Old Clothes

Hi all.  I apologize in advance if this topic has already been covered elsewhere.  I'm approaching my 1 year anniversary and everything is going quite well.  I'm down about 120 lbs. from the day of surgery and over 140 lbs. from my high.  I think I've adjusted to this new life and am happy with no regrets.  There are obvious ups and downs, but overall, I'm glad I had the surgery.

What I'm struggling with right now is what to do with my old clothes.  It's a very emotional/deep decision, and I've put it off for a long time.  Part of me is scared to give them away/throw them away.  I hear of so many people regaining the weight and while I'm fully committed to not allowing myself to be one of those people, I can't scientifically omit it as a possibility.  On the other hand, I realize that holding on to my old clothes is a bit of a cop out and I'm also setting myself up for failure.  

Has anyone else gone through this?  How did you reconcile these feelings?  Any help/input you have would be greatly appreciated.  

 

it is hard, you're right.

every time i bagged up clothing, i felt like i was somehow giving away part of me, of my future, something like that - hard to explain. 

but since i'm down from a 32 to a 22, i can't hold on to them anymore. i have to remind myself that my mind tells me 'there's not enough'... of everything - food (that's why i'm the size i am lol), money, clothing, etc.. and i have to remind myself that there IS enough of everything - food, money, clothing...

i donated my clothing. i had to say to myself 'look annie - IF you gain it all back, you can buy some new clothing then.. but don't bank on gaining it back'

 

i hope you find some peace around this, and congrats on your loss!!!!!  :)

I got my old clothes out of the house about 2 months after I didn't fit into them.  I had no room!! LOL  But I definately understand your apprehension---there are some *****gain.  It sounds like you are making the appropriate changes in your mindset and life to combat that---there are some who do not, which is why there are incidences of re-gain.  Some rely on their surgery or tool to do the work of weight loss for them, where others make the changes.  The hardest part of change after surgery is realizing that they operated on our stomach, not our brain.  Emotional eating, poor habits creeping back in, and life stressors are many factors that add to this.  

I donated my clothes to local salvation army and big brother/big sister organizations.  I buy most of my clothes at the same kind of places, and find great things for a lot less!!!  

Congratulations and wishing you continued success!

 

Mallisa

My thanks to you both - and to whomever else responds.  It is nice to hear that I'm not the only one who has struggled with this.  It seems like such a simple thing, but unless you've been through what we have all been through, it's not possible to understand the depth and breadth of a decision like this.

You've inspired me.  I'm going to start cleaning out my closet.  My biggest fear now is the realization of how small a wardrobe I have! :)

Happy holidays.

hey - also - look on places like craigslist or check with your surgeon or NUTs office re: clothing swaps - you can build your wardrobe for FREE that way :)

have fun shopping lol

I suggest that you save one item of clothing so that you can take a photo like this one.....

Before and afters aren't just for people anymore. Size 24 to Size 2

Wow that is amazing!!  Wish I would of saved one of my size 20 pants now!!

I know what you mean about the emotional attachment!  I dropped sizes pretty fast so I started boxing the clothes up that no longer fit... 3 large boxes later I knew I had to do something with them! (just winter clothes) I decided to mail them to a good friend in another state, she is one of those who is always doing for others and always putting herself last and never buys her self anything... Her sister told me she had been wearing the same old coat for years... I sent her a very nice warm winter coat that was like brand new!  Most of the clothes were from Macy's , JCP or Avenue so I spent money on them and just did not want to toss them... I wanted them to find a good home and when she got them she was thrilled!  I did not want to keep them to be on the "safe" side... I will never be size 2x again!!  I have come too far and gone through too much for this not to work!!  Now I have room for new clothes, though I have not bought too many because I am still losing and have no idea what size I will be when I get to my personal goal so everything I buy is on sale and when they become too big I will find someone else who is in need of them... For me it was such a great feeling to help someone out and that truly appreciated them..  There are so many homeless shelters and other agencies that are in need, it will do your heart some good!

Yes, was hard to part with some of my old clothes, but more because there were some things that I really looked than because I was afraid I would need them again.

I would suggest getting rid of everything EXCEPT what is one size larger than what you currently wear. That way, you still have clothes to wear if you gain just a bit as bounce back or whatever, BUT you will have no clothes larger than that, so it eliminates the possibility that you will just pull of a pair of pants that are TWO sizes larger... You would have to go shopping for larger clothes and that will be a very real indicator that something is WRONG and you need to get back on track and get things under control.

Lora

Here's what I did with mine...I kept the one pair of pants and top that I had on the morning before my surgery, this way I can try it on here and there just to show myself how well I've done...Plus my family gets a big laugh out of how huge these clothes are on, and how I have to hold my pants up or else they would fall down...Then the rest of my clothes I dropped off to an area nursing home...I called prior and ask if they had any obese women that needed clothing, and they said yes...So that's what I did with my clothes...If not there, I would have taken them to a church clothing bank, because its hard to find the larger clothes at a church bank...I would rather send them there for someone really in need than to Good Will, to where they sell them.

Congrats on the fantastic weight loss...Keep up the good work!!!