Ok, so I was feeling REALLY good about myself today. Although I have hit the world's LONGEST plateau, and my efforts haven't been as consistent in the past months, I feel really great about maintaining my weight loss!
So, to celebrate I decided to try a yoga class. I was encouraged because the people in the class were NORMAL, REGULAR people. So, DOUBLY encouraged, I decided to buy some loose-fitting pants and a new top. You know, kind of to reward myself.
My PROBLEM is that I went into a big Yoga-catering store (I don't know if I can say the name of it) for an outfit. And they ONLY HAD UP TO SIZE 10 in stock. AND, the LARGEST size that they carry in most outfits is SIZE 12. Needless to say, nothing FIT and I left the store ready to cry. So, 10 minutes in a store has completely demoralized me.
Why does it seem that no matter what the achievements are, they just don't seem to be enough???? Will I EVER fit into regular sized clothes???? Why do I even bother??????
Sigh...

freiyamaya, so sorry!!

You can STILL get loose fitting pants and take the yoga class. Please don't let this discourage you from that!

You just have to keep goin'! There is no alternative, really!

Just the fact that you are where you are in your journey and actually are going to take a yoga class is a wonderful thing! You wouldn't have thought of doing this before you had lost this much weight, I bet!

So let it roll off, if you can. It's damn hard, I know--but hold up your head!

Jay

Thanks for the support!!!!
I will still take my class, and maybe view the clothes as a "reward", but BOY was today a tough day. I actually drove THROUGH the drive-thu at MacDo's, but didn't order anything (came to my senses!) - they thought I was weird, but by the time I got to the order system, I had changed my mind!
Thanks again!

think about it today you showed 2 signs of dedication ; you wanted to go to yoga and you avoided the temptation of mcdonalds... you can't let an ignorant retailer question your achievements. i can see you're over half way... so just keep it up and get your yoga outfit from another store.
stay strong!

Oh God, I hate stores that only carry up to size 12. Don't they realize that the average American woman is a 14? (They probably do realize that, and just want to be elitist.) My advice is to just go somewhere else! There are plenty of comfortable and cute clothes out there that aren't a size 0, and you'll look and feel fabulous in them.

Well the answer is: yes, you'll be able to fit in those sizes one day. I know, it seems discouraging now (oh, the way my ego got handed back to me when I tried on Chinese-style dresses after losing 22 lbs., and they were cut sooo small that I had to get their extra-large size! ). But the committment of going to yoga classes, avoiding the temptations of McJunk's... all of this WILL make it possible.

And maybe also this wasn't the right store, after all! I bet there are others in which you'll be able to find what you need, and then in a few weeks you can come back and buy what you want at the first one.

Frei -- good on you for going to the class no matter what. Taking Yoga is what started me getting more and more daring with fitness. I am still very heavy but getting fitter each week.

Of course I had to laugh because I also had an "LL" rant -- I am sure that is the store you are talking about. My dear dear office mate gave me a gift certificate for my last birthday - her heart was in the right place but she is young and slender and has no idea what a problem sizing is for women like me. A few months ago I finally thought I could brave the store. My spouse and I came out of the store and I ranted and raged then raged some more to his brother about LL. Of course their sister is a size zero -- she teaches yoga and pilates and half her wardrobe has that cute upside down ohm sign.

Oh and if you just head to the dept stores you can get whatever size you want at a much much better price.

Good luck!!!!!

I know what it feels like to walk into a store and walk out absolutely crushed. But you should not let that take away from how far you have come. This is just another one of those unfortunate bumps in the road that we have to face and on the path. Just brush that experience off and walk into that yoga class with your head held high. You can do it!!

That is one of my major shopping peeves. It's so frustrating when manufacturers assume that women over a size 12 or 14 aren't fit or fashionistas. I'm finished losing weight, yet I still wear a size 16 pant. Short of shaving bone that's as thin as I get.

Anyhow Victoria's Secret sells yoga pants (and shorts) up to a size 16 on their website. Right now they are having a promotion, if you enter the code NORISK you'll get free shipping and returns on pants.

Another strategy would be to call other stores in your area and see if they carry yoga pants in your size or maybe the instructor may know some places.

When I did my yoga DVD on a regular basis, I just wore comfy sweatpants and those worked just fine. So if all fails, you can just wear that.

Grrr! That's so frustrating! I am usually very even-tempered, but something about not being able to find my size in a store makes me *really* enraged and leaves me feeling angry and persecuted. At my heaviest ever weight, I was a size 14/XL, so I've always been able to shop in regular stores, but I would still completely lose my temper if they had sold out of clothes in my size or if they had decided to stack the size 14 jeans on a really high shelf where you can't reach them without the help of a sales clerk. I actually had a temper tantrum at Sport's Authority recently. I had driven 60 miles to buy myself a new sports bra, and all they had were the completely unsupportive bra-tops--nothing that could really handle even C-cup breasts doing high-impact cardio. I became irrationally angry about it

On the other side, I'm now a 6/8 and a medium, and I find myself feeling far less enraged if they are out of my size. I am able to comprehend that it probably isn't persecution

Freiamaya, you should feel very proud of yourself for resisting the lure of self-sabotage, and extra-resolved to take up yoga. There are tons of places to buy cute yoga outfits that won't discriminate against your size. You might also feel like writing a nasty letter to the store in question, chastizing them for implying that larger women shouldn't be able to do yoga in cute outfits. An expression of self-righteous anger might make you feel better--and it might help you to turn your anger to the store where it belongs, rather than towards yourself.

Oh my gosh - I have the same problem with yoga pants!! I'm VERY pear-shaped and carry most of my weight in my thighs - and apparently, that means I wouldn't want to wear flattering yoga pants to class! I wish the manufacturers would realize that not everyone who enjoys yoga looks like the skinny sorority girls that take the classes at my gym.

Sorry, just ranting...

Thanks, everyone, for all your support. It means so much for a (formerly?) really big girl to shop in a regular store. I thought I was ready for it, and was I EVER crushed!
Never mind! I'll pick myself back up and get back to it.
I think my most horrible moment was when I was at my heaviest, I went shopping with a friend of mine at a really swish store (her choice). She picked out an outfit, and I was looking through the racks, when a salesperson came up to me, pulled the item from my hand, critically looked me up and down, and said, in a LOW voice through clenched teeth:
"I really don't think we have ANYTHING in YOUR SIZE here".
What the heck do you say to THAT????
Thanks, everyone!

go to old navy - they have awesome yoga pants in all sizes. and probably much cheaper than the store you were in anyways!

That really sucks. It is also why I'm terrified of "rewarding myself" with new clothes. I'm just not ready to find out that I've still got a long way to go to reach my goal.

Target has some cute yoga pants that come in all sizes. A few months of doing those work outs and you will probably need to go buy a new smaller pair

That reminds me of the classic scene in "Pretty Woman"! I love when she goes back to that bratty saleswoman and says "huge mistake!"