I bought all my clothes at Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers and Consignmennt Shops while I was my way down. Saved a lot of money that way. When I no longer needed that size I donated them back.

No worse feeling in the world. I once had a sales associate ask "Ma'am, is everything okay?" Crying turned to hysterical laughter. I'm sure they thought I was thoroughly mad.

I'm working on losing 150 lbs again. I'm about 40lbs from the lowest weight I had achieved then -- actually my lowest weight since high school! And, I spent all of about 2 minutes there before I began spiraling back up! ugh! Sometimes I find myself thinking that I really haven't begun to lose...since I'm just relosing down to that previous point again. I know that's a sick mindframe, but I admit that I think it. I will have lost over 100 lbs by the time I get to 200 this time... that's a lot of credit that I need to be taking, NOW!

I have a lot of clothes from that last attempt, and it's been thrilling to just be able to shop my closet and wear the cute things I had bought several years ago. I found a plus-size resale shop and took a lot of my size 24 summer outfits there. Last time I checked, I had about $100 in store credit to spend! (I could also take a check) I always find cute things, and most are very gently worn or new with the tags! I also shop goodwill, and it's time consuming, but if you're diligent, you can find some great items - like new. It's not a quick shopping trip, though.

I really love determining that an outfit is now just too big for me. I take it straight to my spare bedroom and put it in the pile that will go to the resale shop. Before I found the resale shop, I took things to a local women's shelter. They told me that they ALWAYS need good, clean plus-size clothing, and I felt great knowing that someone would get good use out of them.

Funny story.... During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, my city welcomed a LOT of evacuees from New Orleans. My church volunteered at our convention center and we spent a week helping to make people comfortable and find more permanent places to stay. At the time, I was at my highest weight, and I had the most horrifying thoughts. "What if I had to leave my home with just the clothes on my back and very little money?" "What would I do if I couldn't find clothes to fit me?" So, I went out and bought every pack of big 'ol Granny Panties I could find to donate to the cause. (really, aren't those the most comfortable?) I prayed for the women who would be able to receive new "drawers" in just their size. :)