Getting smaller but weighing more...

[CR400]

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.

[KnottedYet]

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!

[maillotpois]

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!

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!!

[VenusdeVelo]

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".

[susiej]

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.

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

[Quillfred]

[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.

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.

[RoadRaven]

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

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

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.