Question:
Anyone else afraid to buy new clothes?
I'm 9 weeks post-op lap RNY, started at 311 and now at 255, feeling and doing great. Most of my clothes are falling off me. Last night I took off my belt (that my husband has been kind enough to poke 9 additional holes in because it's so big on me) and then I proceeded to take off my pants without unbuttoning or unzipping them. It was a good feeling. What's not a good feeling is this: I know I need to buy at least a few pairs of pants in a smaller size and I'm afraid to do it. It's hard to put into words exactly what I'm afraid of but I think it has something to do with the surgery (or me) not working and that this wonderful weight loss is all just a cruel joke, that it will be back as soon as I let my guard down. I have been fat for so long that shopping for clothes is torture. I can't remember the last time I shopped for something that actually fit (I always wore oversized stuff, as if that would hide my shape.) Has anyone else had this experience? I know I can't be alone in these kinds of thoughts. — lizinPA (posted on April 11, 2003)
April 11, 2003
Be careful what you wish for! :-) I felt the same way you did. If you
would have told me this time last year that I would be buying new clothes
every month because they are going to get too big for me I would say you
were crazy! I was so accustomed to buying new clothes and then outgrowing
them, that the thought of new smaller clothes just didn't sink in for a few
month. Now...LOOK OUT...I'm at the mall every weekend and I just adore
shopping! It is so liberating to go into "any" clothing store
and be able to just pick out something, try it on, have it fit (and look
great!) and then just buy it an leave. One thing I do notice is that the
sales people are much nicer to me now that I look like I am in there buying
something for me instead of just picking out a gift for a skinny person.
It always made me feel terrible that the only things that fit me in stores
like Express and New York & Company were the jewelry, socks and
pocketbooks! UUGHHH!
— pam29922
April 11, 2003
Just go to a thrift store. I was afraid I would not be able to wear them
very long so I wouldn't buy anything new. I would shop however and try
things on, but could never talk myself into actually buying them. Now at a
size 12 I just went shopping and bought a few new outfits and it was great.
Thank god for thrift stores!
— Renee A.
April 11, 2003
Beth, I think many of us have these fears. And what my fear was worse than
buying new clothes was getting rid of the old ones. What if I gain all my
weight back and don't have ny clothes anymore? That kind of thing. It will
take a while for things to sink in, and truthfully, as long as you are
eating relatively healthy, getting in your protein and exercising some,
this surgery will work for you and you will remain thinner w/ the weight
off. Be warned though- clothes every month in a new size can get
expensive! It is fun though! lol I went from a 22 to a 6 in 11 months.
Needless to say, there have been alot of charities getting some nice
clothes! :-) Goodluck to you
— Lezlie Y.
April 11, 2003
You need new clothes in order to show yourself what great accomplishments
you have made. You will see a new figure being created and it will lift
your spirits. Trust me! Take someone along for moral support but go and
buy yourself something, anything and whatever you do buy it as tight as you
can stand it because if a few weeks it will be comfy and in 4-6 weeks big.
When I lost 200 lbs before I was changing about 1-1/2 to 2 sizes a month
for the first 5-6 months.
— zoedogcbr
April 11, 2003
I had very similar feelings about buying new clothes. It felt scary to me.
I even felt self-conscieous when I would walk into a store and go to the
"regular-size" section - I thought people must be starring at me
thinking, 'what is SHE doing here?' My mind hadn't caught up to my new
look. But, now, 13 months out, it's much more of a natural feeling and
it'll get that way for you, too, in time. One thing I wish I had given
more consideration to, is just how rapidly our sizes change in the first
year post-op. I wish I had stocked up on various sizes ahead of surgery,
so I wouldn't have been left having to buy clothes so often along the way.
I don't even want to calculate how much money I must have spent on clothes
in the past 12 months! I would buy several 18 pants and 10 days later I
would need 16's and so on. I had to keep buying more and really not getting
a fraction of my money's worth out of them because I only got 2 or 3 weeks
out of each size. (NOT a bad problem to have, for a change!) I went from a
28 to a 4/6. And, yes, I have the fear that the weight may come back some
day and I haven't yet given my 8's, 10s, and 12's away - it's another
example of how our minds need time to absorb the changes in our lives, in
my opinion.
— Mary W.
April 11, 2003
Buy everything on sale and don't look like a bum! We all need to celebrate
and look our best while the weight falls off. It's funny what you said
about this is a cruel joke and the weight will come back on. I guess we
have been there and done that so many times we are just programmed to
believe this. I am having the worst time with my alterations lady. She has
done my alterations for years. She use to fix all my ripped up lining and
buttons that popped off from being so fat. Now she freaks out and screams
"You so skinny now!" "You were sooo BIG" You know how
blunt some foreigners are (she is Asian). She doesn't mean to be harsh and
I don't take it wrong. As a matter of fact, I never dreamed a tiny Asian
would call ME skinny! She has asked me several times how I lost the weight.
I think the language barrier has her thinking I had lypo. The big problem
is she won't take in my cloths enough. I tell her to make it tighter and
she says "If you get bigger I can't let out" URGH!! I try to
explain I will only get smaller not bigger and I am going bankrupt altering
the same dresses 2-3 times. My size16 Jones New York and Ann Taylor dresses
are now altered to the point of a size 8 or 10. She is taking me for a
ride! Just kidding.
Consignment stores are great if you need professional cloths. I took in my
suits that were too large and sold them for some other consigned clothing
in my new smaller size. Shopping is a blast now. Enjoy your weight loss.
Best wishes!!!!!!
— Michelle H.
April 11, 2003
Believe me, I know what you are going through! I just bought myself some
spring clothes from Lane Bryant, cute stuff, too! I walked in still
believing that a 28 would be too small, even thought I'm an 18/20! I still
bought 22/24 tops! The sales associated are always telling me that I'm
buying the wrong size but it's hard for me to believe that I CAN wear
smaller sizes! I started out in a tight 34W! Get some new clothes--YOU
DESERVE IT!
— jenn2002
April 11, 2003
From experience I can tell you that I was afraid to buy new clothes and I'm
still afraid to get rid of the old ones. I have found though, that buying
something that fits well can make you feel really good about yourself and
improve your self-esteem which will only make you more committed to the
fact that this surgery is working for you. You deserve it! Just don't get
carried away because before long the clothes that fit you now will be in
the back of the closet to make more room for the even smaller sizes you'll
be wearing. God bless!
— cjabates
April 11, 2003
I just took a load of old clothes -- 28/26/24/22/20 --- to a consignment
shop. I'd love to go buy some new ones and get rid of all these big
18/20s. I know I could get into a 16 jean and maybe a 14 but I am afraid of
the letter I just got from my insurance company that says they won't pay
for the assistant surgeon who helped at my 11/12/02 lap rny and they want
$2000. Where the heck am I supposed to get that money if I buy
transitional clothes?
— Mrs. Rich
April 12, 2003
Beth, it's funny that you asked this question, because just this morning I
was in Kohls and they had this really cute size 16 pant suit. Well I had
my lap RNY 2/10/03 and have gone from a size 26/28 to a 20 already! I
wondered when I would fit into a 16 and didn't buy the suit because I
questioned myself. Stupid really, because I am going on a trip on the 4th
of July and that suit was perfect! I guess there's a part of me that just
refuses to believe I'll ever be that small again. Maybe by next weekend
I'll get up the gumption to go back and get it.....and a few sundresses
too!
— RedHeadBeauty
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