Shrinking size - should I buy new clothes for temporary use?

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  • oneloopygirl
    oneloopygirl Posts: 151 Member
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    I wonder if I should get rid of all the clothes that are too big. A relative said I should keep them since "you never know when you get that big again". I am a cheapskate, I don't throw away clothes...I have donated plenty of them but still have a lot left just hanging in my closet. I hate it though because I am not sure if it is healthy to think one day I will be that big again. I do know it could happen, it has happened before that I gained the weight back.

    Get rid of them. If they are hanging there as a negative reminder/crutch, then you're impacting your outlook. Shame on your relative for implying you can't lose weight and keep it off. And a friendly shame on you for thinking that way, too. If you are committed to a lifestyle change, then you won't regain all that weight. I think it's very unhealthy and detrimental to long-term success to keep those clothes around and think you could need them again one day.
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
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    I didn't start getting compliments at work and at the gym on my weight loss until I bought clothes that fit properly. I didn't go out and buy a whole new wardrobe, but instead bought a few pairs of pants and a few work shirts to tide me over until I reach my goal weight (when I will be buying a bunch of wonderful new stuff).
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    Your best bet is a few basic pieces that you REALLY love. For example, I bought one burnt orange dress in XL, and an off white dress in L. I got them at Sears in the Jrs. Dept. for $15 a piece. I now fit back into the size L dress, and I kept getting compliments and women asking me where I got it (of course I shared my secret)! I am also glad I got the XL because I wore it to my son's graduation party and it looked nice and I felt great, which restarted my motivation. It was NOT wasted money. Going to the store to try on clothes is the best part of weight loss! If you only buy what you absolutely love, you will be able to make due with less. I will be back to my size M. in no time thanks to some hard work and it's all because I am feeling good about myself again with some nice clothes and exercise! Also, workout pants and t-shirts are stretchy, so you can usually get away with the same size for about twenty pounds, so buying two work out outfits you feel good in is worth it. Stores with good clothes for good prices for both men and women: Bobs, Old Navy, Sears, TJ Maxx, Marshalls.

    I agree!!! On all counts.

    Although what is Bobs? I have never heard of it. Maybe regional?
  • blushpeonies
    blushpeonies Posts: 101 Member
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    I allow myself 1 - maybe 2 - new items each paycheck. If I get it - great - if I don't - oh well. Also - check places like Macy's or TJ Maxx or Marshalls. Macy's can sometimes have GREAT deals - especially if there is a sale/you have coupons or a macy's card.

    I have a thing about wearing used clothes.
  • erikarobles
    erikarobles Posts: 205 Member
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    Thrift stores have always been my friend and I always get rid of the things that don't fit me so I don't have a "net".
    It is too bad that there isnt a clothes swap on here:( That would be so great!!!!
  • servicedograiser
    servicedograiser Posts: 38 Member
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    Yes get one or two workout outfits that fit, but look for sales as others say I got some for about $30 for a 2 peice set. You will feel so much better when you can see your new figure. I've been hitting costco for summer shorts $15 ea I get 2 in each size as I shrink. Great feeling when you can get into them, then wear them nicely, and then feel them baggy! I have 2 sizes right now, so I know one will fit right.

    Yes visit thrift stores! They do have the brands you like! They do have last season's styles. The prices are unbeatable!

    Get rid of the stuff that is too big, more than one to two sizes larger than today. Whatever you can promise yourself you won't get that big again! And if you do gain you have pay a monetary penalty by buying new bigger clothes. Odds are your big clothes were bought with a fat clothes mentality, like need something to cover my a.. not Oh I look darn GOOD in thisoutfit mentality.

    Worse case scenario, you do regain, do you think it would help your mentality to wear clothing years out of style? I recently wore some clothes that loved 5 yrs ago that I first outgrew, and now have shrunk smaller than. I definitely felt FRUMPY and hated that my figure was hidden. Of course you can always keep a few sentimental pieces even if they don't fit.
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    Your best bet is a few basic pieces that you REALLY love. For example, I bought one burnt orange dress in XL, and an off white dress in L. I got them at Sears in the Jrs. Dept. for $15 a piece. I now fit back into the size L dress, and I kept getting compliments and women asking me where I got it (of course I shared my secret)! I am also glad I got the XL because I wore it to my son's graduation party and it looked nice and I felt great, which restarted my motivation. It was NOT wasted money. Going to the store to try on clothes is the best part of weight loss! If you only buy what you absolutely love, you will be able to make due with less. I will be back to my size M. in no time thanks to some hard work and it's all because I am feeling good about myself again with some nice clothes and exercise! Also, workout pants and t-shirts are stretchy, so you can usually get away with the same size for about twenty pounds, so buying two work out outfits you feel good in is worth it. Stores with good clothes for good prices for both men and women: Bobs, Old Navy, Sears, TJ Maxx, Marshalls.

    I agree!!! On all counts.

    Although what is Bobs? I have never heard of it. Maybe regional?

    Bobs Stores are here in MA. I just got a strapless cover up for 12.99 that I can also wear as a dress on a hot night recently. They also have great men's athletic and casual clothing.
  • sue_stef
    sue_stef Posts: 194 Member
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    I went through my closet I got all my larger sized clothes and things I do not like and got them out of there
    I then would go to rummage sales and thrift stores to get clothes
    I was also lucky enough to have a few friends who were so impressed with my weight loss ask me what sizes I would need and they asked around and cleaned out their closets as well
    I have sizes I can wear now and some that I will be able to wear a few sizes down

    from my experience I can say getting rid of the bigger sizes is a big deal it keeps you on track
    instead of getting to the goal and then not maintaining and falling back into bad habits you will be more motivated to keep track of things
  • Giddyduck
    Giddyduck Posts: 212 Member
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    I also have the same struggle. I got my friends together and we tried a clothing swap.

    I also go to second hand stores, rummages and discount stores for a few pieces that will last a bit longer. I finally went a bought new jeans this weekend and hopefully they will last through my final goals.

    I did pack up all my too big clothes. I will not go back. I gave away all my big stuff-slowly. My journey has been a year in the making (as of August) and maintaining will be journey.
  • PunkyRachel
    PunkyRachel Posts: 1,959 Member
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    Belts! They are my best friend :happy: I'm poor and will go about 3-4 sizes before buying new clothes. I only buy every 6-8 months, spring/summer and then again for fall/winter. How I've been doing it is I have a Gordman's credit card, I will buy $100-400 worth of clothes at once on credit, then pay it down for several months and then do it again.

    I have had to replace my entire wardrobe now, having gone from a US woman's size 18/20 jeans/dress down to a size 4/6 dress/jeans. I have donated most my old clothes only keep a few items I just can't get rid of (concert Tee's, 1 pair of 20 jeans, a couple items my husband gifted me), I also have been donating my work shirts back to the company and buying new ones as well, I've down graded from 2X to a M shirt.
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
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    I was holding out on buying anything new. People kept saying "you look great!" blah blah. I didn't see it.

    Until my sister gave me a handmedown that was too big for her and it looked fantastic on me. Seeing myself in an XL instead of a plus size gave me the push I needed to realize that a. yes, I'm starting to look pretty damn good and b. keep going even if you look like a candy apple right now. (Seriously, my legs are fantastic....and not an inch off the darn belly.)

    Thrift stores here are great if you're in a size 8 and pretty useless otherwise. So I pick up a few cheap things now and then. And my workout clothes ALWAYS fit, cause if I don't feel schlumpy in them, I believe it keeps my motivation up.

    Hey, the money I save on crap food and McDonalds makes up for the clothes I have to buy!
  • DebTavares
    DebTavares Posts: 170 Member
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    I think you should feel good at any size, so yes buy the clothes. You can find clothes for cheap these days so do it.

    I also think it's ok to keep some bigger clothes but only up to one size. If you have to go up a size you know it's time to reign it in again. That should be enough of a safety net.
  • kittikat1119
    kittikat1119 Posts: 96 Member
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    Absolutely! Buy yourself some new things you can feel good about. If money is a problem, keep it cheap with thrift stores and clearance racks. There is no reason you shouldn't feel good about how you look while you are in the process of losing weight.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    I've lost 25-30 lbs in the past few months
    WOOHOO!! Good for you. :flowerforyou: :bigsmile:
    but I am not even close to my goal (50 lbs more to go)
    You're closer than you were a few months ago, right?
    You're 1/3 of the way there, right?
    I have clothes in bigger and smaller sizes than my current size but I keep on telling myself this is a temporary period so I shouldn't invest in clothing in this size
    Get 1 or 2 sets to work out in (shirt, shorts or pants), and a few pieces to wear to work (if you're lucky enough to be employed). Thrift stores are great, garage sales not so much, unless you just luck onto something.
    I already have such a huge closet with clothes that don't even fit.
    Keep 1 shirt & 1 pair of pants in the largest size you ever wore, as a reminder, so when you reach your goal weight you can step into them and wow yourself. (And everyone else. And post pictures here.)
    Get rid of all the too-large things.
    Does it frustrate you if your gym clothes don't fit you so well?
    I don't care so much what my shirt looks like, but I've just recently gotten to the point where my shorts are starting to fall down from the weight of my phone in the pocket. I want to be able to carry it because I have a pedometer app on it.
    It's getting annoying to keep hiking them up, so I'll either have to hit the thrift stores or get out my fabric & patterns & make some.
    Bonus to making them is that I can get just the fabric I want, even make them longer than usual. (And I get to shop for fabric, always fun.)
    start a clothing exchange on facebook
    Or as someone else suggested let's get a thread going here!
    We could post wanted & for sale/swap ads, and PM people for paypal info (which will provide the shipping address).
    A relative said I should keep them since "you never know when you get that big again".
    :p What a negative nellie! :grumble:
    Again as others have suggested, keep _a_ size larger because you will fluctuate some, especially being female.
    Learn to sew so you can take in your clothes
    I regularly buy pants from thrift stores which fit my hips, then take them in 10" or so to fit my waist.
    Works for women's or men's pants, and the more places I can take a dart the nicer they look when finished.
    I was also lucky enough to have a few friends who were so impressed with my weight loss ask me what sizes I would need and they asked around and cleaned out their closets as well
    That's really nice!
  • PurpleMomster
    PurpleMomster Posts: 71 Member
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    After losing almost 80lbs and changing sizes 8 times, thrift stores became my friend! I've found lots of brand name clothes - some with tags still on. I bought a few "foundation" pieces full (sale) price but otherwise stuck with basics from the thrift store.

    There does come a time when bigger size clothes just don't look good anymore - belts, tucking in - nothing helps!
  • CindyMarcuzAdams
    CindyMarcuzAdams Posts: 4,006 Member
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    My daughter lost 160lbs. On the way down she had a blast at thrift stores. If you go often enough you can get some amazing stuff.
  • ajff
    ajff Posts: 986 Member
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    WIth you sister!

    At 25 pounds down all my clothes were, well clownish on me. I had good luck at Kohls clearnance section, coupled with coupons etc...

    Then, I was down 30 pounds. Oh. My. Gosh. BRAs. This was such a bigger issue than clothes. And more expensive. And the way sizing works I lost 3 inches around the bust, 4 inches around the band size ... and as it ended up my new bra size has a BIGGER cup size than before! Mentally, that has taken some getting used to!

    Best wishes!
  • LITtlerMeCO
    LITtlerMeCO Posts: 130 Member
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    I wonder if I should get rid of all the clothes that are too big. A relative said I should keep them since "you never know when you get that big again". I am a cheapskate, I don't throw away clothes...I have donated plenty of them but still have a lot left just hanging in my closet. I hate it though because I am not sure if it is healthy to think one day I will be that big again. I do know it could happen, it has happened before that I gained the weight back.

    I just gave several pieces away to two different family members, but I don't intend on ever asking for them back!

    OP--seriously try on EVERYTHING in your closets and drawers. I recently had to try on four different shirts before a meeting and three were too big. I totally eyeballed them wrong. You can then reorganize your closet with the clothes that fit now, the ones you should be in next, and the ones you will be in when you lose more weight.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    this is why goodwill is my fav place to shop. I see it as "renting" the clothes because once they get too baggy on me, I donate them back and then go purchase more. I love that place so much especially while dropping sizes ( I started off at size 16 and 18 and am now in a 6 or 8 depending on the brand) Go buy yourself some clothes. Show off your weightloss.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    I wonder if I should get rid of all the clothes that are too big. A relative said I should keep them since "you never know when you get that big again". I am a cheapskate, I don't throw away clothes...I have donated plenty of them but still have a lot left just hanging in my closet. I hate it though because I am not sure if it is healthy to think one day I will be that big again. I do know it could happen, it has happened before that I gained the weight back.

    Don't listen to the family member. Get rid of all of them with the exception of one pair of pants or a big shirt to remind you of your starting weight. Get rid of the rest. This needs to be a lifestyle change for your life's sake and for your health. I kept one big pair of pants and got rid of all the rest. Someone out there could sure use them way more than your closet.

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