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Manufacturers have changed the sizes so people don't get upset when they go up in size. When I was in high school in the early 90's I wore size 8 and I was 118lbs. In the 2000's 20lbs heavier I wore size 4 but I couldn't fit into my high school jeans. Of course now I would be happy in a size 8 from today. A size 12 from the 60's could be a size 0 or 2 of today.
A size 12 from the 60s is probably closer to a size 6-8 today, maybe 4-6. There are two main "schools" in women's sizing: catalog sizes, which fluctuate, and pattern sizes, which have not changed nearly as much. This is why if you buy a pattern to make a dress you usually have to buy a pattern sized much larger than what you normally wear. Wedding dresses also usually (but not always) follow women's pattern sizing rather than women's catalog sizing. I have a dress of my mother's from the late 1960s that is a size 11/12 and it is about an inch or two too big all the way around. My dress size is about 6-8 depending on the cut and the manufacturer.
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Originally Posted by suzie02
Sorry. Do you have anything from a decade or so back? Try it on and see how it fits you.
I can still wear most clothing from 16-20 years ago (high school days) and the sizes on those range from 6 to 9. My current jeans size is a 6 in the cut I buy at Old Navy (the cords in the same cut are a size 4), I have no idea what size I would be in other brands. Some of my old high school clothing is baggy, and some of it I cannot fit into because my ribcage is now too wide. I do not think clothing sizes have changed as much as people say from 15-20 years ago, but then again as I type this I am wearing pajama bottoms in a size small that are so baggy on me that I have to fold the waistband at the side then fold the entire top over to keep them from falling down. I think it is either a manufacturing error (maybe a large tagged as a small by accident) or that manufacturer sizing their clothes ridiculously large! Who knows. Women's clothing sizing is BS anyway.
They had that on the news about manufacturers changing their sizes so women in particular don't feel bad about themselves. I recently lost some weight but throughout my life the smallest I ever could fit into was size 7, I usually stayed around an 8 at one time a 9. I recently went out looking for jeans and I take a size 4 that is still loose on me. Like I said I could not even fit into a 6 all my life. I think the whole thing is stupid, they talk about Americans being overweight but instead companies are doing things that feed into it. Besides it's not like the day when your waist size was listed on the back of your jeans for the world to see and yeah that had to be when I was really overweight as a child .
1. Examine our portions - go to a restaurant in Europe and you will notice the difference. We get huge portions of food when we dine at a restaurant. Do we really need all that food? You probably take a box home because usually its more food than you can eat
2. Examine advertising - How many McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Red Lobster, Carrabas, Outback etc All of these places serve mostly high fat high calories food. When you are bombarded with images like that, you naturally start to crave foods like that.
3. Examine your roads _ There is a fast food restaurant every mile. They are easily accessible and with cheaper $1 menus and quicker drive-thrus, it's easy to swing by McDonalds on the way home
4. We drive everywhere - The United States is notorious for its citizens driving everywhere. Unless you live in an urban area where walking is a reasonable option, you will likely drive everywhere.
5. Examine your television - Food Network and Bravo all contain shows in which high fat and high calorie foods are prepared. These cooks use butter, cheese and high fat meats liberally. The Food Network is almost irresponsible at times. Even one of their harmless fun shows like "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" had a show in which they were competing making Belgian Waffles. Bobby Flay put cheese, butter and cream in his Waffles and that was just inside the waffle. Those waffles must have been a 1000 calories each. I saw Tyler Florence make Spaghetti and Meatballs and it wouldn't suprise me if 2 servings of his S&M were over 2000 calories. He fried his meatballs. He used a lot of oil and cheese in his Spaghetti
6. Examine your lifestyle. How many of you prioritize dinner? Most of us work hard and come home and just want comfort food. How many of us buy groceries and cook together?
I think the real problem is not only too many calories but the wrong types of food. At least a steak has some amount of nutritional value to it. But, soda? White flour hydrogenated-oil soaked baked goods? That stuff is poison and Americans can't stop eating it. Couple that with sitting on our asses all day and I'm surprised that the obesity rates aren't higher. It is absolutely disgusting to watch some butterball stuffing their face with unhealthy crap.
I hope I won't be rude as english isn't my language but I read all 11 pages and the first thing that amazes me is that (I'm sorry if I've overlooked a post or two, maybe), I don't recall reading one testimony about food as a pleasure, something to enjoy, not an ennemy or glucids, and proteins and carbs (whatever they are?)...
And, after that first thing, another : I agree it's very difficult to lose weight, much easier not to gain it. Once you're five pounds over board, stop eating, move more, it'll take a week or so to rebalance...
Third thing and it is a very shoking thing I'm about to say, I know. I read many "explanations for obesity" but, although there can be very few exceptions, the rule is simple. Very. Equal what goes in with what goes out.
Last edited by tao; 10-06-2010 at 09:47 AM..
Reason: edited out inappropriate comment
I hope I won't be rude as english isn't my language but I read all 11 pages and the first thing that amazes me is that (I'm sorry if I've overlooked a post or two, maybe), I don't recall reading one testimony about food as a pleasure, something to enjoy, not an ennemy or glucids, and proteins and carbs (whatever they are?)...
And, after that first thing, another : I agree it's very difficult to lose weight, much easier not to gain it. Once you're five pounds over board, stop eating, move more, it'll take a week or so to rebalance...
Third thing and it is a very shoking thing I'm about to say, I know. I read many "explanations for obesity" but, although there can be very few exceptions, the rule is simple. Very. Equal what goes in with what goes out.
You are correct! Very few people enjoy food anymore in this country. Just last week I saw a post in which someone felt bad about "cheating" by eating a bunch of fast food. I asked how did it taste and he said "well it was edible." Most people eat garbage in this country, and when some wisen up and stop, they just eat in an incredibly boring fashion.
Totally agree on the weight gain too. It's so easy if you nip it in the bud early. Hell I've gained weight myself thanks to lazy spells (such as when my father died, I gained 10 pounds). But I didn't dream of buying bigger clothes... once the pants became too tight, it was time to start working out.
The day the weight starts to disrupt my routine and gets into more serious health issues, then I'll worry more about dieting.
That's kinda like saying you'll quit smoking once you get emphysema, lung cancer, or heart disease. It's 10x harder and maybe impossible for some if they wait as long as you're suggesting.
I agree with what OngletNYC said....if your pants are getting tight, that's a major red flag right there that you need to eat less/eat more healthily/exercise more!!! Resist the temptation to "solve" your problem by buying new clothes.
Seriously, I have found that good eating habits truly do help lose weight. I used to work out religiously and lost weight, only to gain back some after stopping due to work/family schedule. Only when I changed me eating habits did I really begin to lose weight, and not put so much back on. But hey, M&Ms are good, and they're calling me as I need to still survive the workday...and it's better than a soda!!
I agree. It's mostly about eating health, non-processed foods in modest proportions. Eating a lot of fruits & vegetables helps because the fiber in these foods helps you to feel full, and controls appetite naturally.
Processed foods have both a lot of calories and don't make you feel full... so it's a double whammy.
I really like this short and simple book about food:
He's got really simple rules for what counts as real food and what doesn't. He says if you can't pronounce the ingredients, don't eat it. If your grandmother or great grandmother wouldn't have recognized it as food, don't eat it...stuff like that. It's simple, really. Just hard to do since fake food is everywhere.
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Do you have anything from a decade or so back? Try it on and see how it fits you.
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