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Not a bad problem, but a problem nonetheless...
So I've been fighting with weight loss since I got engaged in June. Then almost two weeks ago I finally joined Weight Watchers because my dieting on my own was not working. I lost 3% of my total body weight last week! And even though I haven't been good about exercising this week (I'm sleeeeeeepy this week, and I blame the sudden cold weather) I think I'm going to be losing a decent amount again.
Well, my pants don't fit. Like, straight up look huge. I'm half tempted to take a picture of my waistline right now with the belt scrunching up the top of my pants (I had to wear a long cami like shirt under my blazer to hide the clown-like display that is the waistline of my pants right now). Many people would think "wow, that's awesome. Why is this b*tchy bee complaining about losing weight?!?" Well, I'll tell you why...I HAVE TO WEAR A FREAKING SUIT EVERYDAY! That means, my clothes are not cheap. And the idea of getting all my pants taken it would be quite expensive too!
I'm happy about the weight loss, but I'm not happy about the prospect of not being able to tuck in any shirts until I can afford to either get new pants or get my pants altered. Looks like I won't be asking for anything fun for Christmas...just pants.
Did anyone else not realize how expensive it would be to lose weight?
PS - my clown pants are proof that cutting out refined carbs will make your waistline shrink. If you're trying to get rid of your belly pooch, say bye-bye white bread...
That really is awesome that you have lost so much weight! This is really encouragning for me because I have about 5-10 since the wedding that I need to loose otherwise I need to go buy new clothes!
@caszos: The things they say work really do work...no refined carbs, plenty of fat free dairy and fruits/veggies and I'm just melting. But I haven't "cheated" on the diet at all. Even my treats are healthy (like low fat chocolate soy milk when I have a hankerin' for some chocolate)
I'm on WW, too, and I've done it in the past, so I totally know what you're saying. But you can look at it this way -- it's better than your pants being too small!
Congrats on your progress! 
A few things though:
Don't drastically cut fat. Your body fat, if you drastically cut it out, your body actually hangs onto it's existing fat even more. Dietary fat doesn't cause body fat.
I eat full-fat everything. Three reasons:1. You absorb more nutrients; many nutrients are fat-soluable. From a glass of skim-milk, your body only absorbs about 5% of the calcium; from a glass of whole-milk, your body absorbs about 50% of the calcium.2. Fat-free versions of food are usually WORSE for you. They load up on sugar or strange chemical flavorings to try to still make it taste good. Sometimes the "low-fat" versions are even higher in calories because of added sugars!3. It tastes better! :)
"Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig & Sally Fallon
I know you didn't mention soda, but no "Diet" soda either. Some studies show that the artificial sugars like aspartame actually increase hunger and cravings because they don't give you the "full" feeling.
Also be wary of soy. Soy acts an an anti-nutrient and actually blocks your body from absorbing nutrients from other foods. The only soy we should even eat is fermented soy (tempeh, miso). Not tofu or soy milk.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025513_soy_food_soybeans.htmlhttp://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/dangers-of-soy.html http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Alert/
@curlyncurvy: That is a wonderful point!
I'm not looking forward to when the older (aka bigger) ladies I work with get here and start bugging me to stop dieting though. I tried to hide the clown pants as best I could, but its still noticeable... (And yes they know I'm dieting because they LOVE bringing in treats and noticed quickly when I started turning them down. Now the fact that I'm trying to lose weight/be healthier is like a joke to them)
I'm on WW as well...and have lost the first 5% of my weight...and now I'm working on the 10%...it really does work if you follow the plan...it works better if you don't cheat...but I cheat a little here and there...but if you're going to "cheat" a little, you HAVE to exercise to counteract...it's a great plan.
PS - if you like sweets, try and find products from the Butterfly Bakery (www.thebutterflybakery.com). I find them in Giant Eagle's bakery section. I am diabetic, so these products are sugar free and they are so delicious. For example, you can have 1/4th of an angel food cake for 2 POINTS!!! They also make regular products but made with natural ingredients. Check out the website because if you don't live near a store that carries it, they will actually ship it to you. I LOVE IT!
@abbyful: I never had a high fat diet. If I drank a glass of whole milk I think I would vomit then sit on a toilet for hours (I don't have a gallbladder). And there are a lot of things that are naturally fat free, greek yogurt for instance.
I don't drink soda at all, all water all the time (except for one cup of coffee in the morning). And I hate artificial sweeteners. Actually I just hate to eat chemicals (they taste like metal to me)
And as for soy, I've never seen something that was anti-soy. I've always preferred soy milk over regular milk
Thanks for the advice, but (no offense) it sounds SUPER biased. There are plenty of ways to diet and be healthy at the same time (and there is research backing all of them).
@karatechick27: Congrats on your progress! And thanks for the tip...I'll have to check if my local giant eagle carries that brand!
@karatechick27: Congrats on your progress! And thanks for the tip...I'll have to check if my local giant eagle carries that brand!
Yup I had that problem too...I yo-yo-ed in weight during college...went from a size 4 to a size 2 and back up to a 4 and then back down to a 2...I got rid of my bigger/smaller jeans when they no longer fit, so I ended up having to buy the same pair of jeans twice! Very annoying...and now I no longer throw any clothes out just in case I go up/down in weight again! But congrats on the weight loss!! That's really great!
@hilsy85: I hope I don't yo-yo. At this point I don't ever plan on going back to the evil white bread (though I do miss eating donuts - they're my favorite), so hopefully I won't get any bigger any time soon. It just sucks because seriously, suits aren't cheap. And I had just bought a bunch of them since this past May because I just started working fulltime. So they're like practically brand new!
@ MandaMack -I'm not saying load up on everything fatty, I'm saying that you should eat a moderate amount of fat. Fat is healthy.
Real some of the books on diet and nutrition that are out there. Here's just a few:
"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan
"Real Food" by Nina Planck
"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Weston Price DDS
"Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes
"The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith
"The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain PhD
"Cereal Killer" by Alan Waston
"The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson
The government food pyramid and the like (others that follow it, such as AHA) is way off-base from what we should actually be eating. What they tell us to eat is based on business and politics, not on health.
We as a nation, despite many people trying so hard to eat "healthy", are one of the most unhealthy nations on th planet. Especially in the last several decades since the government has started teaching the food-pyramid.
"And as for soy, I've never seen something that was anti-soy."
Have you actually ever done any research on it?
You've probably never seen something that said saturated fats were good either; but recent studies show they are an essential fat and not a "bad fat" as previously thought. In fact, there was never any research showing them as a "bad fat"! But everyone that hasn't done their research on fats thinks they are bad simply because that's what they have been told. Not everything you hear is true, even if it's on the news or a goverment/health website. Most of that informtion is just hear-say that gets passed along; no new research behind it, often no research period!
@abbyful: I respect your opinions, but please don't hijack my thread that is about pants with conspiracy theories. You read that I cut out refined carbs and drink soy milk for a treat and somehow decided I needed advice. My diet is working because I've put research into it. If you want to talk about food-pyramid-conspiracies make another thread. And as I stated before, there's plenty of research to back many diets. For each of those books you mentioned there's probably a book that says the exact opposite that is considered equally reputable by certain people. And for the record, fat is really unhealthy for me since I had my gallbladder removed. My body can no longer digest fat efficiently, and eating fat makes me get sick. Like I said in a PP I love donuts, but even when I would eat them (since they are fried) I would be sitting on a toilet for a half hour to 45 minutes.
@abbyful: Google "the benefits of soy milk" and see what comes up. My mother, a nurse, who is incredibly active and healthy (at the age of 53) has been drinking only soy milk since I was a toddler. Your beliefs are not the only beliefs. And for the record, not only have I researched soy, but a nutritionist told me (I don't know if it is related to the whole gallbladder thing or not) that I should definitely stick to soy milk (I started seeing a nutritionist when I started dieting in June). And, again, no offense, but I'm gonna have to believe the nutritionist on this one.
Congrats on your weight loss!! And I want to say that I had the exact same problem. When I went from a size 8 to a size 2 I was also working in a business formal environment. And the last time I fit into a size 2 was a looong time ago when I had just started working, so I actually couldn't wear my old clothes since they were so out of style!
It is really expensive to lose weight when you wear suits to work, so I just slowly bought new things that fit. A pair of pants here, a shirt there, and eventually full blown suits when I knew I wasn't losing any more weight. Pants, you can take to a tailor and have taken in at the waist but JACKETS are a problem. It's pretty much impossible to make a jacket smaller and still have it look normal. I lost the majority of my weight in my upper half, so I absolutely looked like I was wearing football gear after a little while. And jackets are the most expensive item, great.
But the good news is that since it's so expensive you will be REALLY inclined to keep the weight off! :) That's a big part of my motivation, DH and I are trying to save $ like crazy and I've already thrown out my fat clothes, so there's no turning back. Good luck!!!
@moderndaisy: I'm planning on telling my mom I either want money to buy new clothes or new clothes for Christmas, lol. Saving for the wedding leaves little spending money 
@MandaMack - Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm simply saying to research stuff before you bad-mouth it. You were the one that brought up your diet; I was simply commenting trying to help you because you've been misinformed about soy and eating a lot of soy can negatively affect your health. Guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.
@abbyful: i love you.
seriously. i LOVE people who know how GREAT it is to eat full-fat!!!!! i'm a low-carber myself and LOVE Mary Enig and Sally Fallon!
Also - YES soy is NOT good for you! http://blog.wholesoystory.com/
as for the OP - congrats on the weight loss!!! I totally feel you, though - while losing weight IS great - it can be expensive when you have to wear nicer clothes to work and don't have the money for it. I know. but congrats either way!! :D
ETA - while you're doing what works for you (which of course is great!) I would just suggest - to get every side of things - research Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon and the truth about fat. I know you're not looking for advice on your diet, since you've found what works for you - but I did ww for years, LOVED it but found that for me, i couldn't maintain it because for ME the low-fat thing did NOT work...I have insulin resistance which means - again, for ME I needed to eat high-fat, low-carb. but at least research them and see what they have to say too! (yes, I know everyone is different - but i truly believe fat IS healthy for everyone.)
also - for the pants thing - i found what worked was - at christmas time, I asked people for gift cards to kohls last year! my husband was awesome - as was my mom - and I was able to get some things that fit! :)
@abbyful: So you are advising that I go against the recommendations of a professional nutritionist because you told me to? And I never asked for advice, again this thread was about pants. How can you comments on my diet when you don't know what I eat? And to be quite honest I don't know why you're so fixated on the soy milk thing when I specifically stated I would drink it as a treat when I had a chocolate craving. Generally treat means moderation. In general I believe too much of anything isn't a good thing.
@abbyful: And honestly I would like to know where I bad mouthed your views. All I said is I CANNOT eat full fat because I don't have a gallbladder and that there are many different healthy ways to diet.
Well this thread turned sour really quick.
For the record, WW encourages people to eat healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts and avocados.
@MandaMack: I did the Chrsitmas new clothes gift strategy as well! Some people don't understand that losing weight and wearing clothes that are too big is actually just as embarrasing as gaining weight and having clothes be too snug. It's embarrasing and you just end up looking like a slob who doesn't know how to dress herself after a while.
Good luck with the coworkers! Oh god I used to HATE it when the receptionist ladies would make comments about my weight loss. It's just so rude and uncalled for adn actually against the rules according to our employee handbook.
@curlyncurvy: I do eat some fats (like olive oil, I use it a lot in my cooking, or there are almonds in the granola that I use in my morning parfait), I was just saying I can't eat "full fat" (like whole milk) because I would actually get sick because I don't have a gallbladder.
Are there any seamstresses in your area? A lot of times for simple alterations like taking pants in they'll only charge like $10-$15. Might be better than buying a whole new suit.
@moderndaisy: It's like you can't win. If you're engaged and you're not dieting, people make a**hole comments about "fitting in your dress". If you aren't really overweight but trying to get healthier/thinner people make rude comments about how you shouldn't be dieting. Anyone who knows I'm doing weightwatcher says all the people at the meetings are going to hate me because I'm only a size 6 (and 5'8) but that doesn't make it any easier for me to lose the weight I would like to lose! ::rant over, lol::
@troubled: The lowest I've heard for taking in the waist of women's slacks is $35, but I'll have to keep looking! Hopefully I can find someone who will do it for $15 or less!!!!
I go to this little old russian lady. She doesn't have a website, just a phone number, but it seems like the people without websites are a good deal cheaper for alterations. Also, I've never had alterations done at Joann Fabrics but a couple of my friends used to and they were pretty cheap as well.
@JuneBride_26June2010: There is no "other side" for eating full fat for me. Like you being insulin resistant you need fat, me not having a gallbladder fat is the worst thing for me. I totally believe in looking at all angles, but when a nutritionist is telling you to do something based of off your health history, I don't think you should ignore them, know what I mean?
@troubled: I will have to look into Joann fabrics (or find myself a little old Russian lady, lol). Thanks for the advice!
@MandaMack: I'm agreeing with you. I was just defending WW to the other poster who seemed to think that you weren't eating anything containing fat. I'd probably get sick if I drank whole milk, too.
Also, I don't know if anyone else has suggested this, but sometimes you can find good seamstresses who work out of their homes. Ask around at work, etc., or check craigslist.
@MandaMack: You should ask any old ladies that you know for tailor recommendations. Every woman I know over 65 years of age has a tailor that they've been going to for forty years and is really cheap :).
@abbyful: I was simply commenting trying to help you because you've been misinformed about soy and eating a lot of soy can negatively affect your health. Guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.
Well, that's a wee bit condescending, don't you think? The thing about nutrition is there's a new theory every week with "research" to back it up. The scientific community is such that whoever has money can get a "study" done to back their position. Results are routinely skewed towards the bias of whoever is funding that particular study, so your view isn't necessarily the right one. I think @MandaMack is fine following the advice of her nutritionist over an anonymous poster on a messageboard.
@MandaMack, I feel you, girl! I also wear suits to work and lost over 30 pounds a year ago. Quite pricey. Then I started putting on weight again a couple months ago (right after I got rid of most of my bigger suits, of course.) DAMMIT! So now I'm dieting and exercising like crazy again. I cannot afford a wedding and new wardrobe at the same time!
For $35 bucks you can buy new (nice) pants at a TJ Maxx or Marshells. I've gotten full Tahari suits for 80 bucks!
Oooh, and I routinely find suits at Macy's when they're having crazy sales for 80 to a hundred bucks. I remember when I initially lost the weight (actually, I think it was 2 years ago), I looked like a little girl wearing my mommy's suits to work. I wanted to walk up to my clients and be all "hi, I'm lezlers, I'll be representing you. Got any crayons?"
Ugh.
Can you switch to dresses for right now? You could then belt them as you keep losing weight... this would probably be cheaper than buying new pant suits over and over. Also, you could take your current suits to a tailor and ask them to take them in--also probably cheaper. You could do this with your new dresses as well after they get too big. Congrats :)
@lezlers - Disgreement doesn't equal condescending. And you don't think it was condescending for MandaMack to call anything she hadn't heard before "conspiracy theories"?
Whatever, I'm over it. I'm not going to get into petty arguments about this. I provided her the information; if she wants to learn more she can read it, if she doesn't want to learn more she can ignore it. End of story.
@abbyful: Saying that the government is lying to the public for their own betterment is a conspiracy theory. That's not a good OR bad thing, I was just asking that you create a new thread about it instead of hijacking my thread that was about pants.
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