Losing weight is expensive!!!

I'm trying to justify the amount of jeans I've been buying.  The size 22's just don't fit when you're now a size 18 but who can afford to buy new clothes all the time?! Just want to know how other people are dealing with this...

Two words:   Good Will.

Seriously go to the Local Salvation ARMY or Good Will store.  Specially if your still losing.  Buy used for now... save your money for when you actually reach your goal weight.

Resale shops are the best!!  I found a couple of really good ones in my neighborhood that have name brands, excellent condition and super cheap compared to buying new!  Sometimes they will take your old clothes if in good shape and let you trade them in for an allowance for smaller clothes!! 

thrift stores and garage sales.  You will probably be loosing more so dont spend a bunch at one time,  you will be shopping again soon.  

For me, I find that the clothes aren't what make it expensive. I've save all my smaller sizes from the years and so I still have plenty of clothes in smaller sizes (call it a leap of faith that I was going to lose the weight).  It's the FOOD that costs!!  Going to the grocery store and spending a fortune for fresh foods and healthy alternatives is WAY more expensive than the dollar menu at McDonalds!! Yes, food prices are up overall, but a lot of fast food places know people go for the lower priced menus so they keep them even if they lose money.  It's sickening knowing that I could be eating a cheeseburger for 89 cents and making stuff like fish or chicken costs over $4 a pound.

I only own two pairs of jeans/pants in my current "correct" size (a 10 where I usually shop).  Other than that, I'm still wearing my tighter 12s with the aid of a belt.  I'm almost in an 8 and, once I get there, I'll treat myself to another pair or two of jeans/pants that actually fit (and probably have to get rid of the rest of the 12s).    It's going to get interesting because I've now hit the "as small as I've been in ten years" size, so I no longer have old clothes lying around in smaller sizes (which helped a *lot*).  I suspect I'll try some thrift store shopping and just try and keep my wardrobe to a minimum until I get down to the size I want.  I don't want to completely stop buying clothes though - finally being able to dress nicely is an amazing incentive to keep going.  I don't suppose you have any friends/relatives in your current size that could lend you stuff?  My sister's benefitting from my "hand-me-downs" right now as she's losing weight too, but is a size or two bigger than me (which works out perfectly!).

Well, I was going to suggest using a stapler to make the waist of your pants smaller, but that didn't work out so well for me when the staple fell out while I was going up a flight of stairs and the pants almost fell off my hips. (At work this morning.)

I just keep shopping the clearance sales - with the economy being bad, a lot of stores are really marking the merchandise down to keep it moving.  I got a pair of "summer" jeans at a department store for $4.98.  You just have to be willing to spend the time combing the racks.  Also, a lot of stores like Old Navy run really good sales and you can get a new pair of jeans/pants very inexpensively.  If you find a style that you like at a really good price, buy the current size and the next size down so that you'll have something in the closet.

krista, I'm with you. The food is expensive!!! Sure, I buy what' s in season, but still.....I buy one to two fresh veges a week (lettuce & brocolli) then frozen or canned the rest of the time. Same thing with fruit. I don't buy frozen meals, I'm trying to keep it "real" food.

ugh if I could go back I would have waited till I lost all my weight to buy new clothes. I bought some halfway through then when I was done, I had wasted alot of money.

Most of my shirts fit, but the pants. sigh* my amazing lucky jeans hung.  

food is expensive too, but I eat in a cafeteria so I get it free. But still the veggies most of the time are even cooked in butter. defeats the purpose if you ask me...ugh lol

Def thrift stores - if you have an America Thrift Store near you, they're huge.  Ours fills an old Walmart.  I got 2 pair of Old Navy and 1 pair Gap jeans for $8 total.

I don't have much luck on shirts there, but just shop the dept store clearance racks.  I went to Macy's and Sears this weekend, they are having a super clearance.  I got one shirt for 6.79, the other for 3.79. 

Tell me about it. I have these very nice set of dress shirts and pants that are waay too big now. I had to drop 300 bucks to get a new set. heh

I'd kept some of the nicer, more gently used clothing in smaller sizes, so that helped.  That's about 1/3 of my wardrobe.  But I still need to get the workhorse staples, such as black, gray, brown slacks, white dress shirts, etc.  My approach has been to straddle two sizes.  This summer I was wearing half 14s and half 12s, but I've dropped down to a 10 now, so I am replacing the 14s with nearly identical 10s.  The result is that about 1/3 of my wardrobe is old clothing I can wear again, 1/3 is new that fits, and 1/3 is new but 1 size too large.  That really is not too bad.  It still cuts the cost, and nothing is ever so large that it looks unprofessional. 

When I get down to 8, I'll replace the 12s with 8s and then gradually rebuild the whole wardrobe in 8.  (Unless when I get there, I change by goal to 6.)

last year i lost a lot of weight going on a restrictive diet, went from a 10 to a 4. I had to buy all new pants since my clothes were starting to look ridiculous on me. I put all my old clothes, mostly size 10 and 8's in a bag and put them in a clothing drop. I wish i hadn't though... since April i have been gaining weight (my metabolism seems to have screwed itself since i used to severely restrict before) and now i am about an 8 again.. ughh more shopping and spending money for me!

Original Post by krista_h19:

For me, I find that the clothes aren't what make it expensive. I've save all my smaller sizes from the years and so I still have plenty of clothes in smaller sizes (call it a leap of faith that I was going to lose the weight).  It's the FOOD that costs!!  Going to the grocery store and spending a fortune for fresh foods and healthy alternatives is WAY more expensive than the dollar menu at McDonalds!! Yes, food prices are up overall, but a lot of fast food places know people go for the lower priced menus so they keep them even if they lose money.  It's sickening knowing that I could be eating a cheeseburger for 89 cents and making stuff like fish or chicken costs over $4 a pound.

Actually, if you look at it, you're paying about $4 a lb for the meat in that hamburger.  Figure it's maybe .2 lbs (a quarter pounder has .25), so it's pretty darn expensive.  You can still eat chicken or beef for less than what that cheeseburger costs, it just isn't as convenient.  Make  your own, instead of a bun (buns are kind of pricey when you think about it), buy a loaf of whole grain bread and put roasted chicken on it with a slice of tomatoe and lettuce or make tuna salad which is pretty cheap.

Ugh! I've had to buy a completely new wardrobe at least 4 times this past year+! It's completely ridiculous. Recently I thought I was done and was as small as I could get without a tummy tuck so I bought myself a few pairs of jeans and some skirts....which are now too big. I think I'm FINALLY done buying clothes but I'm just going to keep these baggy ones until the big tuck.

I was so lucky last week when my friend went from size 16 to 14 and gave me all her "fat" clothes! My jeans and pants were falling off me and I'm broke and didn't want to go shopping. Ok, more I didn't want to go shopping. Europe doesn't have the best selection for larger sizes. Anyway, I discovered I fit into all her clothes (I'm a 16 again! Yay!) and took home two bagfuls of really nice if not exactly my style (cashmere sweater/cardigan set in mauve???) clothes that I can use to transition downwards. She saved me lots of headaches and cash.

Someone should start a clothing swap division of weight watchers or a second-hand shop for dieters...

Check out your local freecycle yahoo group.

Get them at the thrift store... they're three dollars a pair at mine - sure you have to hunt through the rack and try a whole bunch on to find a pair that fits properly, but it's worth the hassle to save that much cash! I've got to go and get some new ones asap - I just put my jeans on for the first time since Summer began, and they're baggy! When I bought them in March they were snug...

Regarding the "expensive food" dillema, what someone said about paying "89 cents" for a hamburger versus a pound of meat is correct.  Depending on the food you buy, where you buy it, and how much planning you do before you go to the store, you can get food for cheap.  I get chicken leg/thigh quarters for $0.89/lb at Fresh&Easy!  I get an entire POUND of chicken for the same price as one gross hamburger!

Check out local ethnic supermarkets in your area versus your "name brand" grocery store.  If you live in a city, you can find carnicerias, Asian supermarkets, even halal meat markets where prices are generally lower.  Avoid "Whole Foods" and stuff - honestly, its not worth it if you're watching your money.  The meat you get in ethnic supermarkets is clean, and often very fresh - more fresh than the "name brand" grocery store.

If you live in a rural area, you may be able to buy directly from local growers.  I wish I lived near local chicken or beef or pork farms!  Talk about fresh!  Farmers markets are good too.

Or eat less meat alltogether!  Beans are EXTREMELY cheap and really stretch food dollars.  Yeah beans don't sound as good as burgers, but it doesn't have to be expensive.  Buying, cooking, and making your own food IS cheaper than dining out, and its much more "rich" for your diet and weight!

I had the same problem last time I went up and down in weight....so now I always keep 1 or 2 of every size I seem to go between...then I always have at least 1 pair of pants I can use. I made the mistake of going through my closet and tossing a bunch of stuff once, saying I'd never wear it so make room for stuff I CAN wear, and now I regret it!

I also got lucky and my skinny sis gave me some hand me downs from when she was a little bigger (she has a big butt so gets pants bigger than she actually is), so I have a few that I can wear now and a few 'skinny' ones I hope to be able to wear.

and about the food being expensive....I used to think exactly the same way! I even posted a forum about it....how broke ppl seem to be heavier and how can I afford everything? Well, someone challenged me to buying all the healthy groceries I wanted, making meals and going 2 weeks w/o eating out...and you know what? I saved money....1 bag of frozen chicken breasts can be as cheap as 6.00 (depending on store)...buy a few cans of cream of whatever (the 98% fat free, about 1.00 each) and a large package of brown rice (2 bucks about), some whole grain noodles (another 2), and some frozen veggies (2-4.00) and I can feed myself, daughter and sometimes b/f dinner for 2 weeks...thats only 20.00 bucks about... whole wheat tortilla, egg beaters and salsa and there is breakfast for 2 weeks (I LOVE mcD's breakfast, too)...and leftovers from dinners are lunches. 50.00 for 2 weeks of food....although, no one likes eating the same things over and over and over, but it's possible! ;op good luck guys!

I'm with you, it gets expensive to change the wardrobe everytime you drop a size. I'm down from a size 20 to 16. I go to more budget stores for the everyday clothes, like Target, Marshall's and Kohls. They have nice clothes without breaking the budget. And outlets are also a good option. I went to Kohls just yesterday to buy some pants, the 18's were getting too relaxed and I was holding them with a belt. Now I got some Lee jeans for $2.99 and 5.99! couldn't believe it at the register, apparently they were on clearance even tough they were on the regular piles. It's a mess to go through the clearance pile, but you get really big discounts if you find something. Anyway, even regular priced pants are not that expensive $20-30, just buy few, I have 2 jeans, 1 black pant, 1 social black pant. Just pick some essential items, some tees and shirts and mix and match. It's not a very exciting wardrobe with lot of variations and there is also the more frequent washing, but at least I don't break the budget. I'll save the money for when I get to my goal weight. Then I'm sure I'll go crazy at the shops.