Please help! I'm a collector not a hoarder. For decades I've curated a gorgeous wardrobe of flattering elegant clothing at every size for my body from 2 to 14. Now 2 years post surgery I'm a 2 yet again and after a LIFE of yo-yo-ing I'm terrified of donating it all in case it's harder to maintain than I think.

Whether my weight was going up or down one good thing was I always had lovely things to wear that fit my shape and I didn't have to spend the time or money on a wardrobe because I wear classic pieces that I buy on sale. Of course I always wanted to stay smaller but as we all know that's not always in our control. It drives me crazy when people say oh give your clothes away so that you can't go back to being fat as if we got fat logically instead of emotionally.

So if the surgery is indeed for life and I'm not going to gain a bunch of weight then I am completely on board for donating all of it if I'll never wear it again but I will be furious if three years later as has happened throughout my life i'm chubby again for whatever reason and have to go buy fat clothes again. I don't have the money for that.

With surgery I went from 215 to 160 but it took going "keto" (high fat low carb diet) to get to 135 where I am now. (having done the hCG diet multiple times in my life and lost lots of weight I am understandably very nervous about gaining again.) so what do you think the odds are keeping this weight off for life? Thank you for understanding this emotional time for me! (I just moved and can either store or donate as I don't have lots of room. Storing in a "pod" is way cheaper than replacing in a few years. Thank you for your wise encouragement.

Well, the reality is that many people DO regain some after a few years. I'd hate to see you pay for additional storage of things you *hopefully* will never need, but I can understand wanting to hold onto some of it. Size 2 is tiny and if I got there, I wouldn't hold my breath to stay there either

Could you just put them in boxes in the back of a closet or something? What if you donated just the biggest sizes, would that decrease the collection enough?

If you want to make a donation of some of your nice pieces consider this. Check with your local battered woman's shelter. Many of these women leave with the clothes on their back. I am sure they would be very grateful for your donation. Imagine how good it would be for their self esteem. I could not think of a better place for your collection to go if you should part with some of it.
If I ever make it to a size 2, there isn't a chance in he'll I will ever get this big again.
Congrats on your weight loss! !

HW 274 SW 263 GW 125 GASTRIC SLEEVE 7/21/17. Height 5'1"

Many people do regain some weight 2+ years postop but unless you completely fall off the wagon, you'll probably never be your largest sizes again. If your wardrobe didn't sound so nice I'd recommend 14-6 but since it sounds high end, maybe sizes 14-10 just in case something goes sideways in the next 5-10 years.

Sent from my XT1585 using BariatricPal mobile app

I completely understand what you are saying. I think most of us are afraid of gaining back the weight. I would probly just let go of a few of the lads are size items and keep the others. On another note, I am stuck for over 5 weeks at the same weight i am afraid I will not reach goal. Can you give me any pointers on how you finally broke through? What is that keto thing you did? Thank you for any help you can give me

Try consignment of your clothes post sz 10.

I can totally understand the fear of regain and needing to buy larger sizes again. Especially after yo-yoing for so many years. I was the same way. Held onto clothes for several years before giving them away.

Maybe some therapy would help get to the root cause of re-gain and help prevent it?

I'm on the fence with this one. What if there is some sort of mind set that allows you to get back to size 10, because you know you've got them laying around?

I had a hard time getting rid of my first round of clothes and I don't even have fancy stuff.

Well, how I see it, is a size 10 today was a size 12 in 2000. I WAS a size 10 in 2000 (size 8 in today's sizes) and that was a good, average, healthy size medium on my 5'7 frame.

So, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend keeping up to size 8. Donate or sell the 10's, 12's and 14's. That's assuming the clothes are of the modern sizing.

If the size 8 start getting tight, it's time to start paying attention. After all, 3 sizes equals about 30lbs, and that is plenty of flex-range with which to be working, no?

I agree with gently letting go of the top couple of sizes. You can donate to a charity of your preference or sell to a consignment store. You should make your life in and closer to your current size. Just because a lovely dress was on sale in a size ten doesn't mean you'd buy it right?

Or take them to the post surgery bariatric group in your area as 'incentive' clothes, they could probably really use them as well.

maybe take the larger sizes and sell them and put the money aside somewhere and when you have fully stabilized use it to buy new clothes.

It took me years to let go. We just moved and I had totes upon totes of clothes in size 6-12 in my garage, and I've firmly been a 2/4 for years. I donated all of it to a local shelter.

Let go of the largest sizes. Keep a buffer, but accept that total regain simply is not an option. Don't allow that for yourself. Keeping those clothes is like giving yourself permission. Allow yourself to bless someone else's life.

Congrats on your amazing success so far. Maintenance can be challenging but if we work at it we can stay stable. Good luck.

Cheri

On 8/5/2017 at 5:39 AM, itstimealready said:

terrified of donating it all in case it's harder to maintain than I think.

@itstimealready

keeping your old clothes, IMO gives you an "OK"/permission to wear the

clothes again, IF you gain weight (which you won't/shouldn't)

keeping your old clothes,. its like setting yourself up for a fall.

you figure you MIGHT gain weight, oh well, i still have my fat clothes!!

IMO - get rid of those big clothes

don't be a pessimist that you will gain weight.

be an optimist that you will remain at your new, smaller self.

84 lbs down, very close to goal!!!! woo hoo

lots to be proud of - keep up the good job!

kathy

congrats

By keeping your clothes you are mentally giving yourself permission to regain weight.

The only person I know that lost over 200 pounds without surgery and kept it off, told me as soon as you drop a size, dump the previous clothes.

I have been doing this all along and it has helped me so much.

There is no going back. If I gain more than 5 pounds I will have nothing to wear. This helps stop me from going off the rails, keeps me focused and makes weight gain immediately noticeable.

I got up years worth of clothes I carefully collected and loved because they no longer fit me. If I regained to the point I could fit them, but they aren't here, that would be extra insult to injury. So it is not going to happen. It is not an option.

Do not keep your old clothes as a security blanket. Fully embrace your new life, say this is forever and dump those fat clothes.

Many years ago I topped out with a 44 waist. Through dieting I went down to a 38 waist. I went to a friend who took my 44 and 42 waist pants to his church and they were taken by people who could use them. Subsequently I went back to size 40's and since I didn't give them away I didn't have to buy new clothes. As others have said, you can part with the larger size clothing.