August

Congratulations on your success! There are worse problems to have. :laugh: It sounds like it's time to consider new suits. My husband told me that Syms, Men's Warehouse, and K&G are good places to get decent suits cheap, and all do alterations on site. They will charge for the alterations though, and of course will charge again for subsequent alterations. You should include the price of 2-3 alterations into the total price before deciding if buying at a discount store would be cheaper than the store where you usually buy. Could you stand wearing a suit that is a tiny bit tight? If so you'd get more wear out of a suit. Not so much that you look foolish, but just enough that only you'd know.

Congratulations on your weightloss! :blushing: I am just realizing that I have a choice now. It's wonderful to be able to wear the clothes I like. It also doesn't hurt that I feel so much better and am able to wear clothes and shoes that would have killed me at higher weights.

I had a handful of clothes from lower weights and mistake purchases that I was able to fit into but for the most part I've had to purchase all new. Ross, Marhall's, and TJMaxx, are perfect for business casual wear on the cheap, especially if you can find something on the clearance rack. If there is a Syms near you they are great for less casual clothes, although they do have casual clothing. Their clearance rack has some amazing deals. You're a little bit smaller size than I am so you should find great deals. Try looking on the clearance racks now for heavier winter items that are too tight for you now by at least one size. There are still clothes leftover from last winter on the clearance racks that are deeply discounted. You should be fitting in them fine by the time the weather is cold enough to wear them. I'll keep everyone posted in my EBay/Craigslist adventures. I think I'll try EBay first simply because the face to face transactions on Craigslist make me nervous. I have been putting my too large clothes that are saleable into boxes by size. I'll probably sell the lower priced items in lots by size and the nicer stuff as individual pieces. PS I love shopping too! Having so much more selection now that I'm a smaller size has been a blast, but of course hard on my wallet. It has been so long since I've concentrated on myself. I feel guilty sometimes, but my husband is happy to seem me doing things for me. It doesn't hurt that I grab a shirt or pair of pants for him when I'm out shopping so he has nice new clothes too. :thumbup:

Congratulations on your success! I'm sure you look great! :smile2: When you go shopping, I would suggest buying clothes that fit snug now, so that they will fit longer. I made the mistake of buying clothes that fit properly just after the surgery and only got the chance to wear them one or twice before they were too big.

You're lucky to have a good resource for clothes. I've given some clothes to friends at work who were once smaller than me and they gave me a few things along the way. I need to make some more friends a size smaller and a size larger than me! :smile2:

I forgot to add...congratulations on the new size! :smile2:

I had not thought of Craigslist to sell my clothes! I'll have to investigate that. Thanks! :smile2:

I’m gathering up my first load of clothes to attempt to sell on EBay. I feel bad about not donating them but I’ve spent so much on clothing lately that I can’t afford to not get at least a little something back. I had not decided to try reselling them on EBay when I bought the current off casts so I doubt I’ll get much for them. When I bought these my criteria was that it wouldn’t fall apart in the two months I’d be able to wear it and that it was super cheap. I think my best bet is to sell this group in lots by size. I wish I could bring myself to wear clothes that are too big but I haven’t been able to tolerate it. I used to like flowing garments when was heavier because I thought they disguised my weight. Plus I was so uncomfortable just from being that heavy that restricting clothes felt terrible. Now I hate the feeling of unstructured drapey fabric. My skin is so saggy that I feel better when I wear more structured clothing that props things back up. I wear a lot of “foundation garments” too. Girdles used to feel terrible and constricting but now they feel more comfortable than naked because I don’t feel the flappy sensation in my lower stomach and other areas. I can only imagine how bad the skin problem will be at goal weight. I think I’ll probably need a million dollars worth of plastic surgery! Everybody else is so frugal. I’ve gone a little nuts buying clothes. I work hard to find good clothes at rock bottom bargain prices but I’ve definitely bought more than I need. It has been exciting to have so many clothing options. I’m used to being too big to wear even the largest size at Lane Bryant. I didn’t buy clothes because I liked them. I bought because they were the only things I could find that fit me. I think I still have that mentality but the problem is so much more stuff fits me. I feel like I should buy it all! I need to work on being choosier because soon even more things in the stores will fit me. Time to slow down before I have to rent a truck take my purchases home to the poor house! :thumbup:

Kohls, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross have good prices on bras. I buy them a few inches too small and use bra extenders to make them longer until they fit properly. I got the bra extenders at Target, but I've seen them at other stores.

I've browsed the smaller sizes and can see that when I get down another size or two the prices drop and selection goes up dramatically! I'm looking forward to getting more and paying less.

I tried a Burlington in the Atlanta area and didn't find anything. I used to love their store years ago. Maybe the location I went to here was not as good as others. There are several here. I'll give another location a try. Avenue used to be my favorite store because it was the only brick and mortar store that carried size 30. Lane Bryant cuts off at 28 and I was only able to buy tops and stretchy pants there at my highest weight. It sounds like your sweetheart is enjoying buying clothes for your new figure! I was buying at Ross a lot and still go there once every couple of weeks. Their clothes are so cheap that they are practically disposable. Another person suggested on this thread that I start selling my old clothes on EBay. I was giving to the Goodwill, but she was right that I should try to sell them. So I've been shopping at stores that sell designer clothes cheap, like Syms, Filene's Basement, and a store here in Atlanta called Fox's. I think it will be easier to resell clothes with a designer label. There are no deals when you are a size 30! Now that I'm a smaller size it's much easier to find deals on clothes. I'm paying a bit more than I was at Ross, but still not as much as I was paying for clothes before surgery. If I can sell the nicer stuff for 1/2 what I paid after wearing it will still be cheaper than buying at Ross. I might even make a profit on a few of the items because they were marked down so much. Today I bought two Calvin Klein suits for $60/each. Even used I think somebody would pay me $30/each for them. If I don't make back my 50% then lesson learned and back to Ross for summer clothes. Nothing really lost and I'll certainly be the envy of my office this winter in my designer wardrobe! I'll keep you guys posted on how my experiment goes.

Is there a Ross near you? Ross has thrift store prices for new clothes. Their prices are so cheap that you won't feel bad if you only wear it a few times. The trouble there is you have to have the patience to dig. Their racks are very full and disorganized. You have to take your time and look at every item on the rack to find the good stuff. I prefer to go often and only look at a few racks at a time. You'd spend the whole day trying to look at the whole store that way!

The hosts on What Not to Wear say that women will often need to have their pants altered and to make friends with a good tailor. Do they make something like Right Fit in smaller sizes? You’d think that clothing manufacturers would get a clue! I have the same problem with my waist being disproportionately smaller than my hips. My arms are a trouble spot for me too! They are much smaller now but I have a disgusting amount of skin hanging from them. The skin is wrinkly and gross. I’m definitely going to need surgery on them and other places. At least I can fit them into sleeves now! I haven’t tried GAP yet. I looked online and saw they had size 20 in some things. I can find things at Old Navy in the stores. I had to buy from them online to get my size in the past. I'm too cheap to shop at Lane Bryant anymore. Even their clearance items are more than I want to pay for what amounts to disposable clothes. I have a limit of $30 for anything, including suits. Most of the time I’m lucky enough to find shirts for $10-$15 and pants for around $20. I found a couple of suits last weekend that were leftover from last winter on the clearance rack at Filene’s Basement for $20 each. Even Filene’s original price was over $100. The original MSRP tags said $250, so I was very pleased. I bought them a size too small hoping that they will fit right once the weather is cooler. I have a blouse from Ross that gets more compliments than any item of clothing I’ve ever owned. It cost $3! I do find excellent deals but it seems to take up all of my free time.

I'm still shopping in the little corner, but at least I'm not limited to to buying the 2 things in the store that fit even if I didn't like them. At size 30 it was difficult to find clothes at Lane Bryant. It's thrilling to me to put something back on the rack because I didn't love it, not because it was too small. Even better putting it back because it's too big! I scoff at the big clothes like I would an ex-flame that I thought became a total loser....TeeHee. I can only imagine what it will be like to be able to buy off any rack in the store. I'm sure I'll feel just as overwhelmed as you did, and maybe a little giddy. I've promised myself a Chanel suit when I get to goal weight. It will be used because I can't afford new, but even used they are still insanely expensive. Maybe I'll wear that Chanel suit to my high school reunion and scoff at my ex-boyfriend. *Daydreaming here!*

There used to be a good plus size consignment store in the metro Atlanta area, where I live, but they mysteriously closed down after many years of being in business. The other consignment stores only carry regular sizes. I'm getting closer to the regular sizes but not quite there yet. At first I wanted to give to the Goodwill because I was always disappointed that they never had larger sizes when I’ve tried to shop there. It felt good thinking that another plus size woman that was possibly less fortunate than me would be thrilled to find my clothes. Now it’s taking a toll on my budget. You are right that I should be selling my too large clothes on EBay instead of donating them. I’ve gotten so good at finding bargains that I usually get things for below consignment store prices. Maybe I’ll make a profit! :scared2:

I’ve had to replace most of my wardrobe every 2-3 months since banding. I’ve gone from a size 30 to a size 20-22 in 9 months. I work in an office where people are expected to be well dressed so wearing sloppy clothes 2 sizes too big is not an option. I could barely afford to dress nicely before my surgery, when all I had to buy was filler each season to spruce up my existing wardrobe. Now I have to start from scratch every couple of months. The problem is that I can’t afford to buy a new wardrobe that often. Even my shoes from last year are too wide now because my fat feet stretched them out. When I shop I try on clothes to fit the size I am now . If I like them and they are a good deal, I put the correct size back and buy the item in the next size down. If it’s an especially good deal on a seasonless item, like slacks or jeans, I will buy several of them in every smaller size that is available. I have 3 pairs of awesome brown slacks from Target that I found on clearance for $6. The largest pair has already retired to the box for Goodwill. I was so happy that I found the pants in smaller sizes because sometimes I lament the loss of clothes I really like. I have to remember to try on the smaller items every couple of weeks because I almost missed my chance with a few things that were a little loose by the time I pulled them out of the closet to wear. I also have to try to gauge what size I’ll be when the next season rolls around. Lately I’ve found awesome prices on fall/winter leftovers from last year. They are practically free. I hope the pretty wool suits I found for $20 each last weekend will fit right when the cool weather rolls around. Buying so many clothes on a limited budget is hard work! I spend a lot of lunch hours running out to browse the clearance racks at Marshall’s or Ross. I spend my evenings browsing EBay listings. Weekends are spent picking through the deeply reduced clearance racks at the stores I know to have good markdowns. At least I have more options now that I’m a smaller size. I'm definitely not complaining. I'm thrilled to have lost so much weight, but it’s really been hard work keeping myself in clothes that fit without going broke. I guess I needed some kind of hobby now that I don’t fill my time with eating! :scared2: How is everybody else keeping up with their new clothing size? What are your best bargain hunting tips?

Protein shakes made with tons of ice and extra sf sweetener save me from ice cream. I sometimes add 1/2 a frozen banana or other frozen fruit. I make them with water instead of milk because adding the milk gets the calories close to a serving of ice cream.

I am in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I've seen True Results in Atlanta and at this point plan to do my surgery through them. They originally wanted to send me to their Dallas facility to have Dr. Benevides do my surgery because I have a high BMI (62.5). They even made it attractive to go to Dallas. They said they would pay for the flight and hotel. My insurance covers the surgery. They didn't even have supervised weight loss visit requirements. I have the insurance approval and have done all of the tests, cardiac, sleep study, chest x-ray, etc. My surgery was supposed to be in early October. I had even started the pre-op diet. Then I get a call from TR today. They said that they are no longer sending people to Dallas and I'd have to have my surgery here with Dr. Hart. The catch? Dr. Hart wants me to lose 30lbs before he'll perform the surgery. He also wanted me to have an upper GI to see if I have a hiatal hernia that he would fix during the surgery, which is fine. Having to lose 30lbs in itself isn't a big deal. I've done that many times. Obviously I can't lose 30lbs by early October unless I amputated a limb. I was anxious to have the surgery this year because I've already met my insurance deductible and it would mean less out of pocket. Although even that isn't cause for much more than annoyance. Then a co-worker told me later today that our company is changing insurance carriers. I don't yet know who the carrier is and I can't count on them covering the surgery. So the urgency to have it this year is even greater. Even if they did cover the surgery, they might not have the loose requirements that my current insurance has. I didn't even have to go to weight loss visits. The way I see it I'd need to lose the 30lbs by the beginning of December because I imagine the doctor takes some time off over the holidays. That gives me a little over 2 months, or about 9 weeks. That's approximately 3.5lbs per week. Yes, it's definitely possible to lose weight that quickly but is it possible to do it safely? I gathered that the idea of losing 30lbs was to get me in better shape for the surgery, not in worse shape. I like True Results and appreciate the fact that Lapbands is all they do. I picked them because they seemed like the best qualified for the surgery and the after-care. However, now that they are delaying things and I have the pending insurance change, I feel like I should at least investigate other options. I would not consider RNY. I'd like to have a baby one day and I simply don't like the idea of rerouting things. My issue isn't with the type of food I eat as much as it is with the quantity. I overeat lots of organic healthy foods....lol. I really think the lapband would be perfect for somebody like me. Does anybody know a doctor in Atlanta that isn't afraid of higher BMI patients? I appreciate any input or advice. Sorry for venting so much. I am just extremely frustrated and anxious.