You did it. You changed your life, your health. You’ve begun your journey. Your weight is going down, you feel great, you look great . You have non-scale victories, life is good. No life is Great.
So you wake up feeling great, head over to the closet and like most days for the last year or longer you reach for those pants. You know the ones. The ones that make you feel acceptable and hide what you don’t like about your body. They are so familiar they feel like a second skin. A security blanket. ( for me it was a pair of wide leg black pants from Lane Bryant. I had 7 pair, one for everyday, even in the summer.) but wait , what’s this? They don’t fit. How could this be? A rush of panic and excitement comes over you. Some of you might be thinking ” I can’t wait for that day”. But trust me, for those of us who have been there, It can be terrifying. Like taking a security blanket from a baby. ( after all, we are like babies at this point, mushy foods, learning how to chew, drink our water, Dr’s appointments every few weeks).
Panic sets in. What do I do NOW. Where do I go from here. What size AM I.
Well for me, it had been so long since I shopped in non-plus size stores, I was lost. I still stayed in Lane Bryant for a bit with my pants but shirts, bra’s, and under ware were almost an instant change. Of course the husband was chiming in ” Victoria Secret “. Yeah ,Not just yet . So I hit the stores. TJ Maxx, Walmart, sears , it was all very overwhelming. I felt so upset, so fustrated. I didn’t know my own body. Where I once had huge hips, there was nothing to hold up jeans, and let’s not talk about the bra situation.( not in this issue but rest assured one will follow)
Adding to the fustration, I was afraid to spend money on things , if i found any that fit, and have them not fit a week or two later, but there was no way I was wearing elastic waist bands after all this work. So it was back to basics ( as if we weight loss surgery people don’t hear That enough).
I was always a second hand shopper. I have always found it exciting to find Kate spade shoes for $5.99, or a coach Bag for $9.99. Very rarely was I ever able to find clothing options in theses stores, because as you know when your a size 24 and you have those security blankets, you don’t tend to donate or consign them. Well I entered a store full of new possibilities. All for amazing prices, every style you can think of and everysize under the sun.
My first trip into the dressing room I had pants from size 24 to 12. Turns out I was a 16 on my first trip. There were so many options and choices, I knew this was where I was going to be spending the next year. I went right for black pants of course, and I didn’t like them all that much. So I went for a pair of jeans. ME in jeans? . NO WAY. Well I left with a huge pile of jeans and haven’t looked back since. I love my blue jeans, Heck blue ,black white, any color that will fit this body. Now a size 2 , so as you can imagine there have been many trips to this wonderland of fashion and thrift.
This was unfamiliar territory but I had to be willing to step out of my comfort zone. I had to except that my body was new to me. I had to see it for all it’s new beautiful attributes. I was always associatied with my boobs. Well, Not anymore and I needed to learn what to love about myself now. I happen to have a tiny waist. I have to embrace that and learn what clothes make me feel good. That’s what this journey is also about. Not just being healthy on the inside but also feeling healthy and metally being excitied about who we are . I had a new found freedom, I now could look like the person I ALWAYS felt like on the inside. I always loved clothes and fashion, but that little voice inside my head , the one that whispered, ” Not you, You can’t wear that” kept me from feeling this freedom.
You might be wondering” isn’t this all very superficial?” But clothes and fashion are very personal. You wouldn’t go into a tattoo shop and let the artist tattoo Anything He wants on your skin right? Well that’s what it feels like when you can never wear the style, colors or type of clothes you want. A sports fan wears a jersey to support his team, to show his pride in their accomplishments.well that’s what fashion is. It’s a way for us to show our pride in our accomplishments. It’s a way we share who we are. ( I’m the leopard lover. I have made many connections because of that familiar interest) to connect with each other. My friends think of me when ever they see leopard print , that’s a special thing.
I look forward to sharing my insights on good buys, a shopping plan for weight loss surgery patients, how you shop durning maintenace, How not to accept your friends “fat clothes, what to do with your old sizes, and many more topics. I hope to have contests and programs you can all participate in. I’ll share pictures of things that I have found and what works for a changing body. Through this process we will all learn to celebrate ourselves through fashion and self confidence. Love by design…
Well for me, it had been so long since I shopped in non-plus size stores, I was lost. I still stayed in Lane Bryant for a bit with my pants but shirts, bra’s, and under ware were almost an instant change. Of course the husband was chiming in ” Victoria Secret “. Yeah ,Not just yet . So I hit the stores. TJ Maxx, Walmart, sears , it was all very overwhelming. I felt so upset, so fustrated. I didn’t know my own body. Where I once had huge hips, there was nothing to hold up jeans, and let’s not talk about the bra situation.( not in this issue but rest assured one will follow)
Adding to the fustration, I was afraid to spend money on things , if i found any that fit, and have them not fit a week or two later, but there was no way I was wearing elastic waist bands after all this work. So it was back to basics ( as if we weight loss surgery people don’t hear That enough).
I was always a second hand shopper. I have always found it exciting to find Kate spade shoes for $5.99, or a coach Bag for $9.99. Very rarely was I ever able to find clothing options in theses stores, because as you know when your a size 24 and you have those security blankets, you don’t tend to donate or consign them. Well I entered a store full of new possibilities. All for amazing prices, every style you can think of and everysize under the sun.
My first trip into the dressing room I had pants from size 24 to 12. Turns out I was a 16 on my first trip. There were so many options and choices, I knew this was where I was going to be spending the next year. I went right for black pants of course, and I didn’t like them all that much. So I went for a pair of jeans. ME in jeans? . NO WAY. Well I left with a huge pile of jeans and haven’t looked back since. I love my blue jeans, Heck blue ,black white, any color that will fit this body. Now a size 2 , so as you can imagine there have been many trips to this wonderland of fashion and thrift.
This was unfamiliar territory but I had to be willing to step out of my comfort zone. I had to except that my body was new to me. I had to see it for all it’s new beautiful attributes. I was always associatied with my boobs. Well, Not anymore and I needed to learn what to love about myself now. I happen to have a tiny waist. I have to embrace that and learn what clothes make me feel good. That’s what this journey is also about. Not just being healthy on the inside but also feeling healthy and metally being excitied about who we are . I had a new found freedom, I now could look like the person I ALWAYS felt like on the inside. I always loved clothes and fashion, but that little voice inside my head , the one that whispered, ” Not you, You can’t wear that” kept me from feeling this freedom.
You might be wondering” isn’t this all very superficial?” But clothes and fashion are very personal. You wouldn’t go into a tattoo shop and let the artist tattoo Anything He wants on your skin right? Well that’s what it feels like when you can never wear the style, colors or type of clothes you want. A sports fan wears a jersey to support his team, to show his pride in their accomplishments.well that’s what fashion is. It’s a way for us to show our pride in our accomplishments. It’s a way we share who we are. ( I’m the leopard lover. I have made many connections because of that familiar interest) to connect with each other. My friends think of me when ever they see leopard print , that’s a special thing.
I look forward to sharing my insights on good buys, a shopping plan for weight loss surgery patients, how you shop durning maintenace, How not to accept your friends “fat clothes, what to do with your old sizes, and many more topics. I hope to have contests and programs you can all participate in. I’ll share pictures of things that I have found and what works for a changing body. Through this process we will all learn to celebrate ourselves through fashion and self confidence. Love by design…
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