The Dressing Room Mirror and Vanity Sizing

Yesterday it was the video, today it was the dressing room mirror that nailed me. Oh my freak! I guess all this time I wasn't really taking a good look at myself in the mirror, probably because it was too painful. Today I took a good, hard look and I didn't like what I saw. Yesterday's video is what started this critical self-examination of my body. I look at it and all I see are lumps of fat or rolls where there shouldn't be any. I know, I should love my body but how can I when it looks so distorted to me?

I'm going to the annual shareholders meeting for my company tomorrow and all of my size 18's are falling off of me and look horrible. Tonight I tried on three pairs of size 16 slacks. One pair was huge, I know it wasn't really a sixteen, probably more like a 20. I could actually slip them off while they were still zipped. The other two pair fit, one fit perfectly and I bought them. Although I was happy to fit into a size 16, I'm fully aware of the fashion industry's attempt to delude the female population into thinking they're wearing a smaller size than normal.

I still weigh close to 200 pounds (196.8), so how on earth can a size 16 fit me? I remember weighing 135 in high school and wearing a tight size 12 or a 14. I felt huge because most of my friends wore size 4 or 6. I know I'm not more toned now than I was when I was 16, so what's up with these sizes? Do they really think making a size 16 fit a 200-pound woman is going to trick her into thinking she's thinner than she is? While I appreciate I can shop in the the regular-sized clothing department, I'm not tricked into thinking I'm a regular size, I know I'm not.

So what do I do about this? Keep working out and eating healthy. I know eventually this will pay off and I'll truly be a "regular-sized" person.