to think that women who are a size 6/8/10 are permanently on a diet?

[SabineUndine]

I don't mean diet as in counting every calorie, but diet as in they hardly eat any carbs and don't eat cakes, biscuits etc more than a couple of times a year? I am not a thin person (you guessed?) and I look at what my really slim female colleagues eat and it's salads with no carbs and just a tiny bit of protein, or soup or smoothies. Is that what it takes to be a thin person?

You know bodies are all different though, I had a friend who looked a size 8 but she wore a 12.
I'm a size 14 but have been told quite regularly that I look very thin... (hard to believe when its your own body though right?)

Don't worry about dress size, focus on measurements as that will really tell you what you've lost. But just so you know, I know loads of people who are skinny minnies and eat crap lol.

Some people really like salad and stuff.

Disclaimer - I haven't rtft and doubtless it will have moved on.

A 24 inch waist is really very small though. And it depends where you measure ("natural" waist, or just below your ribs), and how tight you squeeze. 34-24-34 measurements are not "natural" even in very young women.

No, sorry, but a 24 inch waist is quite acceptable and 'normal' for plenty of women. As was the 34-24-34 measurements. I used to be that size. Now my waist is a bit bigger. Also...there are good guidelines as to how to measure your waist- it's about an inch up from your belly button, so not so high that it's half way between your bust and your belly button because that's usually the narrowest part. And the tape measure should be snug but not pulled tight.

The waists you mention when women wore corsets were more like 18 inches and less.

polly is right. A lot of the measurements from dressmaking in the 40s and 50s were based on the understanding that pretty much every adult woman would wear a panty girdle at the very least. You wouldn't have been considered properly (or decently) dressed without one.

Re vanity sizing: When I was a young thing I was a size 10 in jeans. I am still small but certainly bigger and heavier than I was. I am now an average size 6 and even they are too big in some stores.

Just measured my 'waist'. It is 26.5 inches. My bust is 32 and my hips about 33. I am pretty well straight up and down ( very feminine, not)

carabos Tue 03-May-16 08:27:24
barbara I was at an all day meeting recently during which lunch was brought in. Couple of platters of sandwiches, platter of sausage rolls and slices of pork pie, platter of fruit, platter of mini muffins and flapjack, bowl of crisps.

Fucking stupid. The only thing i would have been able to eat was the fruit And fuck all if that if its citrus. Because citrus fruit gives me colic. I wouldnt even be able to eat the sandwiches because bread makes me gain.

This employer knows fuck all about healthy eating. And i would be nipping out to get something else instead.

also an inch up from my belly button is right at the bottom of my ribs. There are 1.5 inches between the bottom of my ribs at the side and thee top of my hips! So basically I have no middle! I have legs attached to my rib cage!

helena I agree with you that this employer knows nothing about healthy eating - its the NHS.

Vanity sizing is beyond ridiculous now. I'm in the process of losing the baby weight since having DD a few weeks ago, and needed some jeans to temporarily see me through til my size 10 Topshop skinnies fit again.

So this weekend I went to buy some of the Next cigarette jeans as I'd heard good things about them. And they're cheap.

Started out trying on a size 12 - too big. Tried a 10 - still too big. So I bought a size 8, which fit fine.

Ludicrously, I'm now wearing size 8 jeans while I'm fat.. with the aim of trying to fit back into my old "real" size 10s. It makes no sense.

Not rtwt so may be repeating but I'm a size 6 and eat like a hog. Lots of good healthy home cooked food with fresh veg etc but portions the same as my almost 6ft exerciseaholic hubby and supplemented with lots of crisps, biscuits, cakes etc throughout the day. Don't drink much but do like fat coke (ugh but mmmmmm). Like others I have a ridiculous metabolism but also an anxious disposition, so rather than comfort eat, I go off food when stressed. I also look gaunt if I lose weight, so eating all that crap stops me looking ill and I really don't know how I'd get the same number of calories in if I were to change to, say, chick peas or other healthy snacks. Slather them in butter maybe?

Do worry about my propensity to diabetes with such a high sugar diet and have at times tried to address this but it's a hard habit to break especially when you look worse in the short term rather than better. And despite being so tiny, and even when I was desperately unhappy after a break up and pretty much emaciated, I still had cellulite. There really is no fucking justice.

So basically I have no middle! I have legs attached to my rib cage!

BigButtons I'm sorry, I actual lol'd at that comment

If it makes you feel better, I have a bum that would make a Kardashian blush even when at my smallest.
It's a burden....

Im 5 foot 5 hourglass a size 12/14 i have an old size 12 skirt (fitted NOT elasticated or stretchy ) Im a 32HH so a small back size Im over 11 stone though but i cant have weight keep coming off my back so im trying to maintain my weight rather than lose any more

.
And this is my correct size I dont need a bra intervention Ive been going to the same place for YEARS.

I lost weight to make my life easier not harder Im not prepared to pay out nearly £80 for a bra. Which will happen if i end up a very small back size and big cup size. I cant afford it. I pay £30 a time now and thats enough.

Helena, that makes no sense - 28 and 30 back bras are easily available and certainly not £80. I went from a 32HH (breastfeeding!) to a 30E after my first pregnancy and never spent even £30 on a bra. You can get lots of decent ones in small back sizes, with large cups, for far less.

But surely it depends on whether you back is fat or you have a small / large rib cage? if you aren't carrying back-fat, you could lose weight from the rest of your body and your back would stay the same size.
And yes, you can easily get 28 and 30 inch bras- I'm in a 30 back and I get them from mainstream shops like J Lewis, M&S, but for bigger women there is Bravissimo. You don't have to go to Rigby & Peller!

Every one of these styles is a 28 and up to a J cup I think.

www.bravissimo.com/products/lingerie/brands/bravissimo/#/1?back=28

This was shared by an overweight friend on my FB today and it's very relevant to this conversation:

www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

It's a small sample, but it seems to be serious research, and it does suggest that people who lose large amounts of weight through rapid dieting do alter their metabolisms quite radically.

So while fat and thin people may not, on average, have very different metabolic rates, dieting itself may seriously disrupt the metabolism and it may take years for it to recover. So the large person who claims to eat relatively little may well be telling the truth.

I'm a 28jj/k (depends on style) and can buy bras for £20-30. My back size is dictated by my rib cage not back fat.
Admittedly I carry all my fat on my bum.

I just idly googled '32 HH bra UK sale' and loads came up that are well under £30.

FFS I am NOT carrying any back fat. And i HAVE tried cheaper bras They wont support me. And i live in a small town with a department store that stocks Panache and Triumph.

I also need to be measured by someone qualified. I DID NOT LOSE 10 STONE TO MAKE MY LIFE HARDER.

NO i have lost weight all over but i had to lose 4 stone before anything came off my boobs at all.

To assume that i MUST have back fat and if not then you can lose weight from the rest of the body and back will stay the same size .......well what the fuck do i even do with this mysognistic comment. And it IS mysogynistic because you have basically said that i can control which part of my body the weight comes off . I can lose weight VERY successfully as it turns out. BUT I CANNOT CONTROL WHERE THE WEIGHT COMES OFF OR CHANGE THE FUNDAMENTAL BODY SHAPE I WAS BORN WITH. Im a successful slimmer not a fucking shapeshifter from Supernatural or Charmed.

I dont internet shop. i physically shop. More excersise is had this way too. And during Mumsnets hackergate last year i wasnt having to panic about changing passwords to internet shopping accounts because..........errrr i dont have any!

Erm, OK.

I think this has derailed the thread somewhat, but why don't you go to the department store, get measured, then order that size online. I live in Freya bras, all bought in the sale, as I can't afford full price.

Sorry, cross post. Well if you refuse to shop online you're going to struggle to buy good quality bras cheaply.

On the subject of back fat, I was watching that 'Say Yes To The Dress' nonsense the other day and a beautiful looking lady who was delighted to have lost a ton of weight in time for her wedding chose a very slinky wedding dress (strapless bodice job) which was clearly one size too small fitted to within an inch of its life, and she had a back cleavage that was every bit as big as her front cleavage.

I had to shout at the telly.

Thats what i normally do I wear Panache at the moment Just over 19 months ago i was able to buy a coloured bra for the very first time. A bra that wasnt black or white or flesh coloured. That made me really happy.