January 2025 Starters Thread 8. New clothes, new shoes, new bodies...

[Thelittlestranger]

Roll up, roll up ....

@UnderandOverwhelmed parenting young children is so all-consuming I'm not surprised you don't have the energy for much more. Exercising has such benefits though, could you fit in a 30 min yoga session a couple of times a week to start you off?
I realise that I'm a total hypocrite here because I didn't do anything either when my kids were that age, but I really wish I had been tougher and carved out a bit of time to myself.

@MJalltheway DH is 6'4'' and according to his current growth chart, DS will be 6'7'' 😮
Quite lucky that the sport of our village is Basketball.

😱 6'7" is ridiculous! I'm hoping DS doesn't grow much more, it'd be such a pain to have to duck through every single doorway for the rest of your life. DS quite likes a game of basketball but is struggling to find a club nearby, hoping he'll get a chance to play at uni.

DS2 is almost 16 and stands at 6’3”. I’m hoping he’s finished growing!

Marvelling at the heights of your children!
DH is 5’11” so the boys may end up in the sixes. I’m tall for my side of the family, DM comes from a country of short people! I tower over my aunts and cousins at 5’5”. DF is from the Mediterranean so not many over 6’ there.

@UnderandOverwhelmed I remember that feeling well! Demanding job, toddler and lack of time does wear you down. Back then I used to take a ‘these things will pass’ approach, grit my teeth and plough on but decades on I look back on those times as some of my best and am frankly gobsmacked that I had superwoman powers. Enjoy what you can, endure what you can’t and you’ll get through it.

Yesterday’s unexpected daytime weight-loss has been maintained and the scale flickered on 9st 6.8 before settling at 9st 7 but I know which one I’m counting. Car will fail MOT unless I get something welded to something else so I’ve been trying to find someone who can fit it in (the dealership I got it from don’t do welding and the closest one is inconveniently located). I need to make a new pair of bottoms for my favourite, ie most flattering, tankini as the legs are just too big and almost led to an embarrassing incident. I tried altering them yesterday without success. Should be interesting as I’ll have to update measurements for the first time in a while.

I made some sugar free jelly yesterday for breakfasts. It proved to be a fabulous start to the day on holiday, low carb, low calorie and refreshing, so I’m interested to see how it works for me at home. No turkish delight sadly.

Have a great day losers and maintainers

Our nephew from DH's side is already 6'7'' so quite likely DS will be tall.
I'm from Northern Europe, average height for women in my country is 5'7 - so I've always considered myself shorter than average at my 5'6. Was also youngest in class, so always at the far end whenever we lined up my height. But in the UK, I'm suddenly tall, as average is 5'4''.

So I have actually lost, which is great as on Sunday I was actually up on my last Wednesday weight. 1.6lbs down and actually I've broken out of obese and into overweight!
SW 223.6
CW 176.4
GW 140
I'm hoping my DS is tall as my DH is 6'4 and it would be nice for him to take after him rather than me at a shade under 5'5!

DH was unusually tall for his age group at 6’4”. You don’t see many 60+ men much over 6ft even now. I was always petite at 5’1.5” but in recent years I’ve got taller and I’m now 5’3. Helps with the BMI but it’s not what you expect in menopause.

With a height difference like that everyone we came across from family to obstetricians seemed desperate to predict adult heights for the DSs. DS1 was born at 32 weeks weighing 2.49kg and safely on the 99th centile for height and weight. Predicted adult height - 6’8”, actual adult height 6ft. DS2 was born at 35 weeks weighing 3.1kg and on the 95th centile. Predicted adult height - 5’11, actual adult height 6ft 2.5 and built like the proverbial brick outbuilding.

So what I took from this is that predictions are rarely accurate, I grew bruisers of babies and I’m too lazy or impatient to bother with going to full term 🤣

Wow - I would say you're lucky you didn't grow them to full term, my DS was born at 39 weeks and weighed 5.1kg (11.2lb). My stomach felt like it had been stuffed with concrete, every time he moved I couldn't breathe and let's just say I will never again wear a bikini even if I somehow become skinny!

He's 7 now so will see how big he gets! He's taller than most kids in his class even though he's august born and the youngest.

Yes the predictions when they are born can't be that accurate. But I have DH's baby book and growth chart, and currently DS has always been tracing it, but 5 cm taller. He is super slim though, also takes after DH, I never had this problem. Challenge to buy clothes when he needs 10Y for waist but 15y for height..

and ouch @Bear2014 , 5 kilos!

@Bear2014 based on scans DS1 was predicted to be huge and I actually had an appointment the following week for a pelvis scan as he was expected to be over 5kg and a CS was being planned for 37 weeks. DS2 grew alongside a melon sized ovarian cyst so I know exactly what you mean about being stuffed with concrete 🤣

I stopped after 2. I’d had enough complications and frequent monitoring, admissions and tests to make pregnancy thoroughly unenjoyable. The DSs were worth it all though.

@HeavyHeidi My mother swore blind that you could tell adult height from a child’s height at 30 months. She was a centimetre out. The least accurate was the paediatrician. DS1 followed his curve until 16 but stopped growing. We were all relieved as 6ft 8 would have been difficult to clothe

That's interesting about the 30 months. Both my DC have tracked the 91st centile line exactly since about 1 year so probably will be spot on for them.

There's no way I would have been able to have any more DCs, two was my limit! My teeth started to fall apart as well, probably from making two chunky skeletons 😂

I'm 5ft9 and my 16 Yr old DS is 6ft 2! I feel really small next to him now but I always used to feel quite tall for a woman 🤣 xx

We're a tall family too - eldest dd and I are 5"8" and dh and the boys are 6"2"/6"3". Youngest dd is currently 5"4" but she's only 13 so plenty of time to grow as I keep reminding her - she's worried she'll end up the titchy one and is desperate to grow tall. I find this refreshing as I always hated my height when I was younger and didn't like wearing heels when I went out with my friends as they're all average and I felt like a giant next to them!

Glad things are moving for you again UnderandOverwhelmed!

@JoanCollinsDiva I'm similarly relieved being healthy and muscular is a good thing also for young women nowadays. DD is built like me, puts on muscle easily. But she's happy to be strong - while when I was a teenager, according to teen and women's magazines, muscles were the worst thing you could possibly have and you were cautioned against doing any squats or climbing, your legs will get too big. Definitely no heavy weights, stick to 0.5 kilo tiny pink dumbbells.

Hello lads!

I have just completed a mammoth jeans cull. I have reduced from approximately 752 pairs, to just four. Four pairs of jeans. Plus three pairs of Levi’s I still can’t squash my tummy into but am reluctant to part with yet.

I feel really anxious about only having four pairs of jeans but actually it’s completely sufficient and probably normal. I’m seeing, through this process, how some of my behaviours have not served me well over the years. Not just over eating.

Off to the ironing board then I will be swamping Vinted with denim!!!

Sorry, can we just revisit this post and ask @jins to explain how she has managed to grow?? That is definitely something I’d like to be able to do (not least for the BMI improvement)

@Aimingdown it’s a mystery 🤷

I measured 156.2 cm for most of my adult life then I hit menopause. In 2017 I had a shoulder fracture and osteopaenia was diagnosed. I was prescribed alendronic acid, took it religiously then the next time I was measured I was 160cm. The GP can’t explain it, the consultant can’t explain it and I have no idea either. Not sure I like it apart from the BMI advantage as I was quite attached to being 5ft 1.5.

I had just the same when I started making progress with MJ. My jeans cull was ridiculous and was clearly unhealthy - buying nice jeans hoping to fit into them time and time and time again. Even when I had ones that fit, I bought more and more.

It is interesting how it's all interconnected, isn't it?

My Jeans cull wouldn’t take long 🤣🤣🤣

The only jeans I own are my Y2K diesel and Miss Sixty that are somewhere in the attic. I had a pair that fitted in recent times but I’ve never worn them. I think the last time I wore jeans was probably 2006. I’ve had a couple of pairs of jeggings but I rarely wear them. Isn’t it funny how things change? Perhaps I’ll fall in love with jeans again.

I’ve had a bit of success with Prai for the crepey neck. It doesn’t seem as bad as it was. The arms though 🙈. Wrinkly bingo wings still. I’m hoping time and swimming will help and in the meantime I’m using body butter for very dry skin and will invest in something with wilder claims when I reach goal.

@Zempy same, and totally fell in love with Levis 725 and 726 styles now. Pricey, but luckily they often come up on various sales sites.

It is finally getting properly warm over the weekend, so I got out my 'skinny' shorts. You know, the ones I kept just in case. They are..too big. I have nothing to wear now.

That calls for a shopping trip HeavyHeidi!
I've bought a few things in the last couple of weeks now I'm where I want to be size wise. I have lots of lovely clothes already though in sizes 8-16 due to years of yo-yo dieting! Hoping this will be the year that all changes and that I have finally found something to help me long term and not go back to the larger sizes.

I had a huge cull about a month ago and ditched about 30 pairs of jeans! Mainly skinny style which I've reluctantly accepted are no longer fashionable 😂 Im sure they'll come back eventually but I had pairs I'd not worn for years so have just kept a couple of pairs and have bought a few new baggier style ones. I've found the barrel style jeans from next are quite flattering.