Anyone else afraid to get rid of bigger clothes?

I donated or sold them all. You will never wear them again, so tough as it is, let them go my dear. Burn the fleet.

Some of my really nice clothes were sold on Ebay, and I used that money to buy a few things to get me through. It felt truly weird at first, and weirder still now that we are into the cooler weather and I have literally not a single thing to wear. Not even a jacket. Just now I went to the grocery store and grabbed my stepdaughter's little jacket out of desparation. IT FIT ME! This did not feel weird, it felt wonderful.

Glad I got rid of the whole shooting match. Do the deed, no need to hang on! you can do this!!

I have totally gone through my closet and tried on every item at least 3 times since I started this journey. There were a few favorites I held onto for awhile or thinking I could pull out the sewing machine and alter them.... but in the end just need to get rid of them. I love my winter dress coat and wish I could make it smaller.

Get rid of them! Shirts you can make work for more sizes, but wear pants that fit. Helps with feeling the good about the loss and not wearing baggy too comfortable clothes helps to keep you moving forward.

In my first few weeks post op I was scared to get rid of stuff. I bit the bullet one day and did.

An alcoholic doesn't hold on to a bottle in case they fall of the wagon. I made a way to buy these clothes for my bigger body, heaven forbid it happens again I'll make a way to get me more clothes. Lord knows I won't go naked.

I kept one outfit... The one I felt the most put together in, for perspective.

I think clothing often means much more than things we use to cover our bodies and so it makes perfect sense to me that it is a journey to let them go! I love the idea of making a ritual out of saying goodbye to them---not necessarily the clothes themselves---but the part of you they represent! It is also a way to get rid of the "jinx" factor---I.e. I don't want to jinx this and gain all the weight back so I will just keep the clothes...just in case!! That is your old way of thinking coming to test your new way of thinking! Honour it! Keep a token piece of two and then gift the rest and celebrate (and grieve if you need to) the success of not needing these clothes anymore! I think the "head" journey in weight loss is often much more difficult than the physical journey! Good luck on this next step of your journey!

Yep. Happened to me, too. I was not ready to get rid of anything until I had lost 100 pounds. I rewarded myself with a closet make-over when I reached the 100 pound mark. I took everything out of my closet, ripped out the old system, painted it and installed a new closet system. I was not about to put my big clothes back in my beautiful new closet. They went to Goodwill the next day. I was not about to keep anything "just in case."

Get rid of them now.

About 6 months post-op, this last spring, I too did the clean out the closet thing. I had 25 years worth of clothes in a multitude of sizes and finally, they were all too big for me. There was even stuff with the tags still on that I never even put on once. I bagged them all up, there were about 8 green garbage bags full, and these were 55 gallon garbage bags. Each one so heavy I could barely move them. There were 50 some pairs of jeans in there....who knew!

So here sat these bags, and I had, for lack of a better term, separation anxiety. I couldn't let them go. They sat there for a few weeks. My husband would say to me every week or so "Can these go yet?". I lost weight a lot of times over those 25 years and the multiple sizes of clothes saved me. I had something to wear when I was winning, and still had the bigger clothes for each time I failed. Not sure why I thought this time it would be the same. That I would need these clothes again someday, when I gained it all back and 20 more pounds on top. Surgery helps with weight loss, but it doesn't fix your head. So my silly head was worried I'd still need this stuff. The husband and and I talked about my anxiety at length, and how this time it would definitely be different. Finally, I dug out a pair of those jeans in the size I wore just prior to surgery. I put them on, we laughed at the site of me in those jeans and I maybe cried a little. :) Then I let them all go get loaded in the truck and deposited at the Goodwill. It was harder than I ever thought it would be to let go of who I was. I am grateful every day for how my life has changed over the last year. I never thought I would get back to "normal" size again. Unfortunately, who I was is still fresh in my memory, and apparently my head isn't ready to let all of that misery go just yet. It's a process I guess. I am glad I am not the only one that had some difficulty with this.

First, i like you motto. It is true - this is not easy, but it works.

Second, getting rid of clothes never made me not gain the weight back in the past, so i didn't think it will make a difference this time. (I think women think about their clothes differently than men). So, now that I am at (actually under) my goal weight (wearing medium clothes), here is how I approached it.

I kept those Dollar store plaid bags in a closet. 2X/3Xs went in a bag. 1Xs went in another. L/XL in another. The 2x/3x bag went when I was wearing 1x/xls. (OK, in reality there were 5 bags, but who's counting). After a few months, I had enough confidence that I would never wear those sizes again. The 1Xs just went to the same church. I put the L/XL in a suitcase and packed them away. I understand some 'bounce back' may happen in another year or two and have a plan in place to prevent, but I am not yet sure I can maintain at my current 9mo post WLS weight. I will probably give the X/XLs away next year.

I thought that I had given up a lot and that I would release the clothes when I really understood that the surgery works and that I was prepared for doing what is necessary to keep it working. Getting rid of the clothes came after the confidence that I can make the changes necessary to keep the wt off long term, getting rid of the clothes too soon would not help me gain confidence in myself.

Best of luck, whichever you decide is right for you at this time.

PS - I tried to sell my $300 Rachael Zoe black leather (like butter) jacket at a consignment shop - I got a whole $20 for it, so since then, I save the time for something more important and just donate my stuff.

I donated as fast as I could. I was so grateful for thrift shops and the Salvation Army for my "new clothes" as I lost 161 pounds. I went weekly dropping off and looking never knowing what I would find. I scored designer brands for just a buck or two. Dropping sizes so fast in the beginning it was nice to have clothes that fit. I guess I didn't miss the old ones and the thrift stores were like a treasure hunt! Now I go to just rotate and find new things!

A friend made the statement (who had also gotten WLS) that the extra clothes are like a weight making you feel guilty for spending so much money on them and not using them. Get rid of that weight also, thereby freeing up your mind. You're going to love how it feels after they go and it firms up your commitment not to go back there and need them again... I did keep one size over where I was at to allow for some bounce back, but so far my sizes continue to drop...although very slowly now... what a wonderful new lease on life WLS is!

Good luck on your journey!