Clothes that don't fit

[Themintwiththehole]

For a long time my weight was pretty stable. So my main reasons for getting rid of clothes would be if they wore out or if I went off them. Unfortunately my weight has gone up quite rapidly in the past couple of years and now I have quite a lot of decent clothes, which I like but which I can no longer fit into, including most of my Summer clothes. Do I get rid of them all and buy bigger sizes? Or would keeping all the smaller sized clothes incentivise me to lose the weight? These might seem like silly questions but I'm quite new to all this having never needed to diet before.

I’ve lost weight recently, some clothes I saved still fit and look ok. Many others are now out dated or don’t suit me anymore. I’ve now decided to buy less clothes and wear out the ones that I have. And I’ve taken a few things to the charity shop after having them in the wardrobe for years.

Oh and having clothes that were too small in the wardrobe never made me want to lose weight

I think you do need something to wear now. When my weight has gone up I tend to buy a pair of jeans (as my weight sits on my lower half) and I can still make the tops work.

I personally don't subscribe to the 'buy clothes for what you are now' philosophy. It is often touted by stylists with a vested interest so I am cautious. Fundamentally if you aren't the weight you want to be and you are committed to losing weight then why would you want to spend vast amounts more money on clothes when you have a wardrobe of nice items.

What I did do though, for clothes I absolutely needed e.g. trousers for work, was look at my natural body shape and the styles that suit it, as one dress size doesn't make too vast a difference if the clothes are the right cut for you.

I am also using my weight loss journey as a chance to reduce my wardrobe and develop my style a bit more, so gradually decluttering things that I didn't wear a lot and didn't work. I am still only buying on a needs must basis but soon (I have a holiday coming up so there is a deadline) I will be closer to my weight goal and feel more confident about buying some more clothes.

I suppose you could pick some existing items that are a real incentive for you. I have some cotton flare trousers that look so stylish when I am the weight I used to be. I can now do them up but still a little way to go before I can wear them out. That is an incentive for me.

I lost a lot of weight a few years ago, and sold a lot of my nicer larger clothes on e-bay. I've subsequently put a big chunk of that weight back on (thanks, lockdown!) and am slowly losing it again. I'm definitely using the smaller clothes I bought when I was at my thinnest as something to aim for - I have try on sessions every month or so and get really happy when a few more clothes can move to the "can wear" section of the wardrobe. Having said that, you do indeed need something decent to wear while you go through the process of losing weight - I've got identical jeans in different sizes as a result. And I'm keeping those when they get too big for me - I've got a storage box that is gradually filling up..