PolkSDA

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

I'm fighting this same issue as well just under 2 years out from surgery. I hit an alltime adult low of ~213 pounds about 8 months ago. I've kept it close to that, but over the past 6 months I've slowly gained about 9 pounds. Don't get me wrong, 222 is still a far cry from my June 2019 weight of 389, but the warning signs are there. I'm hoping that Spring warmer temperatures finally actually get here so I can get outside for exercise more regularly (or that I'm more inclined to do so), but I need to focus on my eating habits more and nip this thing in the bud.
I think we sometimes forget that lifelong battles are indeed that.

Yeah, I'm admittedly a "lazy loser" myself. I've never been ANY good at counting/tracking calories, points, whatever. I eat things I enjoy because I know that one of my mental shortcomings is that if I try to force myself to eat things I don't enjoy just because they're healthy, I know I will cheat. I will *have* to eat something enjoyable, regardless of what other "healthy" things I've eaten... so rather than compound the calorie intake, I'll just cut to the chase and eat what I enjoy, healthy or not, but in moderation and smaller portions.
Not everyone's brain works the same way, and I know this perspective is likely anathema for others, but it's working thus far for me.
1 year out from surgery date my weight has plateaued as expected, but knowing my propensity to enjoy food, I'm deliberately keeping a closer eye on the scale. I have my fast food and my occasional sweets, but If I see any long-term trend upwards more than about 2-3 pounds, I immediately tighten things up.
So far, so good. Just this morning I hit a new low weight, so the the trend is still downward, and IMO that's what's important, no matter the methods employed.
Different strokes, yadda yadda yadda...

I'm fighting this same issue as well just under 2 years out from surgery. I hit an alltime adult low of ~213 pounds about 8 months ago. I've kept it close to that, but over the past 6 months I've slowly gained about 9 pounds. Don't get me wrong, 222 is still a far cry from my June 2019 weight of 389, but the warning signs are there. I'm hoping that Spring warmer temperatures finally actually get here so I can get outside for exercise more regularly (or that I'm more inclined to do so), but I need to focus on my eating habits more and nip this thing in the bud.
I think we sometimes forget that lifelong battles are indeed that.

Poor advice. Everyone reacts differently. Just because procedure X didn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. Conversely, just because procedure Y *DID* work for you, it doesn't guarantee it will work for anyone else.
Even if you do your due diligence and your medical team is capable, there will always be a small percentage of people that have unforeseen side effects or complications to any procedure. While it is unfortunate to fall into that percentage, that doesn't invalidate the procedure.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Yeah, I'm admittedly a "lazy loser" myself. I've never been ANY good at counting/tracking calories, points, whatever. I eat things I enjoy because I know that one of my mental shortcomings is that if I try to force myself to eat things I don't enjoy just because they're healthy, I know I will cheat. I will *have* to eat something enjoyable, regardless of what other "healthy" things I've eaten... so rather than compound the calorie intake, I'll just cut to the chase and eat what I enjoy, healthy or not, but in moderation and smaller portions.
Not everyone's brain works the same way, and I know this perspective is likely anathema for others, but it's working thus far for me.
1 year out from surgery date my weight has plateaued as expected, but knowing my propensity to enjoy food, I'm deliberately keeping a closer eye on the scale. I have my fast food and my occasional sweets, but If I see any long-term trend upwards more than about 2-3 pounds, I immediately tighten things up.
So far, so good. Just this morning I hit a new low weight, so the the trend is still downward, and IMO that's what's important, no matter the methods employed.
Different strokes, yadda yadda yadda...

Sorry, kale is of the devil. It is pure evil in food form. 😁
There is no single "right way" when it comes to eating/snacking habits. We're all different, both physiologically and more importantly, psychologically. What works for me may not work for you, etc.
When I read "Forget Snacks entirely, unless..." I immediately tune out. Things couched in absolutes don't resonate with me. Sure, those prohibitions may be absolute in YOUR experience, but they may not be so for others.
My nutritionist has been reinforcing that WE SHOULD be snacking post-surgery; 4-6 small meals per day is important to success. Advocating against that IMO runs counter to generally accepted practices.
Now with respect to what the composition of those snacks are, that IMO is a *VERY* YMMV issue.
Me? I eat garbage. I have my fast food and my chips, Cookies, etc.... but in much, MUCH smaller quantities than before I started this journey. Some might say that this is setting myself up for long-term failure, but I say au contraire!
I loathe cooking. I hate it. I can't be bothered by it. I don't want to "learn to enjoy it". I don't find value in it with respect to my time and/or convenience. Never have.
That's in my makeup. I am what I am.
I know myself and my weaknesses. I *NEED* to enjoy food. If it's food just for the sake of eating and nutrition, I WILL find a way to cheat, "sneaking" bad food on the side IN ADDITION to whatever healthy food I'm supposed to be eating... which IMO is far, far worse, given the increased caloric intake and quantity eaten.
Better that I cut to the chase and eat small portions of "bad" food that will satisfy me than to eat food I don't enjoy and still be psychologically unsatisfied, if that makes any sense.
It's better for me to work within the constraints of my weaknesses than to ignore them or try to futilely change what I believe to be fundamentally unalterable.
This morning I hit a new alltime low adult weight since age 18... 37 years ago... and my weight is still going down (albeit very slowly now) 13.5 months after surgery... so however unconventional, it's working.
I would hardly recommend this approach to anyone else... we're all different.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Yeah, I'm admittedly a "lazy loser" myself. I've never been ANY good at counting/tracking calories, points, whatever. I eat things I enjoy because I know that one of my mental shortcomings is that if I try to force myself to eat things I don't enjoy just because they're healthy, I know I will cheat. I will *have* to eat something enjoyable, regardless of what other "healthy" things I've eaten... so rather than compound the calorie intake, I'll just cut to the chase and eat what I enjoy, healthy or not, but in moderation and smaller portions.
Not everyone's brain works the same way, and I know this perspective is likely anathema for others, but it's working thus far for me.
1 year out from surgery date my weight has plateaued as expected, but knowing my propensity to enjoy food, I'm deliberately keeping a closer eye on the scale. I have my fast food and my occasional sweets, but If I see any long-term trend upwards more than about 2-3 pounds, I immediately tighten things up.
So far, so good. Just this morning I hit a new low weight, so the the trend is still downward, and IMO that's what's important, no matter the methods employed.
Different strokes, yadda yadda yadda...

Yeah, I'm admittedly a "lazy loser" myself. I've never been ANY good at counting/tracking calories, points, whatever. I eat things I enjoy because I know that one of my mental shortcomings is that if I try to force myself to eat things I don't enjoy just because they're healthy, I know I will cheat. I will *have* to eat something enjoyable, regardless of what other "healthy" things I've eaten... so rather than compound the calorie intake, I'll just cut to the chase and eat what I enjoy, healthy or not, but in moderation and smaller portions.
Not everyone's brain works the same way, and I know this perspective is likely anathema for others, but it's working thus far for me.
1 year out from surgery date my weight has plateaued as expected, but knowing my propensity to enjoy food, I'm deliberately keeping a closer eye on the scale. I have my fast food and my occasional sweets, but If I see any long-term trend upwards more than about 2-3 pounds, I immediately tighten things up.
So far, so good. Just this morning I hit a new low weight, so the the trend is still downward, and IMO that's what's important, no matter the methods employed.
Different strokes, yadda yadda yadda...

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

YMMV of course, the notion of spending a bazillion bux on "bariatric" anything is anathema to me. It's just license for them to charge more IMO. It's been 10.5 months and Wal-Mart's generic Equate equivalent to Flinstones chewables have worked just fine for me. I realize that some people have issues with taste & texture when it comes to medications, food, etc., but I always start with the cheap options first.

Sorry, kale is of the devil. It is pure evil in food form. 😁
There is no single "right way" when it comes to eating/snacking habits. We're all different, both physiologically and more importantly, psychologically. What works for me may not work for you, etc.
When I read "Forget Snacks entirely, unless..." I immediately tune out. Things couched in absolutes don't resonate with me. Sure, those prohibitions may be absolute in YOUR experience, but they may not be so for others.
My nutritionist has been reinforcing that WE SHOULD be snacking post-surgery; 4-6 small meals per day is important to success. Advocating against that IMO runs counter to generally accepted practices.
Now with respect to what the composition of those snacks are, that IMO is a *VERY* YMMV issue.
Me? I eat garbage. I have my fast food and my chips, Cookies, etc.... but in much, MUCH smaller quantities than before I started this journey. Some might say that this is setting myself up for long-term failure, but I say au contraire!
I loathe cooking. I hate it. I can't be bothered by it. I don't want to "learn to enjoy it". I don't find value in it with respect to my time and/or convenience. Never have.
That's in my makeup. I am what I am.
I know myself and my weaknesses. I *NEED* to enjoy food. If it's food just for the sake of eating and nutrition, I WILL find a way to cheat, "sneaking" bad food on the side IN ADDITION to whatever healthy food I'm supposed to be eating... which IMO is far, far worse, given the increased caloric intake and quantity eaten.
Better that I cut to the chase and eat small portions of "bad" food that will satisfy me than to eat food I don't enjoy and still be psychologically unsatisfied, if that makes any sense.
It's better for me to work within the constraints of my weaknesses than to ignore them or try to futilely change what I believe to be fundamentally unalterable.
This morning I hit a new alltime low adult weight since age 18... 37 years ago... and my weight is still going down (albeit very slowly now) 13.5 months after surgery... so however unconventional, it's working.
I would hardly recommend this approach to anyone else... we're all different.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.

Being able to buy clothes "off the rack" rather than having to go to a DXL store. It's amazing the difference in cost. When I started the journey I had a 56-inch waist, which non-Big&Tall stores just don't stock.
I've been reluctant to invest a whole lot of money in clothes as I've been losing weight, as ideally I will continue to lose sizes for a bit longer, so why pay for clothes I'll (hopefully) only wear for a couple months. It's like the reverse of being a kid/teenager, when Mom would get frustrated that I outgrew clothes yet again.
However, at some point the old clothes start looking awful, like you're wearing a tent... not to mention heavy and uncomfortable AF. Being in a transition state with sizes and not wanting to spend money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some $10.97 jeans... first time wearing jeans in over 30 years. Hard to wrap my brain around it... the jeans weren't unbearably uncomfortable. I was able to buy 44-inch waist and now several weeks later, they're already feeling a bit loose. My next shopping trip, it might be 42.
They had a bunch of dress shirts on clearance that rang up at $2. The XL (down from 3XL) fit easily. At that price, who cares if they fall apart in a few washes.
A whole new world: Being able to shop clothing sales and clearance. That hasn't been part of my life in many many decades.