Does anyone ever go shopping and buy pants, for example, in a much smaller size as an incentive/goal? I bought a pair of size 5 pants a while back for this very year... and I can actually squeeze into them now! Don't ask me to sit down or feel comfortable, but I can officially squeeze into them and zip them up.

Does anyone ever do this as a goal piece of clothing? I find that it's very effective (for me anyways) and it's a relly good measuring tool to see how something used to fit and how it now fits. Our bodies are changing but the clothes aren't so it's a great way to see how far you've come!

PS. As for me bucking down - I did so this past week and shed those extra 5lbs that had crept up on me (most of it which was water retention obviously) I'm back down to 145. (A week ago the scale read 150)Phhhewwww.

In the past year i hv lost 140 lbs (Weight Watchers). I did buy clothing that was slightly too small to fit into that day but i knew wud prob fit w/in 4-6 weeks...but what i hv learned is that more important than just fitting, or buying it on sale is how good it looks on me...also, how does it mix/match with other garments in my new wardrobe (i've gone from a men's 5XL to a
2XL or XL (depending on manufacturer). We hv some good large men's stores here in San Francisco

Sounds like you are close to your goal. good luck!

What brand pants are those? If your scale is telling you that you weigh 145 and you're getting into Size 5 jeans, you need a new scale.

Congratulations!

I tried it once or twice when I was much thinner, and when I lost enough weight to fit into the ite, it didn't fit right. Big waste of time, money, and hope. I find that even clothes I wore regularly don't always fit the same when I lose enough weight to fit back into them. Now I try to keep only clothes that fit well and look good. No fat(ter) clothes to fall back on, and no thin(ner) clothes to taunt me. Besides, my wardrobe budget is almost non-existant so I only buy what I need, when I need it.

I keep a pair of "goal" jeans hanging on my bedroom door as a daily motivational tool. So far, I've been able to work through two pairs, and the third is on the door now. I try them on about every week or two weeks, and nothing feels better than when they finally fit. And they've always looked great to me when I get there. The small investment in the cost of the jeans is well worth the motivation boost.

I used to think along those lines, but then I began to realize that things may not fit the way I hope they do when I am at goal, and by that time, given how much I have to lose, I will want to go shopping and enjoy that! I think overtime I found it stressful and depressing, so I've since not done that

Yes, I do it all the time. If I see a particular item that I like and it's on sale I will buy it a size smaller. But I'm much larger then you. I was dropping sizes like every 3 or 4 weeks for a bit. I need clothes as I go along.

But yes, I find this very effective. Though now as I'm getting a bit smaller, I'm getting a bit more nervous as to just how quickly I will be wearing that new item.

I do that...and also, I keep a pair of something I wore at my highest weight in my drawer. On those days where my weight doesn't seem to be budging- I put them on. It reminds me of how far I have come and to hang in there!!! The best part is that I can remember when I used to put these jeans on and stuff towels in between me and the pants- just so they would sttttrrrrreeeeeeccccctch out and I could wear them!! Now they hang off me. It's a real motivator!!
This is always a positive thing to do if you have had a day where you have not been "good". It is again, a good reminder, that one bad day does not a diet destroy.

I have done that too with a washcloth or two. LOL. The things we will do!!!

This isn't true at all...women who weigh 145 can be anywhere from a size 9/10 down to a size 3/4, depending on their body composition, height, and body type. MrsJim, a former mod here, was in the 140's and wore a size 4, I believe...and I think Meg, a mod and maintainer here, wears a size 4 and she is about 135, I think.

I would also like to add, that yes, I do buy smaller clothing as an incentive-but I wouldn't buy, for instance, a size 12 if I was still a size 18-I would buy a size 16-a size smaller.

I have all my skinny clothes still from when I was thinner a few years ago!! Thats my motivation!! Right now is HORRIBLE my fat clothes dont fit and my next size in the closet doesn't quite fit (which is 2 sz's down from what I'm wearing) 10 more lbs and I can wear those, and get rid of these fat jeans!! Hoping begining of March maybe...

I had way too many problems with clothes not fitting RIGHT once I shrunk into them...too baggy in one spot, too tight in the chest and loose in the waist, etc. My body is a little difficult to fit, so I really have to try things on when they are the correct size to know if they will work at all. So no motivational clothes for me.

I've only done this when I am consistently dropping weight, and the clothes are only a size down.

I did it this year around Christmas (bought myself a holiday skirt that wouldn't really be appropriate for any time of year), except I started GAINING after I got it! I'd save it till Christmas 2007, but it's going to be far too large by that time. Or, at least, that's what the plan is.