Size Schmeize
Chase the you that's strong and happy – and don't obsess about the number on a piece of clothing.
I was a Size 6 heading to a Size 4 when I decided to start eating like a real human again.
It was 1994 and I was a young Air Force lieutenant with a blonde bob, a black sports car, and the heady feeling that comes when people notice you.
Okay, people noticing me might have had to do with the fact that I was an officer so enlisted troops were required to stand when I entered a room.
But hey I’m not going to lie and say I was hit with the ugly stick then. I was a cute young thing and I knew it.
But size 4 wasn’t my jam. I wanted muscles — and that strength wasn’t going to come if I kept undereating. So I started lifting weights and eating more and I never looked back.
Sizes Are Silly
This made-up size game is weird but we live with it — and with all the associated judgment, shame, and commerce that comes with your body being one size but you wanting to make it into a different size. Whole industries (nutrition, fitness, clothing, fashion, etc.) cater to the desires of women to grow smaller — and the desires of men to grow bigger.
But it’s one thing to want to get to a size that represents a healthy state for you — and quite another to work towards an unhealthy state because it comes with compliments and social rewards.
Our society messes with your head pretty hard about physical appearance. So the trick is to know how happy and healthy feels to you — and then shush those outside voices. They don’t matter anyhow.
Size Me Up
And I know now that 10-12 is my easy norm — the weight I stay at when I’m just living life and not obsessing.
8 means I’m heartbroken or ill.
(And we all know a break-up means you lose about 20 pounds. You’re still miserable but there’s a part of you that’s like “Hey! I look great!”)
But 8 is unsustainable for me. Eventually, I heal.
(And that’s how life is, right? Eventually, we all heal. Some healings take longer than others, though.)
Not On That Size Treadmill Anymore
I suppose I could go back to a 6 if I lost an arm or part of a leg, maybe a shoulder. But why would I want to? I’m good where I am.
And equating your self-worth with your size feels so 1994.
But I hear there are people who still do that.
Let them have it.
Strong and happy is a much better place to live.
What are your thoughts on clothing sizes? More importantly, how do you feel about your body?
Women’s clothing sizes are so variable. I’ve started wearing man pants. 34 x 30 is pretty much always the same. And the pockets - ooh lala
It’s very strange/cool when your measure changes to inside. Some of that is,I’m sure, because I’m not around people first thing in the morning focusing on their bodies. I can miss that but value the sleep and peace more. Also having experience to know that things change too-like opening up a new chapter in the book about me🤪It is very helpful to know where feeling good for you is. Women weren’t usually the ones who decided that and it certainly feels good to reclaim another area.