How long have you hung on to your oversized clothes?

4tammysstone · April 18

My closet is full of clothes that are four and five sizes too big but I'm having such a hard time letting it go. How long have you kept your oversized clothes?

Darlene_Oregon · April 18

@4tammysstone - I'm presently only 10lbs down from my heaviest weight. So I currently don't have any clothes that are too large.
What I intend to do as I lose weight is keep the clothes that are one size too big. But, donate any clothes that are two sizes or more too big.
I know that we could gain again and wish we had kept our bigger clothes. But, I'm 66 and I don't ever want to be this big again. Not only is it unhealthy. But I've been having difficulty doing just daily things that we all take for granted.
Well, that's my two cents. Let's see what other people say 😕

AmyDahlTorres · April 18

When I approached a new season, I'd check sizing and set aside. So essentially, once season, per year. Your loss in weight is someone else's gain in their closet. Don't forget to check shoes; your feet shrink too!

AnnPT77 · April 18

Generally, I got rid of the oversized dress or "business casual" clothes and structured things (like jeans) after a few months into maintenance. (I kept a few sentimental items, or some whose fabric I could reuse (I'm crafty

.) A lot of my big clothes went to larger friends, or to charity shop type places, if they were good enough to wear still. A very few suitable tops that once were close-fitting just became tunics, but that's very style-specific.

The oversized ultra-casual things I kept at least some of: For example, I use the big t-shirts for yard work and that sort of dirty thing, or to sleep in; and (because I'm crafty!) I turned some of my workout leggings into baggier lightweight sweatpants by installing a drawstring at the waist. Yeah, I'm cheap. I don't mind wearing baggy stuff around the house.

I'm not keeping bigger things around "just in case". I don't want to go back to old me. (I'm in year 8 of maintaining, after about a year of loss preceded by around 30 years of overweight/obesity.)

takinitalloff · April 19

As soon as I get to a point where I no longer want to wear something because it has become too big, I move it to the give-away bag (after washing it if needed, obviously). When the bag is full, it leaves the house.

Usually once I start noticing some clothes getting too baggy, I'll go through my closet trying on everything else (so if a pair of jeans is too big, I'll try my other pants). I check myself in the mirror and ask myself, does this make me look and feel great? If it doesn't, it can leave.

I used to hang on to stuff forever and I realized at some point that I was always living either in the past or in some hypothetical future. Now I only keep what I'm using -- and I'm definitely not using clothes that are more than one size too big! I've changed my lifestyle so thoroughly that I know I'm not going to gain this weight back, and why fill up my living space with oversized clothes that are useless to me?

I do have one top that I absolutely love, even though it is now several sizes too big. It has a print that makes me smile. So I'm keeping it, and will probably use it as a pj top in the future because it definitely doesn't look great on me anymore to wear outside the house (but I still get a kick out of seeing it, and it's comfy).

Oh and like @AnnPT77 I kept a bunch of t-shirts and workout pants that were not in good enough shape to give away, to wear around the house or as pj's if suitable. Eventually I will throw them away, but I don't see any need to wear brand-new clothes for doing the dishes or hanging around the house.

poisonesse · April 19

Ok, you don't want to hear this, but I'm 70+ pounds down from my highest weight and I still own every piece of clothing I did when I started this journey back in 2012! And some I still wear. Why wear a nice pair of shorts outside to weed the garden or mow the lawn? I'll just throw on some over sized stuff, which will soak up more sweat, and my nice stuff stays nice! Ooo, I LIE! I did toss my underpants, they simply wouldn't stay up anymore. And maybe an exercise bra here or there that stretched out to the point they no longer hold the girls. But I'm getting ready to get rid of some VERY large jeans, they're roomy enough that I trip on them when I try to wear 'em. But if it makes you feel good, toss some of your stuff. If not, there's no rush. But once you start replacing it all, you'll need to make room and by then you'll be ready to part with some of it. Maybe not all, but at least some. 😉

springlering62 · April 19

I got rid of it as soon as it was too big.

Having too-big clothes hanging around was a tacit permission slip to backslide.

They had to go.

The first goal, I didn’t think I could possibly lose more weight and bought a bunch of clothes to celebrate. Within three months they were swimming on me.

The next two necessary wardrobes, I bought minimum clothes, enough to last me til the next size down.

I went from a 22W to a consistent size 4.

Anything that doesn’t fit has been long gone.

I am never ever going back to where I was, and I don’t need old clothes skulking around. If the waistband gets too tight, I check my numbers, and immediately shift from maintenance back to loss.

BTW, leaving the gym a day or two ago, I got an eyeful of this:

Husband forgot his boxer and belt for after aquafit. He’s too cheap, lazy, whatever you want to call it to buy smaller pants, despite me begging, threatening and even resorting to making smartarse remarks. I hope the damn things fall down on him some day in a very public place.

Do not yield to temptation to keep clothes that are THIS big on you.

leduck1 · April 19

I kept mine for a year after maintaining a 70 lb weight loss and got rid of them. I have a wardrobe I look good in, enjoy, and that let me know if I gain some weight. I’m not going back!

Corina1143 · April 19

I still have one shorts outfit I absolutely love and am trying to figure out how to make them work.

The clothes that i wore--immediately. I kept a few big t-shirts, tie them in a knot at the waist, over Jean shorts--that type of thing. Everything else goes.

Still have lots of tops I never wore anyway. Slowly sorting into goodwill, soft rags, and trash piles.

Corina1143 · April 19

@springlering62, looks like you know what to get hubby for Xmas, birthdays, valentine's, etc. For a long time to come.

AnnPT77 · April 19

Corina1143 wrote: »

I still have one shorts outfit I absolutely love and am trying to figure out how to make them work.

The clothes that i wore--immediately. I kept a few big t-shirts, tie them in a knot at the waist, over Jean shorts--that type of thing. Everything else goes.

Still have lots of tops I never wore anyway. Slowly sorting into goodwill, soft rags, and trash piles.

If you don't sew, can a local seamstress/tailor do anything for you, for something you love that much? (It could be easy or difficult, depending on construction details.)

lisakatz2 · April 20

I was just thinking about this topic today. I have a multitude of clothing in my closet of varying sizes, ranging from 1X to small (in tops) to 18 down to a 4 (in pants). I'm hesitant to throw any of my smaller sizes away because I don't know what I'm going to fit into when I get to my goal weight. I'm 61 and my body is shaped different than it was even at 51 (fat in the middle). I used to have a nice hourglass shape; menopause ruined it. Oh well, I'm a work in progress.

rileysowner · April 20

I am still wearing mine and I am almost 90 pounds down in a year. I have started to get rid of some of them just this past week, and started to get some clothing from thrift stores as I still have some weight to lose.

lisakatz2 · April 20

rileysowner wrote: »

I am still wearing mine and I am almost 90 pounds down in a year. I have started to get rid of some of them just this past week, and started to get some clothing from thrift stores as I still have some weight to lose.

90 pounds down!? It's time. Surely your clothes don't fit. Smart getting thrift store clothes in the interim.

I'm 5 pounds down from my starting weight. I see the difference in the mirror. My clothes are a little bit looser but not enough to go to the next size down. Looking forward to that!

Veta2018 · April 20

I'm down almost 50 pounds now. Last year, I got rid of all my small summer shorts. I didn't plan on losing weight at the time, because they were cute and I would be able to fit in them now. I recently got rid of lots of winter clothes that were too big. I kept the smallest ones and bought a couple smaller sizes from the resale shop to hold me over. I don't plan on purchasing new clothes till the next season. Then, I plan on getting rid of all the old. Bras, and underware will also need replaced.

rileysowner · April 20

lisakatz2 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

I am still wearing mine and I am almost 90 pounds down in a year. I have started to get rid of some of them just this past week, and started to get some clothing from thrift stores as I still have some weight to lose.

90 pounds down!? It's time. Surely your clothes don't fit. Smart getting thrift store clothes in the interim.

I'm 5 pounds down from my starting weight. I see the difference in the mirror. My clothes are a little bit looser but not enough to go to the next size down. Looking forward to that!

I am cheap, and frankly, I work in a setting where I have just been waiting for my new work clothing to arrive from this years ordering. It just did, so I have new work clothing. I also have some other stuff from the thrift store now (picked up this week), so when I need to look good, I can. As for mucking around at home, I will stick to the oversized stuff for now, as I said, I am cheap and clothing really isn't that important to me.

terrila2018 · April 20

My aunt used to say the downfall of healthy bodies came with the invention of "rubber clothing" that stretches to fit many sizes. You can gain several pounds before you get serious about the problem. When you get used to being comfortable in the stretchies, it's hard to go back to fitted clothing. I'm trying to embrace normal jeans again instead of leggings that masquerade as jeans with a long shirt to cover the belly. When your jeans are feeling tight, you know the scale will confirm what you suspect.

AnnPT77 · April 20

terrila2018 wrote: »

My aunt used to say the downfall of healthy bodies came with the invention of "rubber clothing" that stretches to fit many sizes. You can gain several pounds before you get serious about the problem. When you get used to being comfortable in the stretchies, it's hard to go back to fitted clothing. I'm trying to embrace normal jeans again instead of leggings that masquerade as jeans with a long shirt to cover the belly. When your jeans are feeling tight, you know the scale will confirm what you suspect.

Yet ironically, so-called "rubber clothing" is IMO the ideal thing to buy from those thrift stores once the big clothes get unacceptably loose, but there's still quite a bit of weight left to lose.

Things like drawstring pants, a-line or other loose dresses (perhaps with tie belt), tops and tunics that are a tiny bit snug or close to that now (with maybe a bit of stretch) but in styles that will work as looser tops or tunics as one becomes smaller.

Once goal weight arrives, sure, go with the structured clothes for both a trim look and a check on regain.

The lighter a person becomes - at least in women's sizes IME - the fewer pounds between sizes.
I needed to buy some dress pants for an event when I was getting close to goal weight, so ended up buying new. Even though I was intentionally losing quite slowly by then, in a month those pants were sloppy-big, not wearable for similar occasions.

MySlimGoals · May 12

Just started 20 days ago. I went through my drawers today and threw out a whole lot of clothes. I haven't got any too big clothes to throw out because I haven't lost enough to go down a size yet, but what |I did do was throw out clothes that look old or tatty or make me feel fat. I also did throw out some clothes from when I was much thinner - but that is because I thought they weren't that nice anyway. The idea is when I lose weight soon I will be able to treat myself to shopping trips and brand new clothes that do suit me. Now I have room in my chest of drawers to fill it up again with nice clothing when I lose.

mae1658 · May 13

I get rid of the clothes that I know I don't love or are worn right away. But I do keep a tote of my favourites and just hang onto them. I did the same when I was smaller and then gained weight and I'm thankful I did, as I now fit back into those smaller clothes.

badnoodle · May 14

I got rid of a bunch of mine when I hit 50 lbs down, but I hung on to some old favorites. I'm glad I did, because this spring I took a sewing class at the local community college to learn to tailor! Since most of my old wardrobe was inexpensively made, it turned out to be pretty easy (and even reasonably quick) to learn to take in and remake things like t-shirts and blouses. It's pretty amazing to take a much-loved 4x t-shirt down to a large (ish). And at the same time, I can fit them better to my own proportions.

exstromn · May 15

I had a really hard time letting some things go for fear of failure. I felt "safe" to purge some things at approx 40 LBS gone but could have done it at 30. It took until then to buy anything new, even though my family had been making frumpy comments about my clothes lol:). I was still super cautious for fear of failure, not to mention women's sizes are vastly different from brand to brand or cut to cut. I still sometimes look at my smaller fitting clothes and go, "I wonder if it will still fit?" It does and in that moment, you need to acknowledge it does and will again the next time you wear it because you have lost weight for real and are actively pursuing loss. Hang in there, its sooooo worth it to try on that first really great fitting garment and then make room for it in your closet by purging the one that just doesn't fit anymore!

elisa123gal · May 21

I vote you get rid of them asap. I know money could be an issue for some here. But.. i see so many before and after photos of people wearing the same clothes .. and it hardly showcases their success. Baggy old worn clothes don't work.. and even if they're in good shape.. it makes the person look heavier. Get rid of them..buy something that fits and is flattering and don't look back.

I7300 · May 21

I kept my old clothes for a while, I knew I went down a size and stayed like that for a bit but financially I just couldn't buy new clothes.... I decided to make a change when everything was looking extremely baggy and not fitting well, which made me feel worse...so just went for it and bought more fitting clothes... got rid of the old ones now.
Worth the money spent on it to be honest.
Jeans are a bugger as they aren't the cheapest and having to buy new pairs sucks since they are very hit and miss with sizing.

springlering62 · May 21

elisa123gal wrote: »

I vote you get rid of them asap. I know money could be an issue for some here. But.. i see so many before and after photos of people wearing the same clothes .. and it hardly showcases their success. Baggy old worn clothes don't work.. and even if they're in good shape.. it makes the person look heavier. Get rid of them..buy something that fits and is flattering and don't look back.

This. My husband showed me a photo of his cannon crew from a reenactment this weekend. Reenactment gear is pricey. His philosophy is “they had to wear the same gear regardless, so can I.”

His was all 2X and he’s down a size or two. I thought it was a photo from a couple of years ago, he looked so big, and I had to delicately extricate myself from what promised to be a big wifely faux pas.

mjglantz · May 21

As I lost weight it took some time for me to accept that this time it was for good. I ended up keeping one size larger than I was wearing and donated the rest.

mkksemail · May 21

I did not get rid of as many as I should have, and I spent the winter expanding back into them. Ditch them

AnnPT77 · May 21

elisa123gal wrote: »

I vote you get rid of them asap. I know money could be an issue for some here. But.. i see so many before and after photos of people wearing the same clothes .. and it hardly showcases their success. Baggy old worn clothes don't work.. and even if they're in good shape.. it makes the person look heavier. Get rid of them..buy something that fits and is flattering and don't look back.

I agree about the baggy clothes for general wear out and about. But I figure people often may wear the same clothes for before and after photos to highlight the difference in how they fit?

I kept some of my old workout leggings to wear around the house, after adding a drawstring to the waist. The fit is baggy . . . but it's kind of gratifying to realize that that floppy fabric around my thighs used to be tight, filled up with fat.

FibroHiker · May 27

It's been up and down for me. When I first lost weight back in 2007 I didn't hold on to any of my oversized clothing. They looked bad on me at that point and I wanted clothing that fit. I have since regained some and lost it again.

I've noticed that there aren't a lot of clothes that I wished I had held on to ( for any reason or any size). I am now in a losing streak again and just dropped a size from Medium to Small. I tried on clothes yesterday and thought it wouldn't make a difference but the Small looks better and fit better. If you lose weight and go down a size, you want to look good. Don't keep your closet full of things that don't flatter you. If there are some pieces you really love, have them tailored to fit your current size. Donate or give away the rest.

Darlene_Oregon · May 27

To all the women out there. I don't buy women's clothes. No I'm not gay (not that that would matter). It's just that a pair of women's pants have a 20" waist and 50" hips. What's up with that? Plus, I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but the quality of women's clothing is not as good as men's clothing. And, women's clothing is more expensive. I mainly wear shorts and casual clothing. Men's medium fit me fine.

chris_in_cal · May 27

Not a good answer to your question, but: I'm holding on to my boot camp uniform, and my 1989 NYC Marathon t-shirt hoping to again one day proudly rock these duds.

How long have you hung on to your oversized clothes?

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