I tried the L after a long time. I was able to see how things have changed since I was my thinnest after coming home from Iraq. L/XL always fit fine from the start in 2007 but almost always leaked. When they switched to L. They got super tight. I had room to spare on the L/XL. The L made marks in my skin and felt like it was going to pop. I have been actively working to lose weight lately and the scale is starting to drop but it’s mostly cleaning out the gut and eating smaller quantities. But I have felt my clothes fitting looser. So I tried the L last night. They were still snug but I think (not sure) they’re fitting ever so slightly better. They don’t make marks in my skin and I can move around without feeling like they’re going to break open. I could barely fit my hands inside the sides. But I was able to determine that the change I experienced was a combination of stress weight gain and muscle growth due to the army changing fitness standards. My butt got bigger and so did my thighs. Everything up front fit just right. Rise in the back was ok but crept down after bending over. It was just enough to cover everything but not if I moved. It got worse after I wet. So any room I had to spare from the L/XL was lost when they shrank to L and the weight gain.
The whole point to all of this is that the fact that at one point I was able to wear S/M was due to having almost no butt and skinny thighs. You’ll need small thighs and small butt. At least from my experience. It’s so hard to give any thoughts because fit is so different between each individual. I’m just saying that if you can’t fit now. It may… may not be a death sentence. But I don’t advocate losing an unhealthy amount of weight. I’m trying to get my body fat under control. It was due to stress. About 2/3-3/4 of my clothes don’t fit anymore and I don’t want to have to buy new clothes. I’ve finally been able to get a handle on my stress and so I’m getting better sleep, eating healthier and not snacking. I’m exercising more with an emphasis on cardio.