definitely lost a ton of weight. I know this, but in the day to day of things of life, it's easy for me to forget where I was, even just a few weeks ago when I was one size larger.
Sept. 2012 (14/16)
Sept. 2011 (4X)


What about you? Can you relate to any of this?

4 comments:

  1. Wow. You are at a loss of words. I read that. You are on a plateau. I read that as well. But, lordy lordy look at those pictures. Put up your before and now picture in every place you have to so that you never forget where you were, and where you are now. And enjoy the plateau. I know that is odd to say, but, the healing that is going on in your body is tremendous. And totally noticeable when you look at your 2012 picture. You look HEALTHY. Yes, more weight will come off. That will happen. But, until then, enjoy being and looking HEALTHY. Holy Cow. You are beautiful. Healthy. Youthful. A real smile on your face!!!!!!!! Brings tears to my eyes. We gotta get together soon! Hugs to you Miss Wonderful!!!!!!

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  2. Anonymous9/09/2012

    Hi Theresa,
    I was so happy to see a new post today, I was concerned that your blog had ended. Once I read your post, I could understand how you've been feeling.

    I have gone through something very similar with the crazy clothing sizes. Approximately 4-5 weeks ago I had to go & purchase items because none of my "old " clothes that I've relied on during my weight loss fit anymore. Up until this point I've been able to dig deep in my clothing bins for twelve year old clothes. Thankfully everything I owned for work was black ( hmm.. I wonder why ) and I was very excited in one way that I could finally justify spending money on new clothes because I exhausted all my options, however, extremely frustrated & disappointed in another because store to store & designer to designer were huge differences with sizing. It never ceased to amaze me how sizes can vary. I ended up taking sizes 8-14 to the fitting rooms because I had gotten dressed & undressed so many times that I was exhausted. Something tht was supposed to be so " rewarding " to me became a chore in the end.

    Theresa, you look amazing! You have been my motivation throughout this process with weight loss. I read & re-read every word you write & am always able to either learn or take something that you've said & apply it to my life. Because of your honesty with your journey I've been able to prepare myself for the plateaus as they have come. I've kept a positive attitude & challenged myself along the way to get up & move but most importantly the time you've taken to help everyone of us to connect is priceless. As you said this isn't like any other diet out there so unless we have each other to compare experiences I don't know that I would have had the patience to continue.

    Thank you for all that you give!

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  3. Theresa, you look great, younger and confident! I thnk we all go through these feelings and it's nice to know that we're not alone. It's a great feeling to try something on and have it be too big. I recently pulled a pair of jeans, a size smaller, expecting them to be tight and they weren't. This has been an amazing journey and I'm just enjoying the ride.

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  4. I agree with all the other bloggers, you look amazing and your blog helps to keep me going. I think we all tend to hide when we are not feeling the excitment that we all had in the beginning. We need to remember that slow and steady wins the race and the plateaus are our bodies way of healing and adjusting to the new us. Every plateau just makes this loss so much more permanent. You are an amazing woman Theresa, and one year from now you will look back at your journey and think what a wonderful trip it has been.

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