Hi everyone! I just started a new weight loss plan a few months ago and have been hearing about this site for a while so I thought I'd come check you out. I have lost 25 pounds but want to lose AT LEAST another 125 so I have a long road ahead of me.

Not to sound superficial but a big motivator for me is clothes. Of course I want to be healthy and energetic but I also want to shop in a "normal people" store. All of my adult life, my displays of fashion have been dictated by the whims of whoever designs lane bryant styles (i realize there are other plus sized stores but still...)....I love art and fashion and I want to have more freedom in my wardrobe options than my current size provides. I have the moment when I buy my first outfit at a "normal" sized person store so romanticized in my mind lol

Those of you who experienced it: can you tell me what it was like when you first were able to do this? Thanks

Kat

Kat, welcome to 3fc's and congratulations on your weight loss!

There's nothing wrong or superficial about being motivated by regular sized clothes. We're all motivated by different things here, but this one seems to thrill everyone.

The first time I fit into clothes that weren't plus sized I was in JC Penneys and I went into a dressing room and just sat down and cried. I'm not much of a cryer, but it had been twenty long years since I'd last seen that size.

Stick around; post often and let us cheer you on to your goal. I know you can do it!

Thanks, Tai! Wow! 140 pounds lost? that's awesome!

thats my reason tooo!!!! all i want is to be able to go to any store i want and fit into clothes there and not have to go to lane bryant or torrid or old navy plus

congrats on your first 25 pounds lost!

i have one mini goal that i reached today i had to buy a dress for my dads wedding and when i tried it on last month it was a 20 and today when i went to place the order for it the 18 worked!! well almost but i had like 3 inches of zipper left to zip up and you know what ive never been so amped! i told everyone! haha even the ladies in the store! haha
the wedding isnt until jan 10th so i know i will be able to fit into it by then! woo hoo!

wow! a size 18 sounds like such a pipe dream right now! congrats!!!

The closest I've ever come to that was two days ago actually... I walked into Old Navy and bought a pair of jeans in the store (even though they are size 20 it still counts to me) and brought them home and put them on.

I burst into tears. The last time I walked into Old Navy, bought a pair of size 20 jeans, and wore them was in 2004.

It's like I am going back in time. I cannot wait to walk into the gap and buy jeans, I have not been able to shop there (they carry larger sizes now, but only online and they started after I was already too fat to have gap on my radar) since I was in seventh grade and busted out of my size 16s.

yeah i was really excited when i heard those stores were carrying more sizes!

The first time I fit into size 12 pants I cried too. I really couldn't believe I had done it!!!

Now I'm back up to a 16 and working it back down again!!

I sobbed like a baby. A baby.

It was in Macys. department store. I had to sit down on the bench in the dressing room, I was crying so hard. It was a wonderful, wonderful moment. And it never gets old. I STILL get the biggest kick out of it and incredible pleasure from shopping anywhere and everywhere (including junior-sized stores, I'm almost 46). Yes I did this for my health first and foremost. I hadn't a clue I would get so into clothing. But I have - in a big way. My closets and drawers are overflowing. It's a WONDERFUL feeling, much better then I had anticipated.

I should also mention my 2nd time fitting into normal sized clothing. It was also in Macys. I thought the first time was fluke, like the shirt ran large, so I was back in the large sized department, but it was too big on me. So I had to go downstairs to the regular sized clothing and lo and behold - each and every item I brought into the fitting room fit me. It was no fluke. It was the real deal. It's an awesome feeling to be able to choose clothing that you really,really LOVE and choose because it's "you" as opposed to buying stuff just because it wraps around you. At 5 foot nothing and 287 lbs (a BMI of 56) I was a pound or two away from outsizing my self in Lane Bryant. I was getting too big for their largest sizes. The next step would have been Romans catalog. That fear was one of the things that finally propelled me to make the commitment to get healthy and lose the weight.

I greatly look forward to hearing YOUR story of rejoining the regular sized clothing club. You know it's possible, right? You keep on plugging away and it WILL happen. You CAN do this. Wait - you ARE doing this!!

I was slim until I started having kids 24 years ago. After I had my babies, I just started getting heavier and heavier. It's probably been at least 15 years since I was able to get into anything smaller than an 18, mostly 18W's really.

So a few years ago I had lost some weight and I went into Macy's. I tried on 16 slacks for work and they were too loose, so I tried on some 14's that fit. I got dressed, hung them back up on the rack, and then went out to the car and cried. I was totally freaked out. I don't even think I was happy; I was kind of panicked and I felt like a fraud, actually. Like I had a guilty secret, and that secret was that I was trying on pants that I shouldn't have tried on.

I know that sounds weird. This time around, I'm not so freaked out. My slacks are all size 14 and my jeans are size 12. THAT kind of was a shocker for me but I think I'm ready for it this time and I've already got my eye on the 10's. This time around, I feel a little bit more able to handle it. I've been losing more slowly and I think I've needed that time to slowly get comfortable with the changes in my body. It's disorienting, but at the same time, I feel like I'm starting to feel like......myself.

My first time in 16 years that I had fitted into a UK14 (US10) was last summer when I had lost around 90lb. I was not convinced that I was anywhere near this size and saw a really nice red linen jacket on a clearance rack. I started with a UK18 which absolutely swamped me, moved down to the 16 which was still a generous fit, finally trying on the 14 which although tight around the hips fit fine through the shoulders and bust. I got loads of compliments wearing that jacket and I told everyone who would listen about the size!

I've lost another 34lb since then and last week bought a UK12 (US8) dress.

Kitty

Routinely getting into UK 18s and 16s has been incredible, since while I live here, I'm actually American, and when I translate them into their US equivalents, my mind is blown. I haven't been this small since high school, vanity sizing or not. And these are not plus size shop 16s and 18s, they're mainstream retailers. When I started on this weight loss journey, if you'd told me I'd be wearing these sizes in about a year, I don't think I'd have believed it in my heart. Of course, now I'm here, all I can think about is getting smaller still.

I actually just went through this a couple of weeks ago. I had been wearing 22W's for my jeans and they were just getting so loose and worn I had to go jean shopping (anxiety!). I got a couple different sizes and tried on the 18W's first. Too big! I went to the misses size 18's and they fit. Ok, they are stretch jeans, but they fit! I was so happy. I think I am able to buy in the misses department for the most part now and I'm thrilled. So tired of 1X, 2X, 3X. And what a selection in the misses section! Oh, and I was in the dressing room with my 15 yo daughter. She said, "Way to go, Mom!" and I had to really work hard to keep from losing it right there.

Funny story though: I was admiring myself and I heard someone in one of the other rooms complaining that "they are still too big". The other person asked if she wanted a different size and she said, "No, these are already 0's, so they don't get any smaller". So, I guess we all have our issues!

I was in Old Navy, as others (maybe they're cut bigger? lol).

I took in three sizes. 18 - my old size, just in case. 16 - my expected size. 14 - just to see.

The 18s fell right off. The 16s slowly slid down my hips. The 14s zipped right up.

I didn't cry. In the middle of a crowded fitting room, I squealed like a baby pig and started dancing around. The attendant asked if I needed any help (lmao) and I just said, "They fit!" We'd just talked about how hard sizing is after having a baby, so she chuckled, said congrats and went back to work.

They looked really bad (too big on my flat butt), so I didn't buy them. But it was nice to hand her the pair victoriously and say, "They just aren't cut for my shape." Not "they're too tight/small". Oh no, the size was right, I just didn't like how they looked.

i literally cried too. i found a pile of my old size 14 and 12 clothes and decided to try them on. i didnt expect them to fit but i wanted to see how much more i had to lose before they did. i got every single pair on and zippered and about 1/2 of them fit comfortably. i wept tears of joy for a good 15 minutes.