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How many lbs do you need to put on to go up a dress size?

31 replies

Musiclife · 20/11/2016 22:54

I have been having a sort out of my clothes, and lots of my skirts and trousers don't fit me any more. I reckon I have put on about 5lbs and must have gone up a dress size. I am 5' 4". Is that about right?

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OpalTree · 20/11/2016 23:14

For me at the same height it's about a stone for each dress size.

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Musiclife · 20/11/2016 23:20

A stone? That's more than I thought based on the fact I can hardly get the trousers over my thighs.

Unless I've put on more weight than I thought Confused.

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BakeOffBiscuits · 20/11/2016 23:29

Surely it depends on how tight the clothes were when they "fitted" you. So if they were quite loose on you, it would take a stone but if they were quite fitted, you'd only need to put on a few pounds for them not to fit.

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BakeOffBiscuits · 20/11/2016 23:33

The good news is you only have to lose 5lbs and they'll fit again.

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PickAChew · 20/11/2016 23:38

it depends where you are. Same height as you and have lost a stone and a quarter, this year. Have gone from 14-16 to 12-14. Bra size has changed the least - my 32GG are only a tiny bit baggy in the cup, but I suspect I'd outgrown them at my heaviest, anyhow!Blush

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JohnCheese · 20/11/2016 23:45

100 years ago, iirc, in weight watchers, they used to tell us you went down a dress size for every 10lbs you lost.

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JanetStWalker · 20/11/2016 23:55

Yeah, I was going to say about 10lbs.

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oldlaundbooth · 21/11/2016 01:44

Yeah, around 10lbs sounds more like it.

5 would definitely make a difference though.

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StatisticallyChallenged · 21/11/2016 02:31

I think it depends on the size. It seems to take me much more in weight terms to go from a 16 to a 14 vs a 12 to a 10.

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JustGettingStarted · 21/11/2016 06:14

I'm about two stone heavier than when I wore a 12 and I'm now a 16 so I think for me it's about a stone.

Now a half stone down and hope to be a 14 again soon. Not sure if I'll get back to a 12 but perhaps someday.

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JustGettingStarted · 21/11/2016 06:14

I forgot to say that I'm 5'10" and I gain in my belly.

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Musiclife · 21/11/2016 07:12

Funnily enough I put on 10lbs (gradually, I didn't even notice) and have lost 5lbs but it's hard to maintain so my weight is probably fluctuating.

Tops still fit fine. I put weight on around the belly and hips and thighs.

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knowler · 21/11/2016 15:55

I think it depends entirely on the person, what shape you are, and what brands you're used to wearing. I've put on 4 stone over the past 16 years. 16 years ago, I was a size 16, sometimes a size 18 in trousers to be comfortable. Now I'm a size 18, sometimes a size 20 in trousers.

I also think though that a lot of this is to do with vanity sizing over the last 16 years - 4 stone for 1 size seems a bit ridiculous.

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OllyBJolly · 21/11/2016 15:58

I think it depends.

I've put on almost a stone since March (lost our dog and I'm making up for the lack of long walks by stuffing my face). I'm still wearing a size 10, but everything is definitely tighter. If I was to shop for clothes now I'd be buying a 12.

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Tangoandcreditcards · 21/11/2016 16:00

Really depends 10-12lbs, I'd say. BUT I can maintain wait and drop a dress size when I complete the 30 day shred!

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BeautyGoesToBenidorm · 21/11/2016 16:16

I'm 5'3", and was 11st 8lbs at the start of the year. I was in a size 14 on the bottom, and 16 on top. Now I'm 8st 13lbs and wear a size 8 comfortably. I think dress sizes vary so wildly between individual heights and builds, it's not a very reliable measure.

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orzal · 21/11/2016 16:18

I've lost 1.5 stone but haven't gone down a size. The only thing slightly smaller is my shoe size.

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Bluntness100 · 21/11/2016 16:22

I think if you can hardly get them over your thighs then the truth is you've went up by more than a dress size. That sounds like two. Sorry,,,😞

I'd say I went up a dress size if I could get the item of clothing on but it was too tight to be comfortable, i.e. Straining at the seams of muffin top scenario, then I need a bigger size. But if I can't even get them on....

I'd also think about ten pounds per dress size.

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Musiclife · 21/11/2016 17:55

I'm in denial then Wink.

I haven't weighed in years but recently bought a weighing scales to work out why I'm bursting out of my clothes as I thought I never put on weight. I obviously do.

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Bluntness100 · 21/11/2016 18:00

Ah, we've all been there....

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mumobsessedwithdamp · 21/11/2016 18:07

I disagree, I am a size 10 (also 8st 13 but 5ft 10) and if put on 5lbs on I really struggle fitting clothes over my thighs. I put all my weight on my tummy/hips/thighs and none on my top and so I think it makes more of a difference.

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Judydreamsofhorses · 21/11/2016 18:39

Surely it just depends on how you carry weight? I'm 5ft 6 and at my heaviest ever weight was 11stone 8 - I was a 12/14 on top, and a 14 on the bottom. Now I'm around ten stone, and a 10 top, 10/12 bottom. I have a small waist/flat tummy but big thighs/bum - at my heaviest my arms were like ham hocks, but I still had a deceptively slim mid-section.

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TurkeyTwazzock · 21/11/2016 19:25

If I gain 5 lbs my clothes feel tight, but I'd have to gain at least a stone to go up a dress size.

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neveradullmoment99 · 21/11/2016 19:56

I reckon it is about a stone to move up a dress. 5lbs??? No way. You could put that on just with water retention or when you are due on.

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Judydreamsofhorses · 21/11/2016 20:01

Ha, never - I am always about 5lb up just before my period starts, and am usually about 3lb heavier in the evening than if I have weighed that morning.

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