There is NO WAY that is going to fit me!

kwin1973
kwin1973 Posts: 5 Member
This is more of a NSV than a success story, but I didn't really know where to put it.

I think I am in denial about how much smaller I have gotten. At Christmas I received a couple of tops from a relative and I immediately thought "there is no way these will fit me!" and put them aside thinking I would never wear them. Low and behold, I tried them on when I got home and not only did they fit, they were slightly big on me! This happens to me all the time now. I go shopping and not knowing what size I wear, so I choose a few sizes to try on and I almost always either fit the smallest size I chose or have to go back and get a smaller size than the ones I brought to the change room with me.

I don't know what it is, but I just can't comprehend when I see something in a smaller size that it just might fit me! I mean, it's a good thing, but it's just weird! :)

Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    This happens to me too!! It is a weird, mostly good feeling...but still really disconcerting.

    I shop a lot in stores like Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx...where there's a plus size rack right next to the regular sizes. I am like a magnet to the clearance racks, and after I've checked out the XL and sometimes L from all of the regular misses and juniors racks, I ALWAYS stop at the 1X of the plus section "just to see" and only in the past few months, everything there's too big for me...but in my brain, that is completely and totally impossible still. I have started to understand/accept mentally that I CAN wear the XL and sometimes L. But to think that even 1X is too big for me, when I wore 2X/3X for about 15-20 years...it's just hard for me to believe.

    Same thing with bottoms. I am in a 14 right now, which also seems nuts to me...but I ordered some skinny jeans in a 13 because they were super cheap, and when they arrived in the mail I was like, "Holy cow those will NEVER fit me" and they do. Granted they are stretchy, but it just seems in my mind like I cannot wear a 13.
  • misscem94
    misscem94 Posts: 114 Member
    Same here! I think it is a change you need to get used to.

    I used to be a Size12/14 (UK) a few years ago when I was super fit, and when I started my journey I was a large 18, bordering 20. When I go shopping, I still think I'll need to go up to said sizes to accommodate for chunky thighs, flabby arms etc. However, I did get a pleasant surprise when my Size 14 dresses from eBay arrived and a few were roomy.
  • LaserOctopus
    LaserOctopus Posts: 121 Member
    I have this all the time now! I'm still adjusting, and it's still weird. I've just gotten to the point where I can't really wear anything from the plus section (some things in the juniors plus section I can do, but that's because juniors sizes/odd number sizes have a *lot* less room in the boobs and butt, lol), and there's definitely a disconnect in my brain somewhere.

    I do look at my old 4X clothes though, and think, "yikes! Did that really fit me once?!" :laugh:

    I'm actually about to set out today for the next run of shopping for cheap transition-size clothes, and have finally learned that I now have to try EVERYTHING on, in several sizes, because I just cannot judge by looking. I always guess wrong. I used to be able to pick up the exact right fit off the rack without ever trying anything on.

    To be fair, even though it seems like it's taken forever, I have dropped about 120 pounds now in about a year and a half (I started at just under 300). I still have about 30 to go - and I will have lost half my body weight, which I also can't quite get my head around... that's a pretty significant change. Drastic, even. Logically, it makes sense that it will take time to adapt. It just feels weird that I don't instinctively know what my body looks like and what will fit it.

    But I see people all the time talking about that adjustment (just one of so very many mental adjustments we all have to make here, lol), and I wonder how long it will take me to fully adapt to my new body. Doesn't help that it's still changing, as I drop the rest of the weight, and work on getting stronger and fitter.

    At least my shoe size is the same as it's ever been. It's about the only thing that hasn't changed (for me, at least, I've read stories here on the forums of people losing even shoe sizes).

    Still, here's to the brain not accepting new sizes! It's all part of the journey, apparently... :drinker:
  • stephenson2012
    stephenson2012 Posts: 94 Member
    I am one of those people that lost half a shoe size. That has been the hardest replacement since I have foot problems and have difficulty finding shoes.

    I found in the smaller sizes I have to try on. The size will vary from brand to brand. One brand may be 4/6 another be 8. Sometimes a small another time a medium. Also I have taken a friend with me because I still don't see how things fit well. I am getting better at it. I am wearing a petite in a pant.
  • Camera_BagintheUK
    Camera_BagintheUK Posts: 707 Member
    Good for you!

    Me too - even the jeans I wear every day - the first time I get them clean out of the wardrobe there's a moment as I start to put them on where I think - they'll never go on me! It's impossible! My husband is really skinny! And now we're wearing the same size jeans! I find it so hard to believe! In my head I'm still twice as wide as him!

    I've dropped two dress sizes from UK16 to UK12 and if I try things on in shops I still don't quite believe a 12 will fit and am always stunned and excited when it does!

    But it's so expensive! I've been selling lots of clothes - nice suits and things, and there's no way I can replace them all! Some lovely clothes I bought for weddings and so forth :grumble: But I'm not working now so I can't afford things of the same quality. I've got a few nice things from Charity shops, but it's still costing a bomb!

    PS and my rings are spinning on my fingers now! Another cost - having them reduced!
  • kwin1973
    kwin1973 Posts: 5 Member


    But it's so expensive! I've been selling lots of clothes - nice suits and things, and there's no way I can replace them all! Some lovely clothes I bought for weddings and so forth :grumble: But I'm not working now so I can't afford things of the same quality. I've got a few nice things from Charity shops, but it's still costing a bomb!


    Yes it is a little sad (in a twisted way) to give up your favourite clothes. And of course very expensive to replace them! I am lucky that my daughter works at a clothing store that offers both plus and regular sizes and I get a 40% discount there so that helps loads!
  • wateryphoenix
    wateryphoenix Posts: 644 Member
    At least my shoe size is the same as it's ever been. It's about the only thing that hasn't changed (for me, at least, I've read stories here on the forums of people losing even shoe sizes).

    For me, as well! I have read in many instances where people have had to go down in shoe size because of weight loss. Not me! My feet have stayed the same......poor little guys

    OP! Grats on fitting in things that are smaller! Your brain will catch up eventually. =P Just give it some more time ^_^
  • LaserOctopus
    LaserOctopus Posts: 121 Member


    But it's so expensive! I've been selling lots of clothes - nice suits and things, and there's no way I can replace them all! Some lovely clothes I bought for weddings and so forth :grumble: But I'm not working now so I can't afford things of the same quality. I've got a few nice things from Charity shops, but it's still costing a bomb!


    Yes it is a little sad (in a twisted way) to give up your favourite clothes. And of course very expensive to replace them! I am lucky that my daughter works at a clothing store that offers both plus and regular sizes and I get a 40% discount there so that helps loads!

    It is weirdly difficult (and expensive! and I shop at the cheapest places around), I just dropped some off at the local hospice shop yesterday, and it was a wrench. Thankfully I have some good old-fashioned sewing skills and can alter much of my old stuff, but some of it is either not worth altering or the cut and style is such that no level of altering will make it fit properly again. :(
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 400 Member
    Me too! I have (too many) clothes that I thought would look and fit better once my lumps and bumps diminished. Well, some of them just looked worse! They hang and bag and sag and are not flattering at all! I am gracing the nice stuff to other people who could use it, and enjoying the few that do look nice. Am hitting up sales and thrift stores until I reach my goal, but shrinking sure is exhilarating!
  • divainsneakers
    divainsneakers Posts: 397 Member
    I totally see my story in yours. I just got some new workout clothing. I definitely held up the pants and thought "there's no way these will fit." Sure enough they slipped right on.

    When I've lost weight in the past I always waited until the last possible minute to buy new clothes. As a result it would seem like I went from "fat" to "skinner" overnight. As I lose I am trying to buy a few new pieces (on discount or thrift) here and there, so I can mark my change - see it - and let others see it too. I found the dramatic reactions were the things that got to me in the past.
  • doIlhands
    doIlhands Posts: 349 Member
    lol congrats! this happened to my this past weekend. we went to the lululemon outlet and because I always hear that lululemon isnt vanity sized I went right to the 12s. Had to keep sizing down til a 6! Crazy.
  • QueenE_
    QueenE_ Posts: 522 Member
    Congrats! I'm still trying to buy clothes in 2X when I wear a large now.
  • DianneP6772
    DianneP6772 Posts: 272 Member
    Good to hear this is not just "my story"! I lost 30 lbs and had been up near the before weight - just about all my adult life.
    It just kept going up gradually every year - never back down - except once - when i was into bike racing and lost 10 lbs.
    But 30 - is a different story. I didn't shop for any new clothes either - until i had lost the weight - until everything i had really
    looked pretty bad on me. (a good thing). I went from a 12/14 - and large top to a size 6 ! And Small or medium. I was in total
    shock. I tried on several brands and there i was 4 - 6 or 8. Unheard of! Never - never had i been a 6. And i go by mirrors and
    constantly check myself out - Me?? Its 6 months now - that i have lost it. Still pretty wierd. But - oh my - what a good wierd......
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    This happens to me too!! It is a weird, mostly good feeling...but still really disconcerting.

    I shop a lot in stores like Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx...where there's a plus size rack right next to the regular sizes. I am like a magnet to the clearance racks, and after I've checked out the XL and sometimes L from all of the regular misses and juniors racks, I ALWAYS stop at the 1X of the plus section "just to see" and only in the past few months, everything there's too big for me...but in my brain, that is completely and totally impossible still. I have started to understand/accept mentally that I CAN wear the XL and sometimes L. But to think that even 1X is too big for me, when I wore 2X/3X for about 15-20 years...it's just hard for me to believe.

    Same thing with bottoms. I am in a 14 right now, which also seems nuts to me...but I ordered some skinny jeans in a 13 because they were super cheap, and when they arrived in the mail I was like, "Holy cow those will NEVER fit me" and they do. Granted they are stretchy, but it just seems in my mind like I cannot wear a 13.

    I feel like you just wrote exactly what I would have written. I'm a size L or XL top and a size 14 jean... I always seem to end up trying to grab larger sizes than the ones that fit me.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    I have the same problem when shopping. I picture myself as much bigger than I am and was really surprised the other day when I realised that a woman at Zumba who I would class as chunky (rather than huge) looked pretty much the same size as me when we were facing the mirrors during class! People treat me differently and I can't work out whether that's down to my new size or whether I'm just projecting so much more confidence? It's definitely a strange process learning who we are becoming.
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