Clothes from when you were skinnier or when you were heavier.

I have seen a few episodes of What Not to Wear on TLC, and Stacy and Clinton always roll their eyes at the women who say they're keeping a favorite outfit for when they can fit into it again. They say that they have unrealistic expectations, and just need to buy clothes that fit. I can see this logic if somebody is holding onto an outfit from when they were in high school in the 80's...hopefully you never plan on wearing that again. And while I agree that a person should wear clothes that fit them the best no matter what size they are, I think having some clothes from smaller days can be a big motivator.

The smallest I've ever been was the summer 3 years ago. I had more self confidence than I ever remember having, and I bought tons of new clothes. There was one dress that was form fitting and super cute; it fit me perfectly. After that summer, it was too tight. I kept the dress anyways, and it bummed me out every time I saw it in the closet, but I still kept it. Well just out of curiosity, I tried it on last week, and it was actually loose! That means I'm even smaller than I was back then. This was a huge NSV for me. I'm now planning on going through all the clothes in my closet and see what fits me now, and what's too big, and what I can wear again.

On the other hand, it's actually crossed my mind to keep my bigger clothes just in case I fall off the wagon. Why throw away all my size 12 and 14 jeans just because I'm wearing I'm wearing 8's and 10's today? Well I do NOT plan on gaining the weight back, and maintaining is my ultimate goal. I don't want to give myself permission or to feel like I expect myself to fail. I'm going to donate my bigger clothes and get rid of them.

So what about you? Do you keep your old clothes from when you're bigger? Have you kept clothes from when you were smaller?

Nope! I tossed all of my big clothes and don't have much from when I first got to goal because frankly, I had no idea how to shop for proper fitting clothes and I looked really goofy half the time anyway.

I'm in a size 18/20 pants & XL/1X shirts right now.

I have one pair of size 16 jeans and a closet half full of size L tops. I don't own any clothes smaller than that. It's been so long since I wassmaller than that, I got rid of those clothes years ago. While I have a vague (very vague LOL) recollection of owning size 14 pants, I can't remember a time when I didn't wear at least an L in tops.

Once I'm well and truly out of a size, I don't plan on keeping my old clothes. Once I lose this weight, I'm never putting it back on. I have to tell myself that. I'm not the type who can keep bigger clothes around "just in case". It would feel like I was giving myself permission to get fat again.

I just started getting rid of clothes that no longer fit me. I just gave away several bags the other day. Not sure why it has taken me so long. I guess I had that lingering doubt about whether I would need these clothes again someday, and finally realized that was not a good way for me to think. It actually felt great to give them away, plus this way hopefully someone else can put good use to them instead of them just sitting in my closet. I did keep one old pair of jeans because when I put them on, I am still in awe of how big they are now. It helps me see the progress I've made that so often eludes me when I look in the mirror.

I've wrote about this several times, but the answer is YES, I have saved every nice outfit that doesn't have a stain, rip or chub rub. They are packed neatly in totes by size in my attic. I hope I never see them again, but I can't tell you how many times in the last 30 years that I have got rid of my "fat" clothes only to hang my head in shame and go re-buy a larger size when I have re-gained. I'm NOT going to do that again. I know the odds are against me, and that the relapse rate for weight gain is astronomically high.

Most people will tell you to get rid of them, but when this question is asked I always curiously look for replies from some of our members who have gained back a substantial amount of weight (20-30 pounds) and are working to get it back off again. I wonder if they got rid of everything too? If they did, do they just squeeze into ultra tight clothes, or do they go buy bigger ones? I have always wondered about that.

Yeah. I'm a huge clothes hoarder. But I don't own many articles either. I hate clothe shopping because nothing ever looks right, so I hang on to what I have for years. I've only got two pairs of pants that actually fit.. the others are too small or too big, yet I wear them anyways. I'm baaaad.

I've gotten rid of everything and started over. I do have a couple of big shirts from when I was at my biggest and a pair of jeans (I've always wanted to do one of those goal photos with me in one leg of my pants lol).

I have been weeding out my clothes that are too big. I have one pair of pants that is smaller that I just bought and will fit probably in a week or two lol

I'm a comfortable 16 now and a TIGHT 14, and my 18s are GONE... I'm not planning on getting that big again so no point in keeping them around.

And pft Stacy and Clinton- we aren't all rich enough to afford to toss out stuff that doesn't fit and buy more later. I have some really beautiful clothes in my closet and one small suitcase with a few outfits packed away. I paid good money for those clothes and KNOW I'm going to fit into them again someday- there's no way I'm throwing them out!

No way am I keeping the too big clothes. That is like saying I will need them again someday. I hope and pray that never happens.

I kept all my skinny clothes (even from my teens) just because my mother is a packrat and happily accepted my dumping things that were too small at home... and it was an amazing feeling, getting into old things and feeling how they fit In a word, YES, definitely glad I kept my 'skinny' things (albeit from 5 years ago, not 2 decades ago). I'll probably keep my 'fat' pants too, but leave them at my parents' house so they're not so close at hand

Nope. I may be naive and this is my only time in my life where I've lost more than 30 lbs and it is my 5th year of maintaining at least 75 lbs lost and 2 years of maintaining 150 lbs lost. I will not allow myself to regain beyond a certain point. I know once I get to a point and I'm able to stay there for a while, I will stay around that weight or below. My reality is that my clothes do keep me in check and if my pants are getting tight then I know I'm in trouble and need to crack the whip again.

My wedding dress is one exception. I bought it when I weighed 280, I got down to 260 for the wedding and I will keep it. One day I may be able to tailor it and use it for something else

I have 2 pairs of my biggest size pants, just to show how far I've come. But I've donated all the rest! I keep getting smaller, so I keep giving clothes away. My clothing expenses have gone up this year, big time! But I worked hard and I deserve it! The only thing I've done is kept one size up from where I currently am in a couple pairs of pants, just in case. But I keep getting rid of those too.

I haven't decided how I want to handle this issue.

I will be throwing away anything that is stained, worn-out or not something I'll ever wear again when I outgrow it. But the jeans and tops I'm buying on my way down, I'm tempted to keep, since I'm going through them so quickly (I bought 18s in December that have started falling off already). I'm so grateful for the clothes I have kept that are smaller than I'm hesitant to get rid of anything.

However, I share a small closet with my female SO, so space is tricky. I can't have clothes hanging around forever when I'm always lacking enough room.

I have gotten rid of or am in the process of getting rid of all 20s through 16s and most shirts that were ginormous on me.

I still have 14s and 12s that are barely worn. I don't want to get rid of them, not for fear of regaining but because they're practically new!