Yeah it’s a minefield that’s not safe to step in. Fat people basically don’t get any positive reinforcement for anything until they start losing weight, leading to the conclusion that society didn’t start treating them well until they aimed for the thin standard. Unless I know the person who is trying to lose weight, I won’t compliment someone simply for losing weight, because I don’t know their story or the reasons why they’re doing it.
Lost 54 pounds and only one dress size?!
anon2571578
#42
Also here’s a pic that hopefully helps the OP feel better:
Men’s clothing has its issues, but women’s clothing sizes are an absolute joke.
Regina
(Empress of the Unexpected)
#43
I year keto - everything budged but the belly. Have stick arms and legs. Think I need to go zero carb, or something else. Anything to budge this fat.
TNorth
#44
I have lost 25 lb and still in the same size 16 jeans. I started focusing on what foods might be inflammatory or making me feel bloated. I realized that my belly was just not having the results I was expecting based on the rest of my body and I started wondering if it’s not from fat but from something else. So for the past couple months I’ve been SUPER avoiding any trace amounts of grain, and really cutting back on dairy. Also incorporating some fasting to give my intestines a break.
In that time I have lost about one pound. But also my jeans are (just in the past couple days) falling off and I am about to go look for my bin of smaller clothes.
Steeni_O
#45
I have lost 28 pounds so far. I went from 236 to 208. I’ve been stuck there for a month because I have been getting off track here and there. Have you been keeping track of your measurements? That could possibly make you feel better. I haven’t had to buy any new clothes yet because I wear mostly leggings in xl, xxl or 1x sizes and they all still fit even though my hips have gone from 51 to 47. I do have a pair of torrid jeans in a 16 that feel sorta loose… but not really. I should also mention that my bust size had no change, which was surprising to me- when I was younger they were always the first to go with weight loss.
But yea, to echo others, please don’t feel too bad about not going down several dress sizes, because they do vary like crazy. just stick with it for your health and try to be patient. I know it’s hard and frustrating! I personally wish my double chin would go away, but alas, I think it’s there to stay no matter how much I lose.
Oh, and my father-in-law law tells my husband and I how much better we are looking every time he sees us and I wish he’d stop, haha. Im like ok, I get it, looks are very important to you, man. I’m not doing this for my vanity! It’s all for my health. Or that’s what I try and tell myself anyway 
Hap
#46
It’s so much easier for men that wear the same belt every day and take in four notches with just 25 pounds loss.
SlowBurnMary
#47
Visceral fat is an evil, secret killer in the middle body. It wraps around organs like the heart, aorta, etc potentially harming them - and also infiltrates/marbles organs and muscle tissue with fat (fatty liver, for example). The good news is that middle body fat is much more metabolically active, and can disappear rapidly! It seems to be what the body focuses on the first few seasons of keto.
Interestingly, there are some people with lean bodies that actually have a lot of visceral fat in the core - and other people with fattier bodies that may have much less in the core and much more subcutaneously and be healthier therefore…
It’s pretty amazing how nutrient dense foods and ketogenesis unlocks the fat in these tissues, and saves our lives.
In the classic LCHF/keto book “Protein Power” by Mary Dan Eades MD and Michael Eades MD there’s a great graphic that shows ‘sagittal abdominal diameter’ CT scans of four different body cores of people of similar height/weight. People can have a ton of hidden visceral fat - or not much at all, esp after low carb for awhile.
As the microbiome renews with nutrient-dense, well forumulated keto diet foods - that can mean adding 5-6 pounds of good bacteria yet reduces bloat and can shrink belly belly measurements!
Another thing is the whole squishiness subject. The fat cells replace fat with water to the degree that cortisol management allows - and there’s water within the cells and between the cells. In high stress circumstances, the water process/releasing can be slower due to cortisol and/or mineral imbalances. Squishiness is weird and wonderful. I’ve been reflecting on it a lot lately, what with my new, entirely squishy shrunken belly. It definitely signifies massive change, yet when it’s happening in the jowls, neck, arms etc it can feel like it takes forever - millimeter by millimeter - but the squishy signs are good signs.
Regarding clothes sizes - my first year of keto I came to really love indian caftans/kaftans with drawstring waists as a way to ignore sizing - an ancient one-size design meant to fit a huge range of bodies, and feels great and graceful regardless of degree of squishiness on any given day. Those, and good stretchy leggings!
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#48
I have a little theory about this:
The weight you lost could be more visceral adipose fat (a very good thing and more important) not white adipose fat around the thighs, buttocks, torso, arms and shoulders that is why clothing sizes are looking so odd to you…
If you are working out, think increased muscle mass? (even if you are not working out?)
hmmm?
Jody2
(Jody)
#50
I know, they can be frustrating, but they do run tests which can tell you a LOT about what’s going on. I would recommend a functional doctor if you have it in the budget, they take a much more holistic look and can work w/medical doctors to order the right testing. I discovered both low iron and low vitamin D my regular doctor wasn’t even paying attention to, even though I was exhibiting all the symptoms. I don’t agree with everything they may recommend, but I think it’s been a good addition to my arsenal of resources when I need them.
True story: All the women on my Mom’s side over 60 have had breast cancer, so not if, but when for me. When I was 35, after my youngest was born, I asked my OBGYN to create a base line mammogram because I wanted my doctors to have at least one scan that was “healthy” in my life. Turns out I had a nickel size lump that had to have removed. Luckily it wasn’t cancer, but the doctor said it would have been eventually.
I wouldn’t ignore doctors, it’s like getting the oil changed in your car, it sucks, but you do it.
Take care!!
anon13588705
#51
Sharon the only valid comparison (if you are engaged in this for your health) is comparing yourself with yourself.
You have lost 54 lbs. That is fabulous!!!
JaneyMae
(Jane- Old Inky Crone)
#52
Well, perhaps, and now I say nothing except a benign “you look great” when friends lose weight, but in that case the friend was pleased and my ex had never met her and had no reason to assume I had offended someone who I knew pretty well.
Regina
(Empress of the Unexpected)
#53
I don’t trust every doctor, but I do trust lab work. My insurance is willing to run my Vitamin D, B-12, Homocysteine and CRP. Those are useful markers of progress for me.
Rseay
(Becky)
#54
@Sharon_E, I would like to start by congratulating you on your progress, i am so proud of you, this is a commitment like no other…it is something that you have chosen to do for yourself, making you a priority, and it sounds like you are doing great!
This quote above is exactly what happened to me. I woke up one morning and pulled my same work pants from the closet and got dressed. I noticed they felt roomy, but honestly at that point i could not tell if it was in my head or for real. When i went to work i kept pulling them up but thought nothing of it, until i stood to greet my boss and my pants fell to my ankles. I had been desperately waiting, hoping, trying…pleading with the clothing gods, to see a difference. I had lost 50 pounds but still wore the same clothes, until magically over night i shrunk!
Im not sure why or how this happened but I’m not complaining…within a week after that i began wearing 2 sizes smaller than before! It WILL happen for you, some of is just take more time.
I will say that elastic waist bands and stretch fabric are the enemy because they give you a false sense of size. I had a dear friend take me to a higher end clothing store just to try on (as she put it) real sized clothes. It worked, i didn’t buy them, but i found my size in those were much different than in my “buffet” pants. 
@anon2571578…that picture truly put things into perspective, thank you for posting it. I feel we put so much emphasis on the number inside the pants rather than how they feel.
@Steeni_O…i have somehow gained a cup size, 2 if im honest, but i refuse to go buy another bra in hopes they will start shrinking lol. Strange how each of our bodies are different!
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#55
That is very similar to what Miss Manners suggests: “You know, I don’t know what’s different, but you look wonderful!”
HelenM
#56
Has your back size changed?
Remember that cup sizes are a relative size, not a static size, if your back size changes then your cup size will as well, unless you lose the same relative amount from the breast.
Ilana_Rose
(mole person)
#57
Lol…I’ve never understood this and it explains so much! I’ve gone up a cup size too but can see that my boobs are not bigger. But I HAVE also gone down a back size! Thanks.
Diygurl19
(traci simpson)
#59
Oh no my friend! lol Thrift store have a lot of new still tagged high end stuff! I love finding hidden gems and also there are new consignment shops popping up everywhere. Thanks to Marie Condo everybody is cleaning out their closets.
Rseay
(Becky)
#60
@HelenM…interesting, I can honestly say I’m not sure if my back size has changed. I know my band size has gone down, is that the same?
@Ilana_Rose…I am so glad it’s not just me 