Estimating clothing sizes for a cruise in October?

Hey everybody-- hope y'all are having a great day!

I've recently started shopping since the weight loss and am finding that I REALLY have to try to control myself... everything so far is looking so great on me that I don't want to overbuy (both because it's super expensive AND because I know I won't be wearing it for too long).

So... I patrolled around the Good Will and found a couple of things there. Target's clearance racks haven't been that good. I haven't tried Walmart or Old Navy yet, but I will on Friday.

Here's my question though-- I started off at a size 20-22 and am now wearing 14-16's for the most part. My weight loss has been creeping along the last several weeks so I'm not really sure how fast I'll lose over the next couple of months. Probably not that fast.

But, I'm going to be booking a cruise for October with my best girlfriend and I want to try to take advantage of the end of summer sales on clothes and swim suits... but I'm not sure what sizes to buy. I don't want to feel like a stuffed sausage in too-tight clothes, or look like things are falling off of me either. At my smallest, in high school when I dieted hard for awhile I got down to about a size 10 jeans... and I honestly don't think that with my bone structure I'll be any smaller than maybe an 8 when I'm totally done losing weight. I'm 5'7'' and started out at 255lbs, and am currently 208 or so. I am not curvaceous-- I have a "straight" profile with very muscular legs and average arms, and a somewhat big abdomen... close to an apple shape compared to a pear shape.

Any ideas? Do 12s and 14s sound reasonable? I guess I mostly just don't want to be uncomfortable in my clothing, but also don't want to have to spend a ton of money on "mistakes" though I know they'll make good trade-ins for our bariatric reunion clothing swap in December. :)

Its hard to give you feedback that far out hun.  why dont you shop closer to the date>?
also your right, dont over buy because you will be changing. ask friends for their
hammy downs.

how fun you are going on a cruise..you lucky doll you!

Yeah, I know it's hard to estimate... just trying to shop while the clearance racks are full (in NY they start putting the summer stuff away right about now and I'd only be able to get it online which won't necessarily be cheap and budget is tight).

Thanks for the suggestion though-- If not hand-me-downs, then I might try to shop in some friends closets to see if they'll let me borrow their clothes for the vacation!

:)

Uh....pics or it didn't happen?


I got nothin...

LOL. I'll post pics after I have some skinny swimsuit ones to show off from the cruiseship!

None of this would be possible though if all I did was sit around and eat Cheez-Its or whatever it is you munch on.



LOL. Keep up the good work, Waffle-- you're lookin' great!

I had shopped early for my cruise and ended up running out last minute and buying a few pairs of shorts in a 12, when I thought I'd be in a 10.  I was kind of depressed about it, I had all these cute cruise clothes I couldn't wear on the cruise.   I also bought a bathing suit that was too small...but I did get it on ebay, so I wasn't able to try it on.   I ended up buying another, but it was too big in no time.  I think I wore it twice before giving it away.

It's so hard to say because you might blow thru a few sizes one month, then wear the same size for a month.  If you just have to buy now, maybe 12's & 14's unless they run big.  Maybe you can find things with elastic waist, or some spandex for a little give.  Dresses/skirts can stretch the wardrobe a bit and get away with a little larger for longer.  Just don't shop too early for something that is form fitting.  You might not like the way it fits later.  If you've got the money to do it, you could buy what you like in a couple of sizes and leave the tags on.  Return what you don't wear later... just a thought.

Yeah, it can be really difficult to estimate how our bodies will change, especially how the shape of our waist and hips will even out with weight loss.

Fortunately I hung on to a couple of pairs of clothing at different sizes as I was going up in weight, so I'll have at least a pair of shorts in every size from 10-14. Plus I have at least one dress in every size from 10-14 as well, but this cruise might last 7-10 days, so one dress and one pair of shorts won't cut it! What I don't want though is to be stuck with a ton of clothing I paid a lot for and only wore once.

Eh, I'm sure it'll all work out.

:)

I'd suggest gauze skirts and other summer type skirts.  I have a few from years gone by and they still fit, just much more "flowing" than when last I wore them.  Slacks show the lbs promptly, so I'd wait till closer to time to see where your next few lbs are going to fall from.  But a flowing skirt with a T shirt or loose fitting blouse will serve well on a cruise.  As for swinsuits, I'm still afraid to try those on.  I have an old one which fits well now, though it's not getting any use at present.  (My thighs are not ready for prime time now, not sure if/when they will be ready for public view.)  A friend reported that she wears athletic shorts and a tank top as her swimwear, which is sounding good to me.

Enjoy your cruise!

Sheila

Yeah, those flowy skirts are a good idea. I've been scouring Goodwill for them but no luck so far.

I'll have plenty of shirts because I'm in an XL now and I've got L and M tank tops that are a bit snug now which will fit beautifully by then, even if they're a bit roomy.

I'm in a size 14-16 swimsuit now, and I have two that are a tight 14 and one that's a 12. I might see if there's another in a 12 or 10 on super clearance at Target or Walmart as I'll be wearing one or two per day and hate putting a suit back on if it's still wet from the previous wearing! Two or three swimsuits that fit should be fine though.

It's funny because I had bought two swimsuits online on clearance from Kmart.com two years ago for a cruise and one halter type tankini was a bit tight on top, but I wore it anyway. After surgery when I wa****ting the pool for laps I noticed that my boobs were, um, not quite covered as the top was gapping quite a bit. LOL. That suit went into the donate pile!