STILL LOOKING AT "BIG" CLOTHES!

Lalasharni

I can't imagine what's going on in my brain. Since I joined MFP I have lost over 60 lbs and gone down four dress sizes but now that I'm shopping for clothes, I find myself automatically picking up my "big" sizes and when I "come to" and put it back. and select my current size, I find myself thinking "that's way too small - I'll never fit in that!"
Has anyone else had this experience? Just HOW long does it take for my inner self to realize that I don't have to shop in the plus size sections now?

The other odd thing is that my feet have shrunk too. I have some pretty amazing and edgy shoes that I spent a fortune on and now they're loose! 'I've had to put insoles in them to keep them on.
Losing weight is a strange sensation to me - I have never been this "small" although I have a long way to do. It's a mystery to me that my brain hasn't cottoned on yet!

This is NO WAY a complaint - I love being smaller. It's just that I think its strange that my inner self doesn't recognize the new me!

Purpleice18

I'm a little different. Now that I lost most of the weight I try to get smaller clothes than I actually am :P and most of the time they fit (which is amazing) but the shoes thing I completely agree with!! its like seriously... they were all comfortable and now they rub my heels cuz they are soo loose

SimplyDenyse

YES!! I do it all the time I look at new clothes after I wash them and Im amazed i fit in them. Yesterday I was looking for some carpi's and the only size avalible looked too small. I decided to get them and 'eventually' they will fit. but when I got home and tried them on they fit perfectly. Happy dance!!

Evachiquita

I find myself still looking for size L and XL but most of the time I wear a M now! Can't get it thru my head yet that I wear a medium!!

AngelicxAnnihilation

I'm not even close to having this problem yet :P but I imagine I will, everything seems so tiny to look at, I could never ever imagine being able to fit into any of it.

gigglybeth

I do the same thing. I don't know how long it lasts. I still grab the XXLs and XLs when I fit in larges and I still grab 18's and 16's even thought I'm in a loose 14. It boggles my mind that I don't *have* to shop at in the plus size stores and plus size section exclusively.

On Saturday we were going to a festival and everything I had planned on wearing was too big. It was crazy.

Balance_Breathe

I can't wait to have this problem! Hearty congratulations on your success! (You look tiny in your picture.)

1flowergirl

I just went shopping yesterday,looking into sqeezing into a womans 16,18s a little loose, I started this journey wearing a size24 tightly! The store I went to has a side with "regular" sizes and a side for us plus size girls. I had seen a pair or shorts I liked, yes I said shorts, when I went to grab a pair to try on all they had was a womans 14 or 22, I decided to see how far I have to go to get into the 14's, just for fun mind you,then grabbed some clothes in18;s and 16's,to actually buy. I tried on the 14's first and almost fainted when they fit!! not tight , perfectly! I stepped outside the dressing room and I thought my husband was going to faint. I figured maybe the maker made them a little on the large size, so i put on the other clothes all in 16's too big!! I had 1 pair I wanted they only had them in an 18,so the clerk said I'll try a 16 regular,the other side of the store,she brought them too me,I hung them up and stared at them hanging there for a bit,knowing there was no way they would even close up,took a deep breath; went up over the hips no problem, buttoned them,no problem,zipped right up! I almost did a cartwheel out the dressing room door!! They fit !! I'm actually, in "normal"size clothes!! I bought the "normal size 16"s not the "plus size" 14's! No more looking at big girl clothes, my very proud husband asked as we were paying,"would you like to look around on the other side of the store before we leave?" Yes we did!!
And yes, all my shoes are to big also,everything I try on is loose,its ok I love it!!

acogg

Yes, I did that and still do.I still reach for things that are size 12-14. I feel like that is my normal size. I keep giving away and throwing away that sized clothes but they still keep showing up in my closet! LOL!

alisonlynn1976

I still do that sometimes, too. I go to a rack of clothing and think, "Okay, what's the biggest size they have?...Oh, wait..."

Sherbog

Absolutely....this new body is so new and I am like you trying to get to know it. My most recent experience was taking a size in the dressing room and in the end bought 3 sizes down.

My latest NSV was when I came out of the dressing room and a woman going in says "you have to buy that dress as it is so cute on you." I wanted to hug her.

I remember buying a size 22 pant and yesterday fit into a size Target 8. Dress size is a 10. Shirts from XXL to M.

Seeing my reflection in a store window and realizing it was me was a surprise!

Thanks for creating such a nice post....it has been fun reading the posts.

Shirley in Oregon

Francl27

It's kinda worse than that for me. Half my 18 pants were too tight when I started 6 months ago. I went to buy some pants yesterday and couldn't believe I fit in a size 8. I hold the pants up and can't believe I actually fit in that, considering I look in the mirror and I find I'm still fat (my body fat is actually in the normal range now, but I still want to lose at least 20 lbs). It's just so weird. Now I'm shooting for a size 4 or 6.

MyJourney1960

I'm not there yet... But i remember when i was a kid, i was the "chubby" one (this was in the 1960s, so overweight kids were called "chubby" or "husky":grumble: ). anyway, when i was around 8th grade, i went to WW and lost 22 lbs, and then i went on a bunch of crash diets (the hard boiled egg diet, the grapefruit diet, et al), and lost a bunch more weight. I was size 8 or 10, no rolls of fat, and weighed 125. BUT - i still for my entire life saw myself as FAT. I never knew how to see myself as not fat. One day a few years ago my brother was telling his daughters "how skinny your aunts [me and my sisters] were in HS" and I said "well maybe *other sisters* but not me" so he pulled out some photos and they were all telling me how great i looked:blushing:

sigh... hopefully, when i lose the weight now, I will celebrate my new thinner and healthier self

mumtoonegirl

I hear you, it has taken being in size S (before was xl) and size 6/8 (formerly size 16 tight) for a few months to naturally grab that size in a store. However my mind plays tricks on me all the time. For the longest time I was holding off buying new clothes so when I was moving into an s/m and size 8 I was still wearing my old clothes, they were falling off me. We were about to go away on a cruise so I was forced to get new clothes. When I would put on the 6/8 and they fit I would freak out for a second I had put on weight because clothes were fitting and not falling off. When they were falling off it was a sign I was down a lot of weight.

shrimpydoo

Thank you for posting this. It was so inspirational and I can see myself in each and every response. It's all so true, and so very exciting! I'm just starting to venture out and try smaller sizes myself. I'm afraid, actually, to go shopping because finding clothes that fit, and more importantly, that actually looked nice on me in the past has been so discouraging. I don't want to feel that way again, so I am finding myself being very apprehensive about trying a new size just in case I'm still too big. But I do love this post!

Saratini76

OMG, so true. Granted, I am still plus-size, but my first reaction is to grab only 1 size down from where I started. I am surprised every time when I put them on and expect them to fit, but instead they slide down my hips and off. I struggle a lot with this. In the mirror I can't "see" the changes but my clothes sure reflect them!

Francl27

I'm not there yet... But i remember when i was a kid, i was the "chubby" one (this was in the 1960s, so overweight kids were called "chubby" or "husky":grumble: ). anyway, when i was around 8th grade, i went to WW and lost 22 lbs, and then i went on a bunch of crash diets (the hard boiled egg diet, the grapefruit diet, et al), and lost a bunch more weight. I was size 8 or 10, no rolls of fat, and weighed 125. BUT - i still for my entire life saw myself as FAT. I never knew how to see myself as not fat. One day a few years ago my brother was telling his daughters "how skinny your aunts [me and my sisters] were in HS" and I said "well maybe *other sisters* but not me" so he pulled out some photos and they were all telling me how great i looked:blushing:

sigh... hopefully, when i lose the weight now, I will celebrate my new thinner and healthier self

THIS. I lost weight in college and went down to 130 lbs (I'm 5'5"). Ok it didn't last long, it was a 'crash diet', I was followed by a dietitian but started working and couldn't go anymore and gained it all back and some in 8 months, but I can't remember ever being thin. Others do... I don't at all. I remember the woman I worked with at the time remembering me as thin. Always made me laugh because it was impossible.

Duck_Puddle

In 18 months, I went from a size 22/24 to a size 6. I literally just saw it for the first time 4 days ago. It was like a switch flipped and all of a sudden I saw & felt size 6 me. Two days ago, I bought a dress on clearance ($7) and thought "this might be a little big...". That's the first time I ever thought that. I have spent the last 18 months knowing I was a smaller size, but looking at the clothes and thinking "there's no way my @ss is fitting into those tiny pants" (when usually the pants were too big). So yes, I felt that way for a LONG time. But the switch finally flipped and I couldn't be happier.

Phrick

I'm down 42 pounds from a size 20/22 to a 16 and I look at size 16s with disbelief, thinking "that won't even fit around my thigh!" But it does. I think for me the best way to ensure that I get clothes that fit NEW (and still changing) me is to take someone with me shopping and actually try stuff on in the stores. How I hate shopping for clothes, and trying on makes it all the more loathsome, but I have come to the realization that if I don't have someone there to say "that's really baggy in the butt, I think you need a smaller size," I'll still end up buying 18s and 20s and being frustrated with how I look in my clothes.

statickey

I do this all the time... I never thought I could fit a medium sized shirt, so I always pick up larges and buy them and im unhappy how baggy they are when I get home. It's hard to change your mind set and the way you see yourself when you've been a certain way for so long. I need to learn how to shop again because now I just get over whelmed.

sweetpea129

Absolutely yes. I started in a tight 22. Now I'm comfortably in an 8. I often grab the biggest size I can find and then I remember. I still browse in the plus size section at stores. Surely nothing there would fit me anymore? But it's just habit I guess.

anniegail1961

Hi There: Congratulations on all your success! Way to go!
Concerning the fat voice-Kick her to the curb. She no longer lives in your house!

jadethief

I'm at the point where, while most of my clothes still come from the plus dept, there are some things I can now wear in the misses dept. But every time I find myself in the misses area, I feel like a sales clerk is going to show up any second and chase me out of there, lol.

Also, when I think about how much I weigh, the first number that pops in to my head is the weight I started at, not what I weigh now.