Clothing Issues

When losing weight, there are obstacles to overcome.  One obstacle that isn't necessarily thought of right away is clothing and the need for new, smaller stuff as the weight comes off.  And add a gym membership to the mix and you need an entire new wardrobe!  I was anticipating one of the problems and not the second.

Through my years of gaining weight, I didn't always get rid of the clothes I no longer fit in.  This, of course, made one heck of a mess in the basement where I stored garbage bags of clothes.  It was always my intention to lose weight and wear the small(er) stuff again.  One day I realized something:  When I lost the weight, I wouldn't want to wear the old, out-dated clothing and would want to reward myself with new stuff. So, I got rid of bags of clothes.  Thankfully, I hadn't gotten around to throwing out the last few sizes that I put in the basement and am very happy to have things I can wear without spending a lot of money on new.  While I happen to be between sizes right now, I have found enough old clothes that I can make-do until I need to buy some more.

When I started at the gym, no one said anything about a dress code.  Obviously, you need to wear appropriate gym clothes--pants/capris/shorts, athletic shoes, and t-shirts--but beyond that, everyone is able to wear what they are comfortable with.  Starting out, I wore my over-sized t-shirts and wide-legged yoga capris.  I most definitely didn't make a fashion statement with my clothes, but I was comfortable.  It didn't take me long to realize that I needed to upgrade my gym wardrobe to a certain extent and so I bought myself form-fitting capris.  I still wore/wear t-shirts, but they are a smaller size than before.  I found out that my trainer would prefer me to wear clothes that are more fitted than roomy--this makes it easier for him to see the muscles I'm working.  But, as long as he doesn't mind the larger shirts, I'll be happy doing what I'm doing.  It will take me a long, long time--if ever--before I wear gym tank tops or anything else that is tighter on top.  I am too used to worrying about being comfortable in my clothes and I won't be going backwards any time soon.

I knew I needed to get some sports bras when I joined the gym.  Can anyone tell me HOW and WHERE to buy one that is comfortable-ish AND will keep 'the girls' where they belong without jiggling too much?*  I started out okay.  NOT great, just okay.  And then I lost enough weight that what I had became too big.  But I haven't lost enough to go down to a size that is manufactured.  (As I said, I'm between sizes right now.)  So, I find myself wearing a slightly too small sports bra while training.  The bras I have aren't uncomfortable once I have them on, but they do cause one problem that I'm not thrilled with:  I have a uni-boob.  No matter how much I stuff, move, jiggle, readjust my chesticle area, the girls always migrate into one single boob within minutes.  It is NOT a good look.  And if anything is a good incentive to continue losing weight, this is it!

For the time being, I only need to get myself a couple of more pairs of pants/capris (and I'm not counting the needed bras) and I will be set for quite some time.  I am having no trouble with t-shirts, as I have started to make over some of my big ones and now I can wear them!  Giving a second life to stuff I already own is great--and it is saving me a whole lot of money.  I really am looking forward to the summer when I will have to buy a LOT of clothes.  (Hopefully.)  It will be fun to shop again when I can be assured of finding clothes that I actually can fit into.


*I'm sure I could find a bra easily if I wanted to spend $60+, but I'm anticipating going down quite a few more sizes and can't justify the cost for the short amount of time I would wear them.