So I'm a planner. I can't help it, it's what I do. I HAVE to plan stuff or I feel physically ill. Anyway, I'm about to finish my 90 day program and I'm wanting to plan at least some clothes for the winter, because it seems all the good stuff is gone early on and by Jan/Feb. the bathing suits and shorts start hitting shelves. So if I'm currently wearing a size women's plus size 28 or 30 if it's jeans or lacks stretch. Is it reasonable to think I could be wearing a 20/22 by May or a n XXL as opposed to the 4x I'm currently in? I live in Colorado so we literally can have cold up through May so I'm hoping to snag a few things cheap now if I'll be able to use them instead of risking them not be available when I need them. I also plan to hit a lot of the after Christmas clearance sales but I don't know where is a reasonable point to be. I know everyone loses weight differently and for me in the past, I usually lose weight fast out of the starting gate and then stop gradually and put it back on in reverse. I don't want to get overly optimistic and then set myself for disappointment, but I don't want to be naked and shivering either. ???? what do you think? Is it realistic or am I being too ambitious if I buy 20/24 and XXL clothes if I have surgery the end of OCT?

I am from Colorado too, so I know your pain. It is hard to tell where you will be for a number of factors. One, some people plateau early so they don't lose as much weight up right after the surgery as they do further out. I would buy some 3x, 2x and XL and wear them as you get smaller. Lots of people, including myself on occasion, shot at resale shops. This way you aren't putting out tons of cash for clothes that you might only wear for a month.

​I think it really depends on your shape partially. I had my RNY on June 4 so I am coming up on 4 months. I was wearing a 28Tall from Avenue in a jean before surgery but it was a little loose. My tops (mostly from Lane Bryant and Avenue which I really think run a little big) were 22/24 or 18/20 depending on the stretch / shape. I found today I need to go down to size 20Tall jeans (Avenue slightly snug - Lane Bryant T3 technology pants which run a little big fit well). My tops are now 14/16 though some are a little tight. 18/20 slightly too big. (Sure will be glad when I can buy clothes in 1 size not 2 sizes because the bottom size is too small and the top size is too big.)

Anyway, not sure if that helps but thought I would give you that for a little perspective. Seems to me your goal of May and those sizes seems reasonable but do not spend too much because I have actually gone through pant sizes without ever wearing them. LEAVE the tags on and keep the receipts or be prepared to sell them (check out Poshmark.com if you haven't. Cool site of users selling their clothes. Some retail but mostly individuals.)

Hope that helps!!

Where at in Colorado!? I use to live there. I go back every 3 months to visit my boyfriend but I totally get what you mean by planning in having the same problem! My surgery is next week and I don't think I will have anything to get me through the winter, which is bad because I live in Minnesota

I get that you want to plan, but in buying certain sizes so far from hitting the correct weight, I really think you're setting yourself up for possible disappointment. This really is like wanting to hit a certain weight goal by a certain time period and feeling bad if you don't reach it. Can you buy items online if they are not available in the stores? I just think that might be a better way to go.

Once I was approved and scheduled, I started looking for sales on clothes, even close outs which might not be my normal preference. Now at 5 months post by pass, I have gone from 54Waist to 44 Waist, 4xl to xl shirts, etc, but I have had clothes to wear, I have got them down to 40 Waist waiting for me. I have only three changes of clothes, so do lots of laundry....but don't want to buy too many. I also live in Colorado, but bought my winter coat in a size XL even though in April I wore a 5xl coat. Got it out yesterday and it fit!

Another couple of ideas: find a good tailor who can alter clothes you currently have, for the interim time period. Select loose, flowy tops, stretchy leggings/pants made of a substantial knit (these tend to be easily altered), elastic waists for virtually everything - I found this to be very helpful immediately after surgery, also, it was more comfortable than set-in waistbands. Ponchos and loose sweaters seem to be on trend this winter - great for those losing substantially, and VERY cute! And again, keep receipts for those items that don't fit well/or you won't be using. Check out consignment shops...for low-cost interim fashions, too. Have fun with this!!!

Goodwill is my go to place. Very early on I also bought a "goal" sweater. Looking at it then, I never thought It would fit. I tried it on periodically. It was so motivating to see it come closer to fitting along the way. I was so excited the day I was able to wear it.

Good luck on your journey!

My advice it find something else to plan There is no way to know. I ended up wearing my regular clothes for the first 50 pounds I lost. They were baggy, but oh so comfortable, and it was only a couple of months. It's shocking how much you can lose before needing new clothes when you start at a high weight. Then I just went clearance rack hunting. I was able to get by with 3 or 4 different, all new, though very small, wardrobes for pretty cheap. I just bought things a little snug, then wore them till they were a little (or a lot) big. I went from a 26 to an 8, and trust me, it's much more fun to shop when you can actually try it on and know how it's going to look. It's likely your style will change, too. The smaller you are, the easier it is to find things on sale. My first new wardrobe for winter was purchased in Jan/Feb, and it was all on sale super cheap.

My plan is to keep a few pieces I love and tailor the hell out of them until I am no longer able to.

I also scour eBay where you can find clothing cheaply , it doesn't discriminate for the season and sometimes you can find items with tags still on!

There are also boards on this site for clothing sale/ exchange.

If all else fails, girl I'm currently a 16/18/20 and majority of my stuff is lane Bryant. My surgery is in January so I will keep you in mind when I start to shrink out of my clothing (fingers crossed I will shrink! Lol)

I'm also in Chicago so we should have similar clothing needs due to seasons.

I also plan to spend a lot of winter day to day in yoga pants and scrubs. ( yeah for being a nurse! Lol)

As for yoga pants, I have discovered danskin at Walmart.com. Love them! They come in petite which I need and 2 pair for like 22$. Can't beat it because they have plus sizes which I need right now!

Just an FYI gals...we're so used to limited clothing options when we wear larger sizes, but once you are out of women's sizes and able to shop anywhere, this becomes less and less of an issue. If you can't find anything at one store, you can just go to another one. I wore plus sizes for so long that I forget how much easier it is to buy clothes when you have so many more options.

I recall when I flew to London over the summer that I didn't worry for the first time in a long time, if my luggage got lost. Worst case scenario, I go to any store to replace what was lost. Any store.

Yup, the clothes thing can be challenging. If you plan to lose a certain amount or be in a certain size by a certain time and you are not there, the disappointment can derail you.

I learned very quickly to buy 2 pairs of pants and a few tops in one size smaller at a time. I would buy them tight and then my goal would be to get into them, and be comfortable before I switched to the next size.

I have yet to skip a size so my strategy worked as after the 4th month my weight loss slowed to a crawl. Still losing but very very slowly.

The best feeling in the world is to go clothes shopping thinking you are a size 14 only to find you can wear a size 12 and in some cases a 10. I have not been in those sizes for more than 30 years!

I personally would not plan for after the holidays now. There are always the clearance racks that have last seasons clothes on them. I lived in Minnesota when I had my surgery in Sept. Tomorrow will be my one year surgiversary.

I have been able to find all of my clothes in stores when I was ready to swap my closet out again.

I will say that I have loved being able to shop off the rack everywhere now. I don't have to go to specialty stores like lane Bryant or find the plus size sections. Every time I try something on, I get so excited about how I look in clothes now. I had to shop for a nice outfit to wear to a wedding tonight.

I got the cutest outfit and am excited to wear it as I know that I will get comments about how great I look and how thin I am getting.

Oh, and if you wear wide width shoes get ready because my shoes were the first to have to be changed to normal widths. I was an 11w. Now I wear a 10.5. I had to switch all my shoes out.

Oh gosh yes...the shoes. I forgot about the shoes. I too went from an 8 1/2 wide to a 7 regular. Wish I had known that...I had to give away so many pairs of shoes as the weight came off. Who expects that??

I had a RNY 28 months ago. I lost a lot of weight very quickly. At 6 or 7 months I leveled off. At the end of the Weight Loss phase, I was totally unable to wear any of my clothes. I gave them all away. My wife is a seamstress and it was not worth the effort to tailor them.

On the other hand, I am a great shopper. I generally buy clothes at a 70-80% discount and I love to shop. This gave me the opportunity to buy the latest fashions for a completely new wardrobe. It was fun. I could shop at normal department stores again. On the journey down you will need only one or two sets of clothes. I would buy a pair of pants that I could barely fit into (provided I took a deep breath) then a week later it would fit like a glove. It was a great incentive (a NSV - non scale victory).