Does anyone else have a hard time buying smaller clothes?

Ugh....I know that feeling well!!  I have a hard time picking out stuff for myself right now.  I tried a few thrift stores but it's a strange feeling choosing smaller sizes.  I pretty much grab anything XXL or XL and test what fits.  As for pants, I've been using maternity pants because they fit for a longer period of time.  I hate the feeling of putting on regular pants right now anyway :(

Just this past weekend I saw a dress that I LOVED and wanted to buy, but I was at a fair, and there was nowhere to try the clothing on.  I picked up the size Large (I'm a M/L now) and it just LOOKED too small.  I was talking to the woman who was selling it and she told me that I was just a "Boney person with a fat girl mentality" and that I needed to just try it on over my clothes.  I ended up not buying it worried it was too small and I'm kicking myself in the butt now...

I've learned not to buy NEW clothes because its a waste of money now.  I go to thrift stores and save tons of money.

For me it's not about the looks of the clothes.  I really feel like the smaller sizes are too tight.  I got used to wearing loose clothes and like it.  Only had a problem recently my  bathing suit was slipping down as I was swimming.  LOL I guess getting it wet even made it looser.  Finally splurged and bought a new bathing suit but it feels to tight.  LOL!! 

The very first time I actually was small enough to buy undies at Victoria's Secret- I cried in the store.  Shopping for smaller clothes than what we are used to is very overwhelming at first and was extremely emotional for me.  I was in a 22/24 since 6th grade and progressively got larger, I always shared clothes with my mom.  It has been 3 years since surgery and I still look at larger clothes.  The doctors say eventually your head will catch up to your body.  My epiphany happened in a rr at olive garden-  over a pair of size 8 shoes.  I realized that I had lost weight in my feet earlier that day, could not understand why people were staring at me...so i went to the rr, my shoes made me stand almost 6 feet tall and for the first time ever- I saw me, not 30/32 size me but me, the new me.  I hope this helps.   

Oh my goodness yes. Thank you all so much. I appreciate all your replies. I still have a long way to go, and can't wait for the day that I can shop in the regular women's department.

Too funny! I just went through this while shopping with my BFF over the weekend. I kept going to the plus side of the store we shopped in and she would come over and get me and say hey what you doin over her you don't belong on this side come over here with me! She assured me that I could fit into regular sized clothes and she was right. I went from a22/24 to a 14. I still can't get my head around it!!

Awesome!

I am right there with you! I've been a size 22/24 for about 20 years and now I'm a 14 and it's so strange!! I actually have a shirt in size SMALL!! January I was size 18 which was the smallest I have been since I was 18.  Now I'm smaller than that and I can barely wrap my head around it! The say I'm losing I know I'm going to be down to a size 10/12 by my surgaversery and that thrills me on one hand and freaks me out on the other. I honestly think I have been sabotaging myself lately by eating carbs over protein. Have to get a handle on that! 

That is something that was amazing to me with seeing my husband go thru this.  For the longest time he wanted to keep his old jeans and just belt them.  He felt comfortable in them and felt like he belonged in them.  He would of still wore his huge shirts until I got rid of them and bought him smaller sizes.  I could never figure that out.  Now I am understanding a little more.

I am still pre-op--not having my sleeve done until June, but I have been buying clothes in the next couple of sizes down (22-24) from my current size (28-30), because I know that I will have to turn over most of my closet before next school year starts.  I keep trying to visualize myself at that size, because I've been it before and I'll probably be in that size for a little bit due to my frame being pretty big.  What I have a hard time doing is visualizing what I will look like at a size smaller than that.  I have a dress I bought in a 20 last summer as a "goal dress" from when I was doing WW, and I'm hopeful I'll be in it before Christmas.  :)