Why am I always size 16 no matter what I weigh?

[Cookie77777]

I've been a size 16 my entire adult life despite varying weight. It's so perplexing! Can anyone shed any light on this? It's like my shell is rigid and my insides are hollow or something!!

-I'm 5'9 tall, broad shouldered and build
-I've never weighed myself religiously, but know my weight has varied by plus/minus three stone over the years
-My ideal weight range is 150-170 lbs
-A few years ago I got in the 170s and still had to wear a 16. Friends refused to believe it until I showed them how things were fitting
-I've been up to 200 and the same
-I've just lost a stone and a half after significant effort, no change in clothes fitting
-I don't exercise much so it's not a 'muscle thing'
-I don't mean just elastic-y clothes, but also structured ones
-I shop at generally the same places so it's not a brand differential either

It's sooooo frustrating. I want a non-scale victory. Help me x

Vanity sizing, clothes are getting bigger but labelled the same or smaller.

Thanks for the reply!

But I think that would mean my dress size would go down?

But I think that would mean my dress size would go down?

Not if you've gained weight, you could stay the same size with vanity sizing.

Or it could be your weight distribution and just your natural size? Our bones are our bones!

It is probably your height. You’re considerably taller than the average British woman (I would guess average is 5ft 5??) so naturally you will need larger sizes to account for length.

I’m average height but very curvy/hourglass, so I will never be below a size 12, even with a 3 stone variance. I often have to buy a size 14 and have it taken in.

It’s best to forget about the labels, especially as sizing is different across retailers. Losing 1.5 stone is a huge achievement and I’m sure it shows! Well done 😊

If you think of how much people's sizes vary and how few clothes sizes there are, each clothes size covers quite a large range of sizes. You would have to lose or gain quite a lot to change clothes size. And no matter how much you lose, there will come a point where you can't go to a lower size (I'm not saying you are at that point now) because of how big your hips etc are.

When I was anorexic and survived on 200 calories a day, and my ribs were protruding and my body was skin and bone, I was a size 14. I'm 5'11 and broad. I'm still in the same clothes now but a lot heavier than I was- The only difference is that it seems that around my ribs is more chunky now than it was, so some shirts are a bit gapey.

I feel like this, even fighting fit, size 10 is a pinch, so size 12 it is. I got upto 70 kilos at one point, end of 2023, I've lost 8 kilos now, but although my clothes are looser, they're not falling off. I'm wearing not just the same size but the same clothes.
It'd make you yhink 8 kilos was nothing but I'd started to look plump for sure.

I'm similar @Cookie77777. An inch shorter and size 16. Broad shoulders, huge calf muscles, size 9 feet. Big hands - my wedding ring is bigger than DH's. I have to lose at least 2 stone to drop a dress size.

I’ve weighed various amounts, am 5’11. Size wise I’m a 12 from 67-to about 78kg a 14 to about 90kg and a 16 to my heaviest which was about 105kg. I think partially it depends on how you carry your weight

Thank you all! I'm glad it's not just me 😂.

At least I don't have to change my wardrobe because of weight gain/loss! I'd love just for once to be able to buy smaller sizes (and not cut my labels out).

I had read that, give or take, a stone off should equal a dress size down. Obviously not the case for some. I think my skeleton alone, without flesh or skin, must be a 14 🤬

Yes, I think in large part it's your height.

Also, if I put on weight (which I have at the moment) it tends to go all over my body, so I am still in almost all the same clothes as when I was 10 kg lighter.

I could loose quite a bit and never feel comfortable in a 14. It's our height and bone structure. I know someone who is proportionally larger than me but in smaller sizes but she is only about 5ft 4. Plus the clothes companies are really crap at consistency in sizing. Also some people never loose much off their boobs after dieting, and you can't get in a 14 with a 42" chest no matter what !

I’m 5’8. When I lost two stone a few years ago, I went from a 16 to a 12.

I’ve put a stone back on but can still mostly get into a 12 (big boobs so shirts can be an issue). I realise now that I wasn’t looking at the ‘fit’ but at the size. Lots of the 16s were too big across the shoulders but I felt safe in them.

I’d advise trying on smaller sizes which are actually much more slimming anyway. Loose clothes add bulk. And modern stretchy fabrics mean clothes are often loose after one wear. If I buy a size 14 jean, it’s jodhpurs on the hips within hours of wearing whereas a 12 pair which is tight in the fitting room is a perfect fit after an hour or two.

I'm broad shouldered and am always a size 12 no matter what. Even when I went down to a borderline underweight BMI after illness, still needed a 12 for the shoulders.

Same. I'm 5'9 with broad shoulders and a wide pelvis and was a size 14 when I had a bmi of 18 (in my early 20s) and also when I had a bmi of 25 more recently. Above that I'm size 16, but I don't know how underweight I'd have to be to fit into a size 12 comfortably. For this reason I've never really thought of 14 as a "bigger" size.

Yes boobs and shoulders are maybe key in all this.

I know it's not good to be hung up on sizes, but I remember my mum lamenting buying me a size 14 when I was a teenager (and skinny) and comparing me unfavorably with other girls in the changing room in their 8s and 10s. And buying me more frumpy things than my sister who was more petite. Plus comments my dad makes every now and again have made me feel like a heffalump, even if I've slimmed right down. Bone structure just can't be changed!

I hope all this means I'll have good, dense bones in my dotage at least. 😂

At my lightest, I am a 14 on top and a 12-14 on the bottom (broad shoulders, large wrists, wide hips) but I have huge calves and struggle with very skinny jeans. At my heaviest (25kg more), I can still fit into most of my size 14 tops (they are snug round the stomach), but I need at size 20 trousers, and my coats don't do up across my stomach/hips. I put on weight on my stomach and my hips but not really anywhere else. Some people put weight on equally everywhere, some seem to grow huge boobs and arms but maintain a slimmish waist, etc. This will have a huge effect on what clothes fit you.

Frame is a big one and I think makes a significant difference.

I’m similar OP.

I have broad shoulders and big boobs.

I don’t think it’s simply height, it’s more to do with frame as well.

Look at some women who have narrow shoulders and back or are small boobed. Or both.

I would also have to lose 2 stone to get from a size 16 to 14 - and on top boobs etc I’m not sure I would even go down a size.

However I do feel more comfortable and clothes tend to look better! Im struggling to lose a stone just now for this reason.

But there is a upside - you don’t have to buy so many different sized clothes.

Have you seen Gwendoline Christie in Wednesday?
I bet she also needs size 16s and would even if she was underweight but she has a fabulous figure.

Same here! I’m 5ft 6. I was a size 16 when I started my diet last year (was 13st 7lb). I’ve lost 2.5 stone, now weight 11st. I’m still a size 16! It’s really getting me down. I have a gynae condition and a recent scan said my uterus is the size of a five month pregnancy so I’m hoping once they get that sorted I might shift a few inches. It’s so demoralising!

Actually I just checked. Gwendoline Christie is 6foot3. She might even need size 18 width and would definitely need extra length in everything. Height and bone structure makes a huge difference in these things.

I’m the same, I’m 5ft8 with a large frame, wide shoulders and ribs, wide pelvis, big boobs and even when I’m skinny I weight a lot. Whenever I’ve lost lots of weight I’m never smaller than a 12. I have to lose over 2st to drop a dress size and I really struggle when I’m slimmer as the waists are always too big but I need the bigger size for my hips, thighs, ribs and bust.

That said I am slim armed, slim hipped and slim legged, so I can’t use it as a total reason in terms of weight.

Yes @HippeePrincess it must be even more the case if you are large framed and hour glass shape ie wide hips as well.