My Gastric Bypass Journey- A personal weight loss story- Wardrobe

As you lose the fat, post gastric bypass, it falls off FAST in the first few months and you need to be able to keep up in the closet department, especially if you work outside the home.  Also, it is important for your self -esteem to look good. Now that you are feeling better and your body is important to you. It is time to clean out those fat clothes and prepare for you new self.

This doesn’t just mean replace what you have, it means find the new you! And do it on a budget.

Your size changes approximately every 20 pounds. Measure yourself. Bust, Under bust, Waist and Hips for women. You can watch your sizes change as you look at catalog sizing charts. Fat is fluffy so remember to measure and not always believe the scale.

My reduction in size meant a new couple of outfits once a month in the first few months. Nothing shows off the weight loss than clothes that fit.  For years I wore loose fitting clothes in black with accessories to give color. Now I want color!!

I keep one outfit from my largest size to show me how far I have come but I have donated (tax deductible) or sold everything else.  It took me awhile to go through my sizes, as like everyone with weight problems I had clothes I had never worn because I bought them small with the hope I would get into them someday. Of course many were in the wrong season as I blew past that size. When you go from a 24/26 to a 12/14 in 7 months that will happen to you.

Don’t make the mistake of giving your old clothes to your friends who are the size you once were. They take it as an insult and it is hard enough to manage friendships as you succeed and they struggle, that is future blog discussion…

Here is how I changed up my wardrobe spending as little as possible:

• Throw away damaged or well-worn items
• Separate the designer/well-made clothes from the day to day clothes
• Donate to charity
• Donate to theater groups (especially if you have costumes like I did) There are always plus size actors that need costuming- for years I supplied my own
• Consign – I have two shops near me that I like that have nice things and are “hip and trendy.” I take a bag in once a month and trade down. That’s trade down in size.
• Find your new style- I use a service called Stitch Fix that is online and you fill in a profile and they send you a box of outfits, typically 5 pieces. You do not pay unless you keep them. This way you can try on new things and either love and keep and pay or send back or send back and go find alike styles at your local Walmart/target/Marshalls (oh and can I say how much I love Marshall’s/TJMAxx)
• Shoe sizes change too so be prepared to shoe shop

Happy shopping!!