Clearing out 'big' clothes - a bittersweet experience......

[Jaycey]

Yes, I started this yesterday. I'd already got a charity shop box going, but it wasn't full so I decided to fill it! I started off being choosy (thinking, "ooh, I like that, I can alter it to fit") but you really can't be - or shouldn't be. I ended up looking at everything sized 18-20 (or even bigger in some cases ) and just being hard with myself and chucking out the lot.

THEN ... I sat down and had a good cry. :cry: Stupid isn't it? (The OH thought I was barmy! He said, "it's only clothes!" which did bring me down to earth.) I felt like a tortoise who'd just lost its shell. I'd spent so many years hiding behind those big clothes, thinking that because the clothes were nice then I would look nice in them. But all they were really doing was protecting me from the world! :sigh:

So there I was, newly naked (I nearly was - I was in my underwear, from trying things on) and needing a new 'shell'! This might sound really OTT, but it was a bit like a rebirth. I've GOT to go shopping now (virtually nothing left!) and I've got to learn how to dress the new me (the one with the waist!) and kind of start all over again. (At my age - jeez!) Fun and scarey all at the same time.....

Sorry if this sounds like something I should be trotting out in front of a therapist instead of you lot, but I just wanted to know if anyone else found their clothes-dumping a kind of tragi-comedy? You thought it was going to be amazing and it ended up kicking you up the bum? Please tell me I'm not alone!!

 

[wellandgood]

You know , I have the same feelings. Dont get me wrong, im crazy to be smaller but it is true what you say. Somehow the process is like a rebirth. i have been x-large for a long time and have been through some good times in that old skin and those old clothes(I was never an unhappy fat person, just unhealthy). Ya, it was a feeling of protection in a way. Im glad to know someone else has the same feelings coz I never told anyone in fear they may think Im mad!! Thanks. Great thread.(Im still a long way to goal but was 18st not long ago, feeling good about myself)

 

[curlywurly1234]

Hey Jacey.
Good on you hon!!! Out with the old and in with the NEW!!!! It is hard to do I did this a couple of weeks ago and I really did not want to let go of certain things its awful!! But I said to me self. .I never ever want to be that big again.. and the only way I would ever be bigger is if I decided to have another baby..
You done so well...... its so hard. but You can fill your wardrobe with all new goodies!!! Go out and splash out and enjoy your new wardrobe..
xxxx

 

[AbsolutelyFabulous]

Well done both of you! I'm yet to do this, but when the time comes as much as i'll be pleased to be smaller, there will inevitably be a small part of me that grieves for the security that the fat clothes provided. XX

 

[Lexie_dog]

Hey - totally with you. Its scary.

But don't you dare stop, you go for it!

 

[Watergirl]

I did it last time and found it quite cathartic, but also scary. Especially those items that you always return to because they make you feel good or thinner. You've done so well. At your current weight, with the height you have, I bet you look amazing. You'll be one of those people I look at with envy when I go clothes shopping! x

 

[littlemiss]

You should definately go for it. After all, you're never gonna wear them again.

I'm at that stage now where my clothes are too big for me, especially my black work trousers which keep falling down, I was actually going to look through my smaller stuff for a smaller size trousers. I hate trying on stuff, as I feel so sad if I still look fat in them, it puts me off. I dont know if i can go back to tight things, I love baggy clothes!

 

[Watergirl]

Know what you mean littlemiss. It's lovely when you find your clothes are too big. It's not so lovely if you then go shopping and still end up feeling depressed! Doesn't last forever though. I can still remember looking in changing room mirrors last time I did Cambridge and wondering how I ended up a 12. I couldn't get my head around picking up size 12, convinced it wouldn't fit me; me an 18/20!

 

[Lexie_dog]

I've packed a whole load of stuff into vacuum bags and am going to donate it into a local shelter for women fleeing domestic violence, as a lot of the time they are running with bags barely packed.

Obviously I have to hand it into the office headquarters as the shelter location has to stay confidential.

 

[Jaycey]

I've packed a whole load of stuff into vacuum bags and am going to donate it into a local shelter for women fleeing domestic violence, as a lot of the time they are running with bags barely packed.

Obviously I have to hand it into the office headquarters as the shelter location has to stay confidential.

What a FABULOUS idea! (I was going to split mine between charity shops and fat friends - but the friends aren't exactly hard up, unlike these women.)

Bravo to you, for going all through this but STILL finding the time to think about those less fortunate than yourself.

:happy096:
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[Lexie_dog]

It wasn't my idea actually, I stole it from Weightwatchers Veggie board many moons ago.

But yeah kids clothes and everything is useful.

Domestic violence support always advise women to pack bags for themselves and the children and leave them at a friends house or safe place in case of emergency, but if the abusive partner is so controlling that they might notice, theres not always an opportunity for that.

 

[littlemiss]

That is a brilliant idea!!

Today I have 10 bin bags of kiddies clothes, at my front door ready to go, spent the whole w/end doing it. my daughter is 5 and i've kept everything she's worn, its all going to the social work department, my mother in law is a social worker and she knows good homes that the stuff can go to.

I dont know if I will give away my bigger clothes, i might keep them in the loft or something

 

[Jaycey]

I dont know if I will give away my bigger clothes, i might keep them in the loft or something

Hmm, yes, joking apart - do you really want a crowd of CDers to come round your house and sort you out, lol?!

...............:whoopass:

(I've been dying to use those smilies, lol!! )
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[littlemiss]

hehehehehe.....i'm using the credit crunch as my excuse....what if i put the weight back on and have to buy clothes in a bigger size.

I might bin them and tell myself if i put the weight back on i'll wear a bin bag, that'll put me off.

 

[tillyfloss]

I threw out all my 22/24's the other day and I actualyl felt really energized.
I was left with a few 20's that now fit, and some 18's and 16's I can't get into it.
I am not going to buy anything until I am a size 18 (apart from a belt)so am going to just rehash the same outfits for another month lol
A real incentive to keep on the straight and narrow!

Well done for your brill losses and have fun shopping!!

x

 

[exp107]

I find it really cathartic too clearing out the stuff that's now too big, I have a big bag full in the corner of the bedroom that I keep adding to it's going to my step Mum who is doing WW, but I'm not seeing her til the 19th of May so until then I'll just keep adding to it, so far it has 26's, 24's and hopefully by the time I see her it will also have 22's I'm somewhere between 20-22 atm

 

[YummyMummy04]

You are not alone hun i funny enough went thro all my clothes friday! It made me feed really sad and i cried too!

You are right i have hidden behind these clothes too.

The other weird thing is i have gone shopping a coupe times now and each time i have brought something "baggy" and its been too big and not very flattering. It is really weird buying things i didnt think 6 months ago i would even dream of wearing or looking right on me!

Brilliant idea about the womans refuge. I am going to donate half my clothes to them and EBay the rest as i need funds to buy new clothes. I also have loads of childrens clothes and toys too so see if the womans refuge needs them too.

 

[*Mojo-jojo*]

aww i dont know what to do with my 26's! i have packed them up and put them under the bed ???? i want to keep them for when im thin so i can get them out for pictures when i can fit one of me in one leg!!!! ahahaaa

 

[Jaycey]

I did it last time and found it quite cathartic, but also scary. Especially those items that you always return to because they make you feel good or thinner. You've done so well. At your current weight, with the height you have, I bet you look amazing. You'll be one of those people I look at with envy when I go clothes shopping! x

Thanks! But even though I've lost weight all over, when I look at myself in the nude, I've still got a huge belly compared to the rest of me! When I go to my WI tomorrow, I'm going to talk to my CDC about how I actually look and feel, rather than harp on about weight all the time (I don't seem to have much trouble dropping just a few pounds a week - that suits me fine).

The belly gets flattened and pulled in when I wear jeans etc., but I want to get rid of it altogether. I'm probably going to have to move my target weight to make this happen. (11 stone was never really low enough for me - only just under 'overweight').

My CD heroine is Porgeous - just look at her fab pix here - http://www.minimins.com/members/3269-porgeous.html - she went down far lower than she thought she could, all without any exercise! If she can do it, then so can I - that's what I tell myself anyway!

PS. Re the clothes subject, I'm a bit stuck because I don't really want to go shopping yet. I'm a 16 now but I want to be a 14, so don't want to waste much money on buying things that will eventually be too big. It's a difficult time! :sigh:

 

[Jaycey]

Just by chance, a size 18/20 friend rang me today, to tell me that she's lost her job and is really hard up. Just found a home for my clothes! Things like that make you feel better about everything really. (And I'm a firm believer in what goes around, comes around...)

WI tonite - let's hope this Monday ends as well as it started!