Day 16-20/30: Need your opinon

Again... nothing that exciting this weekend with regards to the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge, but here's a recap of what I did and how it went. Plus, I need your opinion about clothes sizing at the end of this post!! WARNING: Lots 'o eating ahead!!:

Thursday, Day 16/30
Diet-wise pretty on track for Thursday.

I decided to hit the gym to do my cardio only because my workout buddy wanted to go. And what happened when I got there? Did my cardio for almost an hour and a half and my workout buddy still wasn't at the gym. Come to find out he was running really late so he didn't even get there till I was back home. Good thing I didn't wait around for him to show!

Friday, Day 17/30
And let the feasting begin! Friday started a horrible weekend of eating, which didn't end till Monday! Today I was pretty on track until dinner time... had a 600-calorie Costco chicken back! So good but so bad!

After dinner I hit the gym with my workout buddy again (who showed up this time!) and we did a full body workout with some cardio for a total of an hour and half at the gym. I absolutely love Friday nights at the gym because it's so empty! I easily got on (and wasn't intimidated by) the assisted pull-up machine! I just love it!

Saturday, Day 18/20
Day 2 of the horrible eating: went out for lunch and had ramen with Anthony... so good but SO full of sodium. Tonight for dinner I had a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwhich which I sprinkled with my chocolate protein shake... SO YUMMY!!! If I had stopped eating there I would have been golden but NOOOOOOO... after Anthony got off of work we decided to grab food. So my second dinner of the day was spaghetti w/ meat sauce and garlic bread. Talk about bad choices.

Earlier that day I spent about 2-hours shopping by myself. I don't consider this exercising but wish I did because I only got in about 30 minutes on the elliptical at home. Anyway, shopping was awesome and I found some stuff that I'm really excited about!

I haven't talked about it, ever, but I have a slight obsession with fitness magazines, namely Oxygen. I love their straight-forward advice and awesome fitness/nutrition programs! Well they come out with yearly specials and normally I don't get them (Abs special, glutes special, etc.) but just the other day they came out with their first ever 'Off the Couch' special and I really wanted to get it. This special edition of Oxygen is like their motivation special. Tons of stories and advice from real women who lost the weight, got super fit, and have kept the weight off! I've only started reading through it but so far, like any other Oxygen mag, I L.O.V.E. it! Also picked up my other fave mag, Clean Eating. Also bought me a pair of size 2 motivational jeans. I usually don't support buying clothes in smaller sizes in hopes of fitting into it, but see end of post for more details.

Sunday, Day 19/30
Day 3 of horrible eating: more ramen for dinner and a sweet potato tapioca sundae! That's all I need to say about that!

Monday, Day 20/30
Day 4 of horrible eating: ramen (again!) for lunch and a Cinnabon minibon for dessert. I'm sorry, was I trying to lose weight again? I think I forgot!

Today I spent the day at my parents' house going through old clothes and things in preparation of a garage sale this weekend. It was like going shopping since I could actually fit into some of the clothes again! I only kept a handful of tops but it felt so good to try them on and fit them. I also found my high school prom dresses (which I didn't even think to try on) but when I looked at the waist size on one of the dresses, it really put things into perspective as far as the size 2's I just bought the other day (see below for details).

______________________________________________

And here's where I need your opinion: How big of a size difference do you guys notice between today's sizes and sizes from five years ago? In other words does a size 6 today feel like what a size 8, or even 10, was five years ago?

I'm sure many of you have heard that companies now-days are 'resizing' their clothing sizes (read here for one story of this trend) to make customers feel more comfortable and because 'obese' is becoming the norm, but I think it's ridiculous! The other month I bought a size 6 pair of jeans. Well the size 6 was getting a little loose (I think from wear rather than me getting smaller) so I decided to stop in my favorite jeans store, GAP, to try on some different sizes. I picked out several different size 4's, some in different styles and some in the exact same style since I know GAP's sizes can run all over the place. Well some fit perfectly, and everything else was too big! Not too small, TOO BIG!!! WTH?! I KNOW I'm not a size 4, let alone a size 2! And the only reason why I bought a size 2 was because they almost fit... and for me, it's not a matter of if I'll fit them, but when I fit them!

And like I was saying, yesterday I went through a lot of old clothes that I had at my parents' house. Looking at the waist of one of my prom dresses I couldn't believe how tiny it was... and I wasn't tiny in high school... I wasn't fat but I wasn't one of the thin girls. And in high school, I was wearing a size 6 - 7.

If that's the case, how am I wearing a size 4 - 6 now, eight years later and 20 lbs. heavier?

So for me, the size-changing by these companies are crazy! I understand it's a marketing move, but is making Americans believe they're a size 4 or 6, when in actuallity they're more like a size 8 - 10, healthy and good for us? Isn't this just another way to make it 'okay' for us to keep getting bigger, a.k.a another contributor to the obesity epidemic, rather than a solution? What are your thoughts and experiences?