Questions for the size 0's out there?

M

mariep

Cathlete
Hello, A-Jock and all you other size 0's! I hope this isn't too personal; I'd really just love to know how you do it! I'm pretty small (5'1") and typically a size 6 petite. However, I've recently started really paying attention to my calorie intake, and I've actually been able to buy size 4 pants and have them actually fit (I'm not squeezing into them)! I wonder if it would ever be possible for me to get any smaller? I know genetics has a lot to do with it, but I'm wondering what a typical diet/workout routine is for you guys? Do you focus more on weight training or cardio, or do you balance it? Do you work out like crazy for hours every day? Eat only dry lettuce?:7 Also, how tall are you?

Again, I apologize if this is too personal. The fact that anyone could be a size 0 just really fascinates me.

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

-Marie:)
 
Hi Marie! I'm not a size "0" but I am a size 2. And no I don't workout like a fiend 2 hrs. a day either. One hr. perhaps a little over that only on some days. I do alternate heavy weight training w/endurance as well as try to do yoga & pilates. I do consume a lot of protein & fiber. I watch my carbs & eat pasta once a week. Drink plenty of water. Now genetically I'm VERY small boned very tiny. To give you an example my wrist only measures 4"!!! & my waist is only 23. I'm 5'2". I'm very comparable to Asian women as far as small bones are concerned except I'm of German descent. Kathy:D
 
Hi, Kathy--

Thanks for the reply. I really think size has as much to do with genetics than anything else. Right after I posted this, I was thinking that I should not be hung up on what # size I am! As long as I feel healthy and strong and am happy with the way I look, that should be all that matters. I'm very good about not caring how much I weigh (can't remember the last time I weighed myself), but it's fun to see my regular clothes actually starting to feel big on me! I've always felt like a size 6 is too big for someone as short as I am--stupid but true!:D

Thanks again for the reply!

-Marie:)
 
Hi, Marie!

Being a "size 0" these days needs to be taken with a grain of salt; back in 1988 I was the exact same dress / jeans size I am now and all my clothes were in a size "4". Vanity sizing seems to have taken over the women's clothing industry.

As to my own food program, I don't really have one; I tend to eat low-fat hi-carb with some protein (usually sugar/fat-free yogurt mixed with raw egg white) during the day, and then one bigger meal at night, where I simply eat whatever I want. I gravitate to lighter proteins like tuna fish and salmon, and often chicken. I usually have a couple of bags of crunchy M&M's and about half a bag of popcorn every work day; every night I have to have my dosage of Cheez-Its, potato chips, Old Dutch Cheese Doodles or some other chippie-snackie. Usually a fair amount of fresh fibrous fruits, and am trying to upkick the veggies. Gotta have some cookies afterward usually too.

For working out, my current schedule is Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights aqua class (which I instruct) and I so some post-class pool drills on Saturday mornings; on Sunday mornings and Monday nights I do Cathe cardio, ab and lower and upper body strength work. Every other Monday night I'll do a leg-circuit style cardio routine with less weight on the barbell than my leg strength stuff; the other alternating Mondays I focus more on leg strength with heavier weights after cardio. I brought a set of 15-lb dumbbells and my 2.5-lb Platemates to my office a few weeks ago and do a little "Workweek Sneak" upper body routine (these are lighter weight loads than my upper body strength dumbbells) at least once during the week in my office, enough to pump everything up but not enough to sweat.

Don't know if this helps, but that's The A-Jock Protocol.

A-Jock
 
Ajock it is almost irritating hearing about your normal ingestions and picturing the kind of body that I envision you have despite it. All this and you have bicep veins...spectacular ones! Life is not fair. }( }( }( }( }(

Briee (haven't touched an M&M in probably 10 years and still lacking bicep veins :p :p :p )
 
Sizes are different depending on where you shop...I'm a pants size 2 at the Limited, but in juniors departments I'm a 5/6. It just depends. I'm only 4'11" and small boned so I can't really shop in women's depts.

I think it definately has to do with your frame. Almost as important, is your diet and exercise. When I used to eat somewhat healthy and worked out regularly, I was a size smaller. Since I've been eating poorly (I'm eating chips right now!) and skimping on workouts, I've gained some weight.

Also, think of the smallest you've been (besides when you were 14!) If you were never a size 0, then you may never be one. It's just a number anyway. A size 0 is awfully tiny!
 
l23 hit it on the head. My almost 17 y/o DD is a size 0 and 5'0"; but she has a very small, tight frame. I on the other hand have never been smaller than a size 5/6 at 5'1". My frame is quite a bit larger than my DDs. I'd be happy to be back in a 5/6...time will tell. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one strength/cardio day at a time.

A-Jock, you make me laugh!

Take care all,
 
Marie:

I'm so glad you posted this afterword to your original post, it saved me the trouble of having to suggest this to you without seeming to lecture! Who cares if you are a 0, 2, 6, or 8 if that's the weight your body is healthy at. Life's too short to eat nothing but lettuce and do 4 hoirs of exercise a day trying to force mother nature into too-tight pants!

I agree with the other posters here, we really have to see clothes's sizes for what that they are: manipulated by clothing companies every decade to encourage us to keep buying.

I mean, I am 5 foot 8 inches, weigh 128 pounds and have done for a while now. At my favourite online clothes catalog "JJill.com" I take a size 10 or even 12 sometimes in pants and skirt, but at JCrew this could be a 6, and here I sit typing in a JCrew "relaxed trouser" size 4!!!!!! In Eddie Bauer jeans I take a size 8. It's the same body and I refuse to get upset if I need a size 10 or 12 in a fabulous skirt from my fave catalog. I know it's not me, it's their tendency to cut the clothes so small!

Good luck to all you size zeros, I am 5' 8" and will never be one!!!

Hooray for my size 4/6/8/10/12 body!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

Clare
 
Thanks again, everyone! I definitely know it is "just a #" and nothing to be really concerned about as long as I'm happy with the way I feel/look. Like I said, I practically never weigh myself, so I don't know why what size I am should make any difference, either! I've learned so much from Cathe and, actually, much more from all you guys! Just the changes I've made in my diet, which have made such a difference in how I feel and look, I've learned to make from reading this forum. So thanks again, educated crowd, and forgive my momentary loss of focus on what's really important!:) I think we all go through those temporary moments of insanity, don't we?! :D Now I'm off to finish my Thanksgiving shopping list--ingredients for my favorite pumpkin cheesecake are at the top of the list!}(

-Marie:)
 
Hi Marie!

I'm sorry I'm a little behind answering on this one, as I just saw your post.

I am a size 0 and I am fairly tall. I'm 5'7" and weigh 112 lbs. I do workout a lot and I am pretty good about what I eat, but I think genetics and body type really play a huge part in what size/shape your body is, weight aside.

As far as what kind of workouts I do ~ I stick with Cathe weight work, The Firm Classics, the Slim Series, Karen Voight and running every day. I eat what I want, but within reason ~ portion control is important.

Like someone posted above, I have small wrists and a small waist. My wrist measures 5 inches and my waist 24 inches. My hips are about 33-34 inches around. When I go into the Limited to shop for pants I wear a size 0 and they are loose. Forget trying to find size 0 long lengths, they don't make them because I've asked!

I guess my point is that everybody has a different body type. You can be fit and in shape at sizes other than "0", so the actual number shouldn't make you feel anything less than good about yourself. To be honest, finding clothes to fit my long, lanky body is not easy. I envy those who can walk into a store and find a full rack of their size to choose from. It never happens for me.
 
HI Colleen:

I'm 5'6", too, and want to know your eating and workout schedules. :)

You give me a goal to shoot for since you are the same height.

Take care, Marcia :)
 
RIght a lot depends on bone size and genetics.

I'm size 2 )or 3) and 5 2 so lots of clothes for me to choose from...

but we do have some big disadvantages (I'm 40s and the dr has told me - as a smaller woman there is a MUCH larger probability of osteoperosis - even w/ weight lifting-) also the DREADED guant look in the face... UGH...

So guess for me the focus is more on the healthy life - rather than keeping small - its always easier for me to give up foods than eat more healthy foods.. and finding balance
 
Hey JeanneMarie, you probably know this, but the Gap has a lot of "long" lengths on even its smaller sizes. I'm a 4L there and I've often seen 2L (although I'm not sure about 0L). I love the Gap -- I can always find pants that are long enough for me there!
 
Well said JeanneMarie, everyone is different and genetics does play a huge role. I am your height and here's a crazy fact, I weighed very close to your weight the first time I was admitted for anorexia. You are obviously a healthy size 0 at 5' 7" whereas I was destroying myself. I have larger wrists and wide hips. I have to learn to love them, instead of constantly trying to change them. Thanks for your post, it was a nice affirmation of things I already know, but sometimes forget.
 
I'll just throw this in there to support the genetics thing, I am 5'6" and got down to a muscular 112 at one point (due to loss of appetite as a side effect to an anti anxiety drug, not a good reason), which is underweight for me and which fit me in a size 6. I have a small waist, and small wrists but I have a wide pelvic girdle. My friends told me I looked like a size 2 or 3, but no way could I fit in one of those. If I lost any more weight I'd be looking pretty scary, so its all relative! A 6 for me is as small as I can go without crossing the line to scary skinny.

Jill
 
I wish I could get to a size 0! I wear a girls 14 Slim. I am very small boned and just under 5'3". For being my size, I am muscular. I believe my weight is almost 100 lbs. I'm confused about the genetics when it comes to me. Everyone in my family is taller and bigger. It's tough trying to dress like an adult being my size. I wear a kids size 2 shoe! I workout 5 days a week, exclusively with Cathe doing mostly SH. I really don't track what and how much I eat. Recently though I gave up butter~one of my biggest weaknesses and I do not eat sugar.

Susan C.M.
 
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