Can anyone else not wear elasticated waists?

[FromTheAllotment]

Since I was a child I can’t wear anything right around my waist. Tights, leggings, jogging bottoms- I find them all painful, they make my stomach bloat, and if I try it then after about half an hour I need to go and lie down until the pain passes. Doesn’t matter whether I’ve recently eaten or not.

I would love to be able to wear things like jogging bottoms as supposedly they are “comfortable”. I’m always in jeans, because I can get them to a size where they don’t actually press inwards on me. Dresses tend to look awful on me.

Anyone else had this/ever found a solution?

A combination of IBS and untreated historical diastasis recti (from an age 40+ pregnancy with rather extreme bump!) have left me with a huge, pregnant-looking stomach and nothing which could even remotely be described as a waist. No clothes fit me, because my 'waist' is a dress size larger than my hips and bust, so it's elastic all the way, but unfortunately the elastic on most clothes is in the wrong place for my shape and I have similar issues to you. Even the elastic on underwear can give me two stomachs instead of one, and the 'upper belly' then sometimes rubs up against my boobs and chafes me.

I've taken to wearing leggings back to front so that the elastic comes all the way up to my ribs at the front, and am now seriously considering buying some maternity trousers and skirts (despite being 52 lol) because the soft belly band part looks really appealing right now! Also it would enable me to buy the correct size to fit my hips instead of having lots of baggy material down there, which is what happens if I buy to fit my 'waist'.

There's something psychological about the idea of buying maternity clothes when you're not pregnant though isn't there - like it's shameful or something? What's that about? Just another form of fat shaming I guess. But the fact is that even if I lose weight, my belly still stays larger than the rest of me. It's just how it is now and I’m a bit fed up with feeling uncomfortable. So I’m trying to pluck up the courage to order maternity trousers (and dreading all the pregnancy/baby ads which Google will then throw my way if I do! )

Good luck!

I have the same issue @FromTheAllotment, but I find that jeans are the worst of all! I tend to wear leggings that come up quite high, so that they're not tight in any one area. I try on lots of trousers before I buy, and never anything with a firm waistband, like jeans. I don't wear elasticated waistbands but do wear lots of stretchy clothes.

The AllSaints leggings with a skirt are my favourite (though pricey) and GAP activewear leggings are also great - they come up above the belly button.

I find any sort of wool horrible, and recommend fleecey tops! Not the most stylish but I'm always very comfortable and cosy :)

I bought maternity exercise joggers by mistake in M&S sale - they are sooo comfy and softly cradle my tummy as though it was a baby! Go for it, nobody will know except you.