I'm noticing that a new outfit that makes me feel thin and sexy is replacing the feeling I get everytime I see a new low number on the scale and as the new low numbers are becoming few and far between and will soon be ceasing altogether, I NEED more outfits
New running clothes do the same thing and so do new recipes using new clean foods that aren't in my pantry $$$$$
I think I replaced eating binges with spending binges... ok, not really, don't worry, I won't be on that "Hoarders" show any time soon. But I have been doing a lot of shopping and unfortunately I'm not exactly thrifty. I can't believe my DH hasn't lowered the boom on me, but I think he knows how excited I am about my new size and the clothes I can wear -- and I think he likes it too. I treated myself to some new Hudsons a couple months back and I KNOW he likes those.
Yes, thrifty is not my thing. I got my my first pair of designer jeans today! I got them at the Saks outlet, but it didn't hurt the wallet any less. I think it's so stupid to spend over $100 on jeans, but they fit and feel amazing! I got a pair that were classic so they'll get a lot of wear and they're dark wash so I can wear them to work. So I feel a little better about my purchase, but they're self indulgent none the less and I love them!
You lost 125 pounds - buy all the designer jeans you want!
I am hoping once I get things under control and achieve a maintenance lifestyle that I'll be a little more willing to spend more on nicer things. I need to remind myself that it's okay to spend more on nice clothes versus spending the same amount on 15 different pieces from cheap places that are fairly low quality and fall apart.
I am hoping once I get things under control and achieve a maintenance lifestyle that I'll be a little more willing to spend more on nicer things. I need to remind myself that it's okay to spend more on nice clothes versus spending the same amount on 15 different pieces from cheap places that are fairly low quality and fall apart.
Sometimes it's fun to get the "latest look" at the cheap places because you know it's something you'll only wear a couple of times.
I buy jeans online from Eddie Bauer ($60) and Land's End ($40) because they are a perfect fit for my very curvy (aka big *ssed) figure.
My indulgence is cashmere sweaters. Again I get the lower end ones but they feel sooo soft and they look great with anything from casual to luxe.
Mudpie, off topic but I love your kitty avatar, it looks exactly like my cat!
On topic, buying new clothes that fit is making me broke as well. I'm not shopping right now though, all my money has to go to Christmas and my wedding! At least I have a reason to stop now.
I feel sad when I try to wear old clothes I really love and they are far too baggy on me. I miss some of my old clothes
Last edited by StephanieM; 11-09-2010 at 08:17 AM.
I have to watch this, actually. It was one of the behaviors that characterized my eating disorder days.
Back in the day, when I was hungry, or near bingeing, and needed to distract myself, I'd go to store & start loading up my arms with things to try on. I'd arrive at the dressing room with so much stuff, it probably looked like a walking clothes pile, with my eyes just visible over the top of the heap. I could stay in that dressing room changing clothes for more than an hour. And yes, I bought too much.
I know the behavior is complex, its causes not easily summarized in a post here, and also has to do with self-expression & appears more often when I am not creating other things or involved with creativity. My appearance becomes a kind of artwork or performance art. Hard to explain ...
Recently, over the past month, I've been buying lots of clothes again, after buying sporadically & very carefully, piece by piece, to replace things as needed. It's not hurting me financially because I've been getting stuff second-hand. Still, I'm trying to stop. I don't think it's a good behavior for me to engage in. I think there's an element of obsessive/compulsive disorder involved.
The more I work at this ... thing, whatever it is, that challenges my life & is so self-defeating ... the more I realize that I have a set of emotional reactions & behaviors that are nearly predictable, and if one avenue of expression for them is cut off -- like food & bingeing -- they manifest in other behaviors. Focusing on a particular interest can be one of them. So now it's clothes & shoes. Now I have to work on this, in addition to the Eating Thing.
Oh Saef! I'll see your clothes, and shoes, and raise you handbags. I LOVE handbags too much as well. I hadn't ever realized my shopping addiction was actually a problem. I love new outfits, new things, (even second hand it doesn't matter)
Guam, maybe your shopping isn't really a problem. (I mean, much as I do like you, maybe we're not completely identical twins separated at birth. ;-) Mine very well might be -- I'm basing it on how & when I turn to it, and my feelings at that moment when I do. And searching myself & trying to identify the feelings tells me it's partly a stress-related behavior or a seeking out of stimulus in a moment of online browsing at the office just when I have the nameless work-related dread & a great weariness of the gray cubicle land. That's why I'm watching it.
Kittycat, yeah, I hear you. I've had that happen in several of the consignment shops in Manhattan, particularly the cluster on Madison Ave in the 70s. The good news for me is, I've settled at a weight that is heavier than most of the wealthy women that buy those kinds of clothes, so when I am in such a shop, I'm once again, in effect, at the equivalent of a plus size. That does a number on my self-esteem, so it feels much better to b*%$^tch about the high prices. And they are too high anyway. When a blouse is a mortgage payment, I have psychological difficulty with forking it over.
I'm pretty sure I'm a stress shopper too saef. While I lucked out on not being a stress/emotional eater, it's more expensive to binge on clothes than to binge on candy bars! Buying things for the sake of buying them can always elevate a mood. Parting with my larger size wardrobe is terrible because I spent literally thousands of dollars amassing all those clothes (I buy fairly inexpensive clothes but in great quantities). I am very afraid of what will happen when I reach goal weight/size and allow myself to shop.
I practically only clothes shop 2nd hand. It has to be an "emergency" event that will force me into a regular department store. The bright lights and music, the small racks so tightly clustered together makes me dizzy. I get lost in the maze. Because I'm a little obsessed with "neat and tidy", I try to keep my closets, cupboards, and dresser drawers under control by regular attacks. Back to the thrift store they go. In one door, and out the other.
I'm the SAME way!!! I used to despise shopping and literally had not bought a new article of clothing for about two or three years before I started losing weight. I hated looking at clothes, I hated the mall/stores, I hated trying things on, I hated the whole process. I thought all the stylish clothes were too flamboyant, all I wanted to wear was sweats, jeans, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. I didn't just hate clothes shopping, it was accessories, shoes, purses, etc. And although I knew I wasn't comfortable in most clothes (because I wasn't comfortable in my own skin), I never really made the connection that I hated shopping because I was overweight. I thought I just didn't enjoy the activity.
All of a sudden I find myself wanting to shop every weekend. If I pass a boutique, I want to go in it..."just to look." I find myself paying attention to what others are wearing to get a better idea of the current looks. I look at my favorite stores' websites every few days to see if they have anything on clearance or new things in the store. I was in a bad mood the other day, and I actually went to Old Navy just to try clothes on! I knew I didn't have the money to buy anything, so I just went to look and try on some styles. What the heck! Shopping went from being my most hated activity to one of my favorite pastimes, lol.
So yes, I'm feeling the toll it's taken on my wallet also. I'm in a college town, and we have an exchange/second hand store with all the college kid trends. I have traded in my feeble wardrobe from when I was overweight and even though I'm mostly buying second hand stuff, it's still getting expensive.
Maintenance is going to hurt my wallet...
