Growing Waist or Shrinking Pants

Measuring Your Progress

In the market for a new pair of jeans? Don’t be surprised if you find that the size 32 (mens) or size 2 (womens) that you are used to don’t fit when you try them on at your local mall. If this happened in the past, it usually meant that you gained a little weight. Not so these days. A size 2 in one store at the mall is not always the same size 2 in another store. Even still, a size 2 in one brand may not fit the same as a size 2 in another brand.

Boot cut, low rise, flare-leg, baggy, slim fit… they all fit differently. Don’t be discouraged if you find the perfect jeans in your size and they don’t fit. This should not be a gauge of your diet and exercise progress and a pant size should not be set as a goal. Instead base your progress on how jeans that you already own fit, actual measurements, and weight.

So when shopping for that new pair of jeans, don’t pay attention to size. Instead buy the pair that makes you feel comfortable and track your fitness goal progress with non-variable measurements such as body fat calculations or inches lost overall.