I was giving a presentation last week and one of the participants asked me “Does size matter?” My answer? No! No! No! As women, we’re so conditioned to judging ourselves by the clothing size we wear. On top of that, manufacturers and designers are driving us crazy with the inconsistencies in their sizing.

The fact of the matter is that the only thing that really counts is being healthy and making sure our clothes fit us correctly. A number is just a number! You can take a size 6, an 8, and a 10 from 3 different makers and lay them all on top of each other. Chances are good that often times they’ll all be the same exact size! I always say that if I ever got tired of image consulting (which I can’t ever imagine!) I would lobby congress for a law to require sizes to be standardized. As I mentioned earlier, our identities are often tied to the number we wear. And most of us feel better when that number is smaller. It seems to make sense that designers would realize that if they make their clothes true to size or a little bit big, they’ll sell more clothes! Although it’s practically impossible for <em>me</em> to fathom, but I’m sure that even really small women are tied to their size. If you’ve always been a size 2 and have worked really hard to maintain it, and you need to buy a size 4 in something…panic sets in! What are they thinking?

Back to the real point…It’s really just a number. Except for Levi’s 501’s, I’ve never seen a piece of clothing with the size printed on the outside. What’s important is for you to be happy and healthy whether you’re a 2 or a 22.

I got a newsletter from sassyfit.com the other day with a great message from sassyfit.com’s Celina Moser. It read, “I was a diet freak in my 20’s. I could eat the same simple meals meal-after-meal and not really think twice about it. I’m sure part of it had to do with the fact that I was broke, but I also had quite the social life and hardly had time to eat anyway (lol). I was rarely concerned about how a meal tasted as long as it kept me looking good in my size 4 jeans. How things have changed…(sigh).

Today, the new me wants sass in different ways – more mature ways I’d like to think. I want tasty and good-for-me meals that can be prepared without much effort at all. My focus isn’t so much about fitting into my super tiny jeans (to look fabulous for my next hot date). My focus today is about feeling strong and toned – and fabulous in my size 8 jeans.”

Remember, it’s just a number!