Getting smaller but weighing more...

Size 10 is "plus size". Ha. It's the size I wear now. I'm wearing clothes smaller than in HS. Yet. When I tried on biking jerseys at the LBS today, I look huge! Why? I have curves. Everywhere. The belly curve is what I'd like to lose, but the breast curves make the jerseys hike up and look wierd...sigh. I'm ok with wearing t-shirts. Just wish they had little zippered pockets on the seams! I may have to put some in...I'll bet that wouldn't be too hard to put a velcro'd pocket on the seam of a t...

I really should try that...I fly often and they are the only things that keep me occupied but they subliminally make you feel like cr*p then don't they? But lately I've stuck to More (over 40 crowd), Oprah, Womens Health ... sometimes the models aren't shining examples of reality, but the advice is good.

Lately I was reading in some mag that "Eva Langoria came to the photo shoot, blah blah blah, the designer brought in jeans for her to wear, in a size 24"...a size 24?! Does she eat? :eek: According to most jeans sizing that's a MINUS 2!!!

Every time I see those Desperate(ly thin) Housewives, I want to scream "Eat something!" at the screen.
I read somewhere that Felicity Huffman had battled with bulumia in her younger days (don't know how much of this is true), but thankfully she's over that now ...

I'm in that strange no-woman's-land where my butt/hips are a 14 and my waist is a 10. I have a terrible time trying to find women's pants to fit me!

Weirdest of all is that I can't wear any women's jeans. MENS Levis 560's fit me great! (32waist 32length which must be about a women's 12 or 14) I think the style right now of women's jeans being low and tight is just totally off for my bod, but the men's style of hugely loose in the buns fits me just right. Well, I mean they look low and tight-ish on me...

I was peeking at labels on women at the grocery store, and I was surprised by how many of us "adults" were wearing men's Levis.

My weight hasn't changed, but the little saddlebags at the tops of my hips are shrinking. My jeans fit me better, but i can't go down a size yet.

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Im with LateLate - we should always find time to think over what we have accomplished and not just fixate on what we haven't. Im pretty slow on my bike and sometimes I have a bit of a whine about it to my husband and he just says hey I dont know too many other 41 year old women that are out there cycling and giving it their best shot. Six months ago you knew nothing about cycling look how far you have come. Thank goodness for a husband who keeps things in perspective. I say to the ladies of TE WE ROCK.

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I picked up a book at Sam's Club the other day that I thought was just great. "Change the way you see everything through asset-based thinking."

And the quote above is exactly what the book is about. Thinking about the things you have instead of the things you haven't; the things you have done instead of the things that you haven't done. The book is a visual treat, as well.

I'm a sucker for motivational books--any time I can get the message in a new way, I'm psyched.

http://www.assetbasedthinking.com/

Karen

What is worse these days is sometimes because the standard is so thin even people who we used to think were tiny start to look fat. I mean this one young lady I know is a 6 but they even make her look fat.

My recent problem besides the mysterious 11 pound weight gain I have gone thourgh since April, it should be noted that this is when my serious outdoor training started, hill, headwinds and all. Is I have to peel my normal sizes off my thighs. The jeans I tried on Friday were worse then taking off my cycling shorts ever are. Mind you I've never been known as a thick thighed woman.

However, whenever I do a race that has lots of climbing I get my butt kicked and likely always will. Never mind I have the strength to get up some of those short steep hills in a 52/15-13.

Tuckervill-

I am absolutely psyched about that book you posted! It talked directly about a problem co-worker (calls me at home to scream at me about how I've ruined her life, and then cries about her ex husband, her kids, and her debts.... for an hour). I've got to go get this book! Fabulous!

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I'm in that strange no-woman's-land where my butt/hips are a 14 and my waist is a 10. I have a terrible time trying to find women's pants to fit me!

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I also have a heck of a time finding pants because my waist is relatively small and my hips - so not! The "boy cut" does not work for me, and pants that fit in the hips have a big gap at the waist. Well, I just found JAG jeans at Nordstrom, even though they're a bit low cut (which I thought I would hate) - they fit like a glove. There's some super stretchy thingy in there - it's like magic!!

That's funny, I've always been curvy (just a thinner curve in college 20 yrs ago!) and I used to wear JAG jeans in college alot -- they fit me great. And I haven't worn them in 20ish years I did not know they were still around. Maybe I'll have to check them out!

Another brand that makes nice jeans for curvy women is Joop - it's a german brand. I know they sell them in the US but I am not sure how much they cost there. I have a pair and I do like them alot, esp if you are looking for a jean you can "dress up".

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Originally Posted by SFBeachdog

You ladies got me to thinking... Is it the number on the scale or how you look in your clothes. So, I dug out my old prom dress. I know it's hard to believe that I still have it after 30 years, but it's a stunning red-carpet type evening gown that would be so in style today as a vintage piece. Understand that though I've lost just over 50 pounds to date, I still weigh 20 pounds more than I did back then, according to the scale. And... drum roll please... it actually fits. And a curvy woman will always look better than a teenager. Now I just need to be nominated for an Oscar so I can justify wearing it in public.

I only use that number on the scale to track how my nutrition program is doing. As I look good in my clothes that's all the proof I need that what I'm doing is working.

Lest you think this is just bragging. I am a curvy 46 year old who is finally comfortable with a curvy, strong body, my hubby's pretty happy with it too. By today's impossible standard of size 0 there are probably things my bike togs don't cover. But this body covers the road faster and climbs hills better than a lot of the guys I ride with. Would I trade that to be a "perfect" 0 - not on your life.

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Hah! Another one to say I weigh 15 pounds more than HS (20 year reunion this Thanksgiving), 20 pounds more than my all-time skinniest, and I'm wearing sizes I have never worn in my life. OK, maybe it's the extra 1/2" Anne Taylor Loft adds to their sizes is part of the cause, but still!

I use the scale to keep me honest. After gestational diabetes and now insulin resistance, I weigh weekly to keep my eating habits good. And I also test my blood sugar after any meal I think will push it high. Ugh, Thai food! My love! My nemesis!

SFBeachdog, why be a perfect 0 when you can be a perfect 10? Or better yet, a perfect 12!

--SJ

[QUOTE=CR400] My recent problem besides the mysterious 11 pound weight gain I have gone thourgh since April, it should be noted that this is when my serious outdoor training started, hill, headwinds and all. Is I have to peel my normal sizes off my thighs. The jeans I tried on Friday were worse then taking off my cycling shorts ever are. Mind you I've never been known as a thick thighed woman. QUOTE]

I have notice about a 10 lb. weight gain in the last 4-5 months. Although I commute about 2-3X a week, I am "careful" to have carbs before and after rides. I have hard, expanded muscle but still have the fat over it. :o

I had a false sense of security in regards to eating. I though I'd burn it all off and realized I have been much more liberal in portions too. Live and learn I guess.

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Originally Posted by CR400

My recent problem besides the mysterious 11 pound weight gain I have gone thourgh since April

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Originally Posted by Quillfred

I have notice about a 10 lb. weight gain in the last 4-5 months.

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I don't know if I gained weight in the first year of cycling, cause I weighed myself one summer, and didn't hop in scales again til the following summer.
But as I said earlier, it was over a year before I actually started losing weight, although my body shape was changing.

So good to hear not all of us live by what scales say, but by what our bodies can do and how our clothes fit.
I certainly understand the use of scales to help manage a condition (like diabetes) but we must be so careful not to let scales rule our thoughts.