The Cost of Weight Loss

My rings are loose right now - but I think it's because it's December and it's cold out, so my fingers are naturally just smaller. When I started out losing weight I was a size 8 and I went down to a 4 - so I don't think that should have much affect on my fingers? My hands were tiny to begin with (my wedding ring is a size 4.75 or 4.25 - I can't remember).

For real though... I hear ya on the clothes. My tits are legit so most of my tops still fit me well, or even better than before. But pants have been a nightmare. Unfortunately I just bit the bullet and splurged and I'm paying the price for it now with Christmas coming up, lol. But I needed pants, man. I bought myself three pairs of jeans, a pair of skinny cords, and a pair of colored skinny jeans. I also bought a pair of slacks for work - but had to wait two weeks to wear them so I could get them hemmed. It was awful. I waited until I'd lost most of my weight to buy these clothes (at the moment I have two to three pounds left) and the past month... has been... embarrassing with the work slacks. Wearing pants two sizes too big doesn't look good on anyone, lol. Jeans I could get away with because like with jeans, you throw 'em in the dryer, and while they might be looser they still look okay. The black dress pants were a nightmare.

In hindsight, I would have maybe saved up some money slowly over time to have to spend on new clothes. Some people like to do the "pay yourself" when you workout system. Like every time you work out, toss like a buck or five into a jar and use that money to buy yourself clothes. I've never been on a weight loss journey before so I really had no idea.

I've been up and down with weight for years, and I find that shirts are rather forgiving - I dont wear skin tight clothes normally, so a little baggy here and there isn't too big of a deal for me. I wear my pants as long as I can and I have a variety of sizes in my closet. I also found that skirts or dresses are very forgiving in the spring/summer - you can usually fit into them if you're up or down a few sizes. If non of that works, I'd say a nice reward would be to treat yourself to a few nice, new things. You can find jeans for rather inexpensive at Old Navy and such, and I find a lot of my tops at Target which is rather reasonable as well. Hope this helps!

As I go down in size, I allow myself 4 pairs of pants and 6 shirts. I wear my big clothes until they look bad, then I donate them. I started as an 18, when I lost enough weight, I bought 4 pair of size 16 pants, but my shirts still looked okay so I waited. I buy whatever I can afford at the time. The 16's were from walmart, some from the clearance rack. We are doing better now, so I am buying 2 pair of size 10 Levi's this time around. (I had two pair of size 10 'skinny pants' tucked away in a box in the garage.) If I need to go to a thrift store, that is OK, too. I try to make the shirts mix and match with the pants. This way I have a few things that fit nice and a few things that are a little big for me. My closet is SO empty now. So far none of my friends or family have commented on my tiny wardrobe, but they all comment on my smaller size!

In comparison to what I used to WASTE on food and alcohol when I was 35 lb heavier.....is nothing in regards to what I spend on skinny clothes, workout gear and gym memberships! I LOVE it!
Shop consignment and thrift, it doesn't hurt as bad when I ruin or have to go down in size when I payed 80% less for name brand.

I would make friends with someone who can help you with alterations. As I lose weight, I visit a friend that can help me alter my shirts/pants/dresses, so I'm not having to spend a lot of money on new items. If you don't have a friend that's handy with a thread and needle (and you're not capable yourself), it's often cheaper to pay someone for alterations vs buying a brand new pair of pants or top or dress or whatever...

I'm finding swapping out clothing that doesn't fit so well anymore is what keeps me motivated to stay on the right path. I do find a nice trick that works when you fluctuate between a few pounds is wrap dresses, but that's about the only thing I'll hold onto.