<p>My goal for 2013 has been to lose weight, quite a bit of weight, and it is going pretty well. I’m down 20 pounds, which is pretty noticeable on my 5’1" frame. I feel great and am proud of myself.</p>
<p>But, I have nothing to wear!</p>
<p>I have been motivated in part by the thought of getting back into some of the smaller sizes in my closet that have been unworn for years. But I am at such a weird stage now. The things I have been wearing are very loose and baggy and I want to get rid of them. I have clothes I bought that never fit (yes, I am one of those shoppers) that I can physically get into, but they don’t look great. I have tops that are too long that I am not sure if I should try to get shortened by a tailor. Part of the issue is that when I am thin, I wear petites, but much of what I have purchased in the past few years is not petite.</p>
<p>I work at a very casual office, so I don’t need lots of nice clothes. And I want to lose another 20 pounds. So, I’m thinking I should just muddle through for now, no point in buying new clothes yet. It’s just discouraging that I actually have less to wear now than I did before.</p>
<p>Anyone gone through this and have some thoughts?</p>
<p>RVM, warm weather clothing won’t necessarily run you as much and I’ve seen some decent prices recently, so I think you should add a piece or two to your wardrobe now.</p>
<p>First of all, BIG congrats! </p>
<p>Second of all, my opinion is that you worked HARD to lose those 20 and you deserve to feel and look good in what you are wearing - not frumpy in your oversized clothes or out of date in things that have been sitting in the closet for years.</p>
<p>Couple options:
- visit a used clothing store or even goodwill if there is a "good"one in your area.
- go to a less expensive department store - Target, Kmart or Walmart amd see if you can find a pair or two of bottoms that fit, but that are not expensive. Maybe one jean. TJMaxx can also be a good place if you take the time to look(for better prices).
- are your tops too big too ?? </p>
<p>It is important to your motivation to look in the mirror and see and APPRECIATE. Your progress! You may have to spend a LITTLE, but you and your health are worth it!!</p>
<p>Congratulations on your fantastic accomplishment, rockvillemom! What a nice probl willem to have!</p>
<p>I agree with others that you should buy some inexpensive things to get you through the summer. By the fall, you will be close to your goal weight (if you continue losing at your present rate) and can buy more “permanent” things. </p>
<p>You deserve to wear clothes that fit!</p>
<p>Thanks! I am convinced that buying a few inexpensive new things is the way to go.</p>
<p>I need to really go through my closets and get rid of a lot of stuff. I have clothing ranging in size from a 4 to a 16! It is so frustrating seeing all of this stuff and yet feeling like I have nothing to wear! I have a bad habit of buying clothes online, and then they don’t fit, and I keep them anyway, because they might fit someday. I think a massive closet overhaul is called for.</p>
<p>Definitely motivate yourself with some new skinny clothes to wear!</p>
<p>Hi ya RVM!
Congrats on losing 20 lbs! I think I found them on me. I’ve gained about that in the last few years.</p>
<p>I gave up Diet Coke, which was actually much easier than I imagined. It’s much harder giving up chocolate, which I try to indulge in much more moderately now.</p>
<p>My advice to you would be to NOT spend money on clothing until you’ve reached the weight you want to be. Just spend the money slowly on a tailor to take in a few pieces at a time, to get you through the period of transition until you are comfortable to go out and buy a few new things in a smaller size.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I have the opposite problem, having gained close to 20 pounds in the last few years. I just bought some capri’s and shorts yesterday because all of a sudden my current wardrobe has gotten too tight. I’m a bit too sedentary and going through Menopause. I’m beginning to step up the exercise. I eat very healthy (except for all the chocolate, which I see I can’t do so much anymore), so for me it’s the movement I need.</p>
<p>Good luck, I’ll be trying to get this 20 lbs. back off me now.</p>
<p>Buying or keeping clothes “because they might fit someday” is not a good use of your money. It also means that every time you look in your closet, you’re reminded of your failure to be thinner. Who needs that reminder every day? </p>
<p>As Stacey says on What Not to Wear, dress for the body you have. And be proud of your weight loss!!</p>
<p>Hi. This weight issue has been a thorn in my side for years, and I am thrilled to be finally doing something about it. I have no idea what my goal weight is, so kind of hard to decide if I should wait to buy anything. I think buying a few new things now will be a nice morale boost, but I’m not talking whole new wardrobe, just a few casual pieces. I would like to lose another 20 pounds, and then decide if that’s a good place to maintain for a while or whether I should keep going.</p>
<p>I have really focused on portion control and healthy snacks. Try to do an hour on the treadmill several times a week. Getting on it is the hardest part. Once I’m going, I am into it.</p>
<p>I lost 20 pounds last year.</p>
<p>What helped me through this period, particularly last summer, were a few tee-shirt dresses. All of them were knits. A few are from Lands End. Think collared polo shirts, but dress length, or a boat necked tee, but dress length. They were a little bit loose to start, and are now much more roomy. They work well unbelted and with a belt. They hide a lot of the transitional weight loss. They are very easy to wear, and you won’t feel like they are either too tight or too loose as you drop weight.</p>
<p>They dress up or down with the right accessories. I lived in them last summer, and bought a couple more in a smaller size this spring at Lands End, Gap and Kohls.</p>
<p>VeryHappy - I think you are 100% right. I need to get rid of all of these old clothes that don’t fit, used to fit, might fit someday. It is ridiculous. I have lost weight before, only to regain it. I am determined that this time is going to be different, and am trying to make permanent changes in how I eat, how I exercise and how I deal with stress. I am an emotional eater and am trying so hard to break that habit. This time is all about doing things differently and making positive changes, and I think a massive closet purge fits right in!</p>
<p>eastcoascrazy - thanks for the suggestion. That sounds like a very flexible idea.</p>
<p>RVM:</p>
<p>MANY of us are emotional eaters. I agree that going through things in your closet may help. You may find things you haven’t worn in awhile that fit you now, in transition! I also still recommend for you to take to a tailor a few choice pieces that you want to keep or at least get you through the weight loss phase.</p>
<p>eastcoascrazy:</p>
<p>I just saw those dresses in the LL Bean catalogue and thought how comfortable they look (I enjoy wearing a few casual skirts in the summer) but the weight I gained is strictly on my bottom, so for me, that dress would be snug on the bottom and huge on the top…I would LOVE to own one at some point since I would love to wear that type of dress!</p>
<p>On clothes: I went through this too going from XLs to Ls to Ms and maybe to Ss one of these days. The transitions were surprising on the budget. My approach on work wear was to buy a bit at each stage so some stuff was a little loose and some stuff fit better. Then get rid of things that are far away from the weight that you’ve lost. I’ve gone from 44 to 32 on the Waist and that’s a lot of pants to give away.</p>
<p>Are the clothes you have that don’t fit still in style? Are there any consignment shops you could take them to and perhaps get a little cash for them -cash that you could spend on clothes that DO fit??? </p>
<p>I truly feel strongly that you should but a few transitional things . Even if you tailor what you have, you will have to spend money to get it done. And alterations aren’t cheap either!
Losing weight is one of the hardest things in life to do- most of us love to eat ! Buying something fresh and new will do your new outlook a lot of good! (But go to the store, don’t buy online!!) :)</p>
<p>I lost a ton of weight thanks to the Weight Loss for Dummies thread and have mostly done what BCEagle says - bought a bit at each stage. By last summer I pretty much settled so bought more - most of my shopping has been at Kohls (especially using 30% off coupons) and TJ Maxx. I tried a few alterations but they really didn’t look right in the end. </p>
<p>I have worn some of my old clothes - I had saved quite a few and went back down through the sizes as I lost weight. I don’t care too much about current style (although the padded shoulders really don’t work!) because I’m essentially retired and don’t go out too much. I have now given away about all my old larger clothes and I really loved some of them! I finally decided that I no longer wanted to wear baggy clothes. I had stored the clothes in the garage for close to a year so I wouldn’t jinx myself.</p>
<p>So go get a few items on sale. Don’t wear clothes that don’t make you feel good about yourself. You’ll be more encouraged to continue to lose when you see yourself in the mirror every day, even if it’s the same things over and over.</p>
<p>I don’t know if women’s clothes lend themselves to this kind of approach, but I mounted a long 10 foot closet bar in the basement. Then, started bundling up all my clothes on hangers. All the 40 inch pants on hangers with a black garbage bag over them, labelled with masking tape. All the 38s. All the 36s. And so forth. Same with XL, L, and M dress shirts. And XL and L polo shirts. It got it out of the closet and gave me some motivation as I moved from one bundle to the next.</p>
<p>After losing 50 pounds, I tried on the smaller sizes and took all the MED shirts and 32 inch pants to Goodwill, because it was obvious had no prayer of ever fitting in them. Murphy’s Law… now I wear MED shirts and 32 pants. Of course, that stuff was pretty dated, since it had taken a long concerted effort to go from 32 to 44 on the way up!</p>
<p>Seriously…fitting into smaller clothes is a huge motivation. Much better than the scale. Rachel Cosgrove has a brand new fat loss exercise book, just released last week, called [Drop</a> Two Sizes](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Drop-Two-Sizes-Proven-Clothes/dp/1609614631]Drop”>http://www.amazon.com/Drop-Two-Sizes-Proven-Clothes/dp/1609614631). She runs contests for her clients where they bring in a pair of skinny jeans two sizes smaller and leave them at the gym for 12 weeks. They try on the jeans every few weeks during the Thermometer Jeans Challenge. I always had a pair of “thermometer” jeans hanging on the back of the closet door.</p>
<p>Hit up a consignment store or three in an upscale neighborhood.
They are FULL of clothes that others hoped they would fit into someday.</p>
<p>You need to have clothes that fit you now.</p>
<p>Shop Goodwill. I’ve been a GW shopper for years. Lost 50 pounds and had to dump most of my clothes. I would say at least half,maybe three-fourths of my current wardrobe came from Goodwill. You will be amazed at the great stuff you can find there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas. I like the thought of trying to take some of my nicer clothes that are either too big or way too small to a consignment shop, that might be worth a try. I have some nice pieces - Jones New York and similar labels - that are too big and never fit well to begin with.</p>
<p>And no more online shopping! That really had more to do with my hating shopping and hating trying on clothes than anything else. But my online purchases rarely fit well, so it did not accomplish much. I actually have no idea what size I wear now. I really need to get back into petite sizes so that the proportions are correct. It’s hard to be short and heavy! I have too many items of clothing that are not petite sizes and they just don’t fit right - tops are too long, etc.</p>
<p>Going shopping tomorrow - hoping I can fit into some petite sizes and buy a few inexpensive, fun spring items.</p>
<p>Have fun - and let us know how it goes!</p>