Today I discovered that at 32 I now fit back into my high school formal dress again.

I'm am amazed.

But what I do notice is how different my body looks though it is a little hard to recall my 17 yr old body.

I really feel that I am still much larger now than I was then and yet that dress fits with ease.

Perhaps I filled that dress with more lean muscle and far less fat?

Anyone else find along the way?

Shit I have no clothes from that far back to even try lol..
My necklace still fits though !!!! Lol

My mother kept a heap of things. There was an evening gown I wore to a very fancy wedding at age 15 that is so classic. If I get back in that I'll throw confetti regardless of how lumpy and bumpy I will be.

It's probably just loose skin that makes you think you are bigger. Teenage girl muscle doesn't take up much room, unless you were a body builder!

I think you are right. It's all a bit surreal.

I'm only four weeks out and I've gone from a size 22 jeans to 18 already. It's crazy.

I was never thin so i had no small clothes to try out but now I'm one year out, RNY. Went from a size 22 to a size 6. Was obese since age 3. I have "shape" for the first time in my life. It's so cool! I'm learning how to dress myself and work with my new body type. For the first time ever my hips are wider than my waist. I now love trying new clothes and tucking shirts in. It's like a whole new world of fashion for me!

Since we're supposed to lose so many sizes, what is recommended for clothing that process? Used or consignment shops?

My case worker says not to spend any money if you can help it. We do clothing exchanges at our support meetings. I go to my friends and family. I don't want to buy stuff for every stage.

I know it's so tricky! I have purchased a few new things and I'm struggling to accept some stuff is just way too big. And I keep wearing it anyway. I'm pretty excited that I have 4 classic cut skirts from that time that also fit and I'm wearing them again. The fear of loose skin now is playing heavily on my mind but I know it's going to happen.

I was never thin so i had no small clothes to try out but now I'm one year out, RNY. Went from a size 22 to a size 6. Was obese since age 3. I have "shape" for the first time in my life. It's so cool! I'm learning how to dress myself and work with my new body type. For the first time ever my hips are wider than my waist. I now love trying new clothes and tucking shirts in. It's like a whole new world of fashion for me!

May I ask how you are coping with loose skin? That is just such an incredible loss! Congratulations

May I ask how you are coping with loose skin? That is just such an incredible loss! Congratulations

Thank you
I have loose skin on my stomach (a small "apron"), on my upper arms, and inner thighs. I was always small chested but my breasts are now completely deflated. How do I deal with it? I really have to think about that. None of my loose skin is what I would consider severe, it does not get in my way, cause any rashing, or prohibit me from any activity or wearing anything I want (except a bikini, I will never wear a bikini)

I wear clothes that compliment my shape and avoid things that highlight my flaws (like we all do). Most people cannot tell i have sagging skin. Spanx work wonders (theres a picture in my profile where im wearing a white dress, spanx and a padded bra are holding it all together). I never had a tight body, I was very big before, and now I'm small and my skin sags. I guess I don't feel bad because I don't know what I'm missing.

Other than that I just accept this as my new body, my sags and stretch marks are my battle scars, proof I won the fight!

Several doctors have told me that being morbidly obese changes your body. Your body has to adapt to carry the additional weight. Your bones are denser (mine are about 3x as dense as the average woman my age), and you have more muscle mass. I weigh more than I did in HS but I am about 2 sizes smaller. Most women in the 190 weight range at 5 foot 6 inches are not wearing a size 8 dress, but I am.

Loose skin has something to do with that but the information from my DEXA scans let's me know that my body is different tham most.

I usually go to goodwill or yard sales as I lose sizes.

3 hours ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

Several doctors have told me that being morbidly obese changes your body. Your body has to adapt to carry the additional weight. Your bones are denser (mine are about 3x as dense as the average woman my age), and you have more muscle mass. I weigh more than I did in HS but I am about 2 sizes smaller. Most women in the 190 weight range at 5 foot 6 inches are not wearing a size 8 dress, but I am.

Loose skin has something to do with that but the information from my DEXA scans let's me know that my body is different tham most.

This explains a lot! Me and my mother are the same height. When she was younger she weighed between 97-105lbs which was very normal for her. Once I got to my goal she asked me what I weighed and was "shocked" when I told her 136. She could not understand how i looked so "skinny" but weighed so much. She's a bit bigger now with age so would love to be 136lbs now but said she was at least a size 10-12 when she weighed that much. I chalked it up to vanity sizing but I've never heard the explanation you gave which makes a lot of sense.

@cdeisroth

I thought it was vanity sizing too but I had some items from college to try on and these items were 20 years old. I weighed a lot more at the time when it tried them on, a good 30 to 40 pounds more than I weighed when I wore them in college.

I told one of the guys at work I weighed 190 and he was totally shocked. If you use a size calculate someone my height and weight should be a 14 or 16.

Edited March 18, 20179 yr by OutsideMatchInside