Saturday, February 27, 2010

My "When I Lose The Weight" Wardrobe

A quick note before I get into my actual post:  I'm watching a show on the Travel Chanel about the largest portions of food in the world.  They've talked about a restaurant that deep fries everything, including twinkies, mac and cheese, and anything the customers bring in.  The Ben and Jerry's Vermonster, a square pizza that is 54 inches on a side that they need to extend the oven with a special adapter to cook, a seven-pound breakfast burrito, a burger topped with a hot dog, and countless other huge things.  I'm more disgusted than hungry, which is a good sign.  And if you weigh more than 350 pounds, you eat free at the Heart Attack Grill.

Yesterday I got to the last hole on my smaller belt!  It got me thinking what else I could fit into.  Sean at Learn Fitness recently said in a post:



The other day my wife commented that my clothes were looking very “tent like” on my smaller frame so I decided to remedy that. No, I didn’t go on a shopping spree … we can’t afford that with #2 on the way. Instead I pulled out the weight-loss trump card, something almost everyone who’s lost weight more than a few times owns, a tub of old clothes that used to fit them.

I decided to do the same.  I went to the hall closet and pulled out some things that haven't fit in quite a while.  Then I decided to try on a few things that fit last year.  On top of it, I decided to take some pictures for all of you lovely people to see.

The good news is everything buttoned or zipped up (with the exception of one coat with a broken zipper.  I don't even know why I still have it.

First up, we have an old corduroy sport coat I got in 2003.
 
 I'm trying to start a new trend: half-popped lapel.

I've got quite a way to go left with this coat.  I wish I'd taken pictures of me in these clothing items back in November when I started my blog so you could see I've made progress.  I could not get the buttons together on this one before then.  Looks pretty sweet unbuttoned though.


 
I'm sorry, I can't help but make that stupid face whenever my picture is taken.
Next up, we have my old boy scout jacket.  I was probably around 200 pounds when I got this, so I'm surprised I can even get it on.

 

This one is really close.  I think I'll be able to wear this once I move the scale about 10 more pounds (in the downward direction of course).
Next I have a suede blazer I got on sale in 2007.  It was a little small on me when I got it, but I was convinced I would lose enough weight to make it fit.  Instead it sat in my closet for 3 years (and counting).


 
It's a little snug, but I'm pretty close to the weight I was at when I bought this.   This time, I'm going to make this coat fit.

Let me show you a few victories now.  First up is a flannel shirt my dad bought for me as a work shirt in the fall of '08 so I could help him with some outdoor work.  Guess what, it didn't fit.  I was very ashamed.

 
 I'm a lumberjack, and that's okay.

It fits now!  Really well in fact.  There is absolutely nothing snug about this shirt now!

Let's take a look at my broken zipper jacket.


 
This one looks like it's bulging out but it's just kind of an optical illusion.  I wish the zipper still worked, but I broke it in a train station in Antwerp.  I proposed to Claire in this coat, and my love handles were definitely exposed then.  But look, the sides are now straight!
Last, we'll look at my favorite coat when I lived in South Dakota.

 

Now it's my favorite tent!  I liked it because it fit me so nicely before.  Now I'm going to put it up in the front yard with a couple poles and stakes and roast low-cal s'mores by the fire.  Just kidding (there's no such thing as a low-cal s'more).

Anyway, I know some of these things might not be the most fashionable articles of clothing, but they're what I have.  It's nice to actually see that I'm losing girth as well as pounds.  

What do you have that might fit again?  Dig around in your bucket of clothes that used to fit and try stuff on.  Post pictures of something that fits again, something that almost fits again, or something that is now much too large for you on your blog.  Or you can post a link to your picture on the comments section with a brief description and I'll include it in a future post.  I'll make sure to include every picture that you post or email me in the post.

Now go and find something that's been hiding in your closet.





 

19 comments:

  1. Oh, you're a guy! I hardly meet any weight-loss guy bloggers! Hellooooo!

    It's a great idea to try on old clothes that were too small to see progress. Can I borrow?

    100 pounds in a year in totally achievable. Just keep at it. Best wishes.

    -A-

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  2. Those are some nice pics man ... I'm gonna have to get the camera out myself tonight and snap a few. The tub can be a double edge sword, so long as you don't put your bigger clothes in it to use later your fine. I'm being careful this time to toss/donate my larger clothes this time. No excuses that I have clothes to fit into if I ever gain it back.

    Alexia,
    More and more of us guys are blogging about our journey now days. We may be a bit more harsh than the female blogs but it's usually fun to read.

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  3. Maybe I'll give away my big clothes to other bloggers once I lose a few more pounds.

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  4. Hey, thanks for visiting my blog - I love finding kindred spirits. I look forward to watching you meet your goal! You're well on your way...great pics, too!

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  5. This is a really good idea man, digging the first coat. I want to see some results on monday though.

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  6. I'll do my best. I went to bed hungry last night.

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  7. Don't button the bottom button of that suede coat. That red jacket sure brings back some memories.

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  8. Haha, the first comment made me laugh. I know a bunch of weight loss guy bloggers. I'm glad you are one of them!

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  9. Wow, that's great, Andrew! What a fun exercise. And I love your photo face--you look like you could pose for one of those old scool, rich-guy oil portaits!

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  10. This is so great!
    I'm glad you are finding more ways to measure your weight-loss success than just the weigh-ins! It's about so much more than numbers, anyway.

    I've been following your blog for a while now, and your honesty and consistent posts have kept me coming back.

    Keep it up!

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  11. This is a great idea. I'll have to see what I have in my closets. I was just thinking the other day that there are areas in the closets I have not touched in a long, long time. It might be a worthwhile exercise to see what fits again.

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  12. I did the same thing a couple weeks ago. I fit into something and I thought to myself, "What else could I fit into". Since that day I have tried to wear something different from my closet. Things I haven't worn since my wife first met me. Today, after my monthly weigh-in. I am at the lowest weight my wife has ever seen me. I'm pretty excited about that!!

    Keep up the awesome work.

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  13. Hey cool pics, I am going to have to go through my closet and try that. I like your face in all of them. Keep up the good work

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  14. First of all, it's hilarious that you DO make that face in all your pictures.

    Second, good for you on fitting into some old clothes. I loved doing that, but since I'm currently smaller than I've been since the eighth grade, I have no more leftovers. I'm having to poll people I know who have recently lost weight so they can hand over their fat clothes.

    Your jeans look too big though....just sayin'!

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  15. I was thinking about doing the very same thing. I started pulling out some of my jeans from two years ago in anticipation of my coming loss. Serendipitous that your blog is about the same thing.

    Good on ya mate!

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  16. You are doing great! What you posted was one of my FAVORITE things to do while I was losing weight. Trying on those old "saved" clothes and realizing that they were getting closer and closer to fitting was so inspiring and motivating.

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  17. What a great post. I always throw away my clothes when I got too big for them so I don't have anything stored away. However I did find a sock monkey pajama set that my niece gave me as a birthday present back in early december. I pants were way tight and the top couldn't button.

    I just happened to come across them last night while I was folding clothes and thought "hmmmmmmm, I wonder". Pants fit comfortably and the top buttons! It's still a little tight but I'm glad I didn't throw them away!

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  18. Is that plunge happening this weekend?

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  19. Yup. I'll post more details soon.

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