In my pre-fat life I loved shopping. I enjoyed spending an afternoon looking in store windows, having a cookie and a diet coke, and shopping for clothes. It was pretty easy to find things I liked. After all, during my early marriage I was an average weight and size. Not everything I tried on was fabulous, but enough of it fit and looked decent, that clothes shopping was a pleasant experience. John and I could waste a whole afternoon wandering around the mall.
Things got a bit more complicated after the birth of my first child, during whose pregnancy I gained 74 pounds. After her birth, I didn’t realize how big I had become until I tried to fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes about two months after she was born. Sadly, the only item of clothing that fit was my shoes.
John felt bad for me, and convinced me I really needed to go shopping, so we went to a department store. Once there, I had go from shopping in the the regular sized departments to the women’s department – known back then as “women’s world.” The first trip into “women’s world” wasn’t at all like a trip to Disney World. Oh no. Here, there was no magic. There was no fantasy. There was just harsh, cold reality. It started with the number 18 on the tag and got worse from there. These days there some more fashionable choices for the larger woman, but all those years years ago I wasn’t quite so fortunate. Ugly shirts, garish colors,and horrendous prints were the norm in “woman’s world.” No cute skirts or jackets. Here the mu-mu reigned supreme.
It was a hard day, but with John’s support and my desperation to have some clothes that fit me, we came away with some basics. A few jumpers, some stretch pants, several sweatshirts with flowers on the front and the requisite t-shirts. It was depressing and embarrassing and frustrating. But too bad for me, because that wasn’t my last visit to “women’s world.” Oh, no. There were many more to come, not because my clothes wore out, but because I outgrew them. As I got bigger and bigger, I would have jumped up and down for joy to see the number 18 on a tag. Instead I went from 18, to 20 and then all the way up to 26/28. Then I really had a problem.
There was no size 30. I reached a point where size 26/28 didn’t fit. Even the stretchiest of pants wouldn’t encompass my hips. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get them on. I was stuck, and I didn’t know there were mail order places that would help me with my problem. So I resorted to making my own clothes, and stopped wearing pants completely.
Shopping was torture.
As I lost weight and started shrinking out of sizes, one thing I did was get rid of any clothes that no longer fit me. When those homemade jumpers got too big out they went. When the size 26 pants started looking like I could fit an inflated balloon in there with me, they were gone. Over and over again I gave away or threw away clothes that were too big. I didn’t keep them “just in case,” because I knew there was going to be no “just in case.”
Where are you on getting rid of those too big clothes? Keep or give away? Diane
P.S. I didn’t run out and buy brand new clothes when I needed new sizes – I generally went to Goodwill or garage sales. I did buy new jeans though – it made me feel good about myself.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
I say ditch them before they start looking like they’ll fit again. No way out – that’s the way to go.
Gigi´s last blog ..Junk-in-the-Trunk Mail
last time I lost weight, I got rid of them. I’m now holding onto them. I will give them away just not yet.
Mackattack (Beth)´s last blog ..Pain in the neck
This is such a HUGE issue with me right now. I have been getting rid of all my clothes as I shrink out of them. Now, I find myself pregnant; not really big enough for maternity clothes, but all my “bigger” clothes are long gone.
It is so ironic. (and frustrating) Needless to say, I’ve been running around in ugly sweats outfits.
thin100´s last blog ..Sliding backward
Diane, I also went through a period where I made my own clothes because it was too difficult to find anything in my size in stores – when I see your pictures of your home made flowery jumper, I see myself – I had some pants in just that same kind of print!!
At first I kept my “fat” clothes in a box because i was afraid of gaining weight again and not having any clothes, but as I got more confident, I started giving my big clothes away to the charity shop. Now I try to consequently get rid of anything that doesn’t fit or doesn’t look nice. I still don’t buy a lot of clothes for myself, but at least I can buy in normal sizes now which makes life a lot easier.
Amy´s last blog ..Workshops Rock!
Jeans and bras – I would say that both of these deserve a good fit that can’t be found from resale shop or hand me downs.
I think it is also important not to have too many clothes or too much $$$ invested in clothes – on the way down the scale. It is easier to keep the momentum going if one is not too attached to any of these interim items.
And I also think it is important NOT to buy small sizes ahead of time. Our body parts shrink at different rates – and often are not proportional until every pound is off and we are done.
vickie´s last blog ..A dessert-ish lunch (every once in a while)
I got rid of all my “fat clothes”. There was no reason to keep them and they were taking up space in my closet and mind. Why keep them? Four plus years later, I still don’t need them. I sold and gave them away as soon as they didn’t fit and couldn’t have altered.
Carla | Green and Chic´s last blog ..The Second Year: Multiple Sclerosis Update
I gave ALL of mine away, except for a few maternity pieces that I wore.
As it is, I’m 40lb less than I was before I got pregnant so even if we decide to have another child, I’ll still probably need to get different ones anyway.
PTG´s last blog ..pre-race day routine
I kept everything that was too small, and ended up working my way back through them, minus a few things from my gymnastics days. My aha was going to target, and the only jeans that fit were 24s, and that’s the largest size they had. I got rid of everything else, but kept those. Now I fit in one leg!
Hi just stumbled your site and been browsing around some of your entries and just wondering why you chose a Wordpress site dont you find it difficult to do anything with? Been thinking about starting one.
Red Grapes are packed with antioxidants, Drink welch’s grape juice!
Its strengthens your immune system and helps prevent obesity in children. It can also help cut down on many types of cancers.