How to Simply Lose Weight: Part 3

These three one pound boxes of sugar represent the amount of weight I lost in May.  I have to admit, I was surprised. I haven't weighed 157 in years. 

Lately, my enthusiasm for dieting has been waning. I cheated on myself...a lot. I caved to that smooth talking carrot cake with the luscious cream cheese frosting I love to run my fingers through. I cheated with that low down, no good ice cream who I don't even like. I even sneaked in a fling with chunky peanut butter. I am disgusting. 

How do you keep motivating yourself? 

I am starting anew. Today, I begin my diet again. This will probably not be the last time I start over. If you fall, get up. The view from the floor is terrible. And believe me, dust bunnies are terrible conversationalists.

To motivate myself, I recently went dress shopping. I bought a couple of dresses which while they fit, will look much better after I lose another five pounds. I hope the sight of them hanging longingly, waiting patiently, will encourage me to be diet faithful. 

In the United States, there are no standard sizes. Unlike Europe, in which clothing is sold strictly by measurement (bust size in inches, waist size in inches), every American clothing manufacturer simply makes up their own sizes. 

About then years ago, Tammy Kinley of the North Texas School of Merchandising took precise measurements of over 1,000 pairs of women's pants from 20 different retail stores in Texas. In size 14, Kinley's study showed a various of up to 8 inches in the waist circumference between brands. This is why you can wear a size 8 in one brand and a size 16 in another. It may also explain why you prefer to  purchase clothes from a store that winkingly states you are a size 8. 

One thing I have found interesting is that expensive clothing runs much smaller than the bargain brands. I expected the opposite but then I remembered Abercrombie and Fitch's strategy of selling only to thin, beautiful and apparently,  incredibly stupid people. 

Why do we allow a clothing label to dictate our self esteem? Is a size 2 a better, nicer person than a size 14? Is a size 0 smarter than a size 16? When was the last time you picked a doctor based on their lab coat size? 

The chart below demonstrates the variances found between clothing stores in size 8 and the futility of labels.