Pink Pants and Wardrobe Malfunctions...

Well, it feels great to be back home and back to a semi-normal routine!  Now, if only Michigan's weather would cooperate so I could get out there for a long run...

In the meantime, I've been getting some feedback from friends.  Today's entry is for my friend Rachel, who recently has lost around twenty pounds herself!  She is an amazing woman--great work Rachel!  However, Rachel brings up a perfectly legitimate question--what does one do about their wardrobe when they start losing so much weight that their clothes no longer fit?

As someone who dropped six sizes over the last year, I can attest to my personal experience trying to figure out when to buy and what to do regarding clothes.  The problem here is that, despite my cushy job as a professor, I'm not raking in near as much cash as people think.  (Teachers never get paid enough--no matter the level of education--so don't be fooled by all those letters after my name.)  Clothes are expensive, and for me, the problem was that I didn't want to buy a bunch of new clothes when I knew I had not yet reached my goal weight.  Unfortunately, once you're down about twenty pounds, it's hard to keep wearing your "fat pants" unless they're made of some magical form of lycra like Wonder Woman's costume.

For me, it was especially troublesome because I lost about 20-30 pounds over the summer and then had to start teaching again in the fall, which warranted a need for dress clothes.  Foremost, buying new, smaller clothes can be a huge boost emotionally, and keep you going on your weight loss plan, so I highly recommend at least treating yourself to a new outfit every now and again.  For practical purposes, however, how do you warrant buying a whole new wardrobe every few months during this crazy journey to get healthy?

I started out buying just two pairs of dress pants, in different colors, in a size that fit.  Likewise, I bought a few dress shirts that I could wear with either pair of pants.  At home, admittedly, I kept wearing my oversize clothes as long as possible--until I finally had to give in and buy some new weekend clothes as well.  However, I tried to hit up the thrift stores and garage sales whenever possible for weekend clothes in order to save a few bucks.  Look into upscale resale stores like Plato's Closet for nicer clothes as well.  Every time I went down another couple of sizes, I repeated the same process until I reached where I'm at now.  Always buy pants with belt loops, and always buy shirts with some give in them, so that you can extend their wear a little bit longer while you're still in the weight loss process.  When it comes down to it, you're just going to have to spend some money.  Keep in mind, if you buy quality, structured pieces, and don't plan to lose more than another size or two, you can always have them altered.

A word of warning, however--be careful about buying clothes in sizes smaller than what you're currently wearing.  For some, this provides a goal--you want to fit into that size eventually.  For me, however, there is nothing more depressing than having some piece of clothing in your closet that you can't fit into.  When I first started losing weight, I had clothes in a range of sizes in my closet, and by the time I thought to myself "oh, I can probably fit into those old pants again..." I had already "under"grown them.  So I stay, stick to buying and wearing what fits in the moment, even though you may feel like you're wasting money, the fact that you look good and feel good in your clothes will pay off with major dividends emotionally.  Your friends currently rocking your old sizes will benefit too--they'll get new, barely worn, stuff handed down from you!

As an addendum, take a hint from the celebrities and have things altered once you do reach your preferred size/weight.  Very few of us ladies can buy off the rack and have something fit perfectly, no matter what our size.  Buy quality, and spend a few extra dollars having your pants hemmed to the prefect length, your sleeves shortened, or your waists cinched in a bit.  Famously, the curvaceous Marilyn Monroe wore a size "16," which seems large by today's standards but must have impressed the socks (and a whole lot more) off people like President John F. Kennedy.  Well, hate to burst your historical bubble here, but Marilyn hardly donned a modern-day 16.  She was more likely around a modern-day size 8 (still not considered tiny by society's skewed standards today), due to those outrageous curves, but had all of her clothes custom fitted to fit her unique frame--mainly, her teeny-tiny, 22" waist. 

Additionally, try things on!  Try things on you would never think you'd ever wear.  I own a pair of bright pink skinny jeans because one day at the store, just for fun, I thought, "I wonder how I'd look in those, now that I can actually get into them?"  And as it turns out, I thought I looked pretty cute!  This is especially true if you're exercising a lot and not just "dieting."  As the saying goes, you lose weight to look good in clothes, you exercise to look good naked.  Don't you know, "I work out?"  As I've said before, exercise changes your body shape--so try on those clothes you never thought "looked right" on you before, and you may find, you really like those styles now.  Despite the fact that I weigh about what I did in high school, I am a totally different size than I was back then.  Remember, muscle weighs more than fat--so throw caution to the wind and buy those skinny jeans, asymmetrical tops, and strapless dresses--or guys, buy a polo shirt in a bright color or something!

Back on Track Spaghetti Dinner
While not a complicated meal, the key is in ingredient substitution-choose lower calorie options to make this traditional meal.

Ingredients:

4    servings Ronzoni Smart Taste Angel Hair Pasta

2 C    spaghetti sauce (I use homemade)

8 oz    extra lean ground beef

4 T    grated parmesan cheese (optional)

4 C    iceberg lettuce and baby spinach, torn

½    medium carrot, shredded

½ C    2% shredded mozzarella cheese

4 slices    Sara Lee 45 Calories and Delightful whole wheat bread

4 T    Land-O-Lakes Light Butter and Canola Oil blend

4 t    parmesan bread dipping seasoning (or garlic salt & parmesan cheese)

4 C    sliced strawberries and blueberries (sweetened to taste with Stevia)

Directions:

In a large fry pan, fry ground beef until cooked through.  Drain any excess fat.   Add 2 C of your favorite spaghetti sauce to beef and simmer on low until pasta is ready.  Prepare pasta according to directions on box.  Serve sauce over pasta with grated parmesan cheese (optional).

For salad, combine lettuce and spinach with carrot and mozzarella cheese.  Add any other toppings you like and your favorite low calorie dressing.

For garlic bread, toast wheat bread in a toaster, spread with butter and sprinkle with seasoning.

Alongside dinner, serve sliced strawberries and blueberries for dessert.

Serves 4.  522 calories per serving.