Why I Keep My Fat Pants

One of the best/worst things about losing weight is that once you've made some decent progress, you no longer fit into the same clothes you once did. It's one of the best things because it's a tangible reminder that you've made progress, and you get to go shopping for new clothes that you once thought were off limits; however, it's one of the worst things because it now means you have to foot the bill for said shopping trip! 

For the bulk of my weight loss journey I managed to get by without having to buy too many new pairs of pants, thanks to the legging trend, and still managed to wear a lot of the same shirts I used to. But there came a point when my wardrobe became somewhat limited, and a shopping trip several shopping trips became necessary in order for me to dress like a normal person. Anyone who knows me knows how abundantly happy this made me to have an excuse to shop, even if it was off of the clearance rack to keep the cost of my new size-appropriate wardrobe down. Aside from the obvious joys that shopping can bring, there's no better feeling than having to run back and forth from the fitting room a hundred times to get the next smaller size because the size you thought you were keeps falling down!

So, once I knew I was close enough to my goal that my size would not change too much, I gradually began adding to my wardrobe. This obviously left a lot less room in my closet and so the garbage bags came out and trips to Goodwill were made. In the past, my weight has fluctuated so drastically that I was often hesitant to get rid of any larger size clothing, in case I should have a need for them again. I would put them away in bins and save them as a safety net for when I would inevitably fall off the wagon and start stuffing my face with KFC. As you might have guessed, I didn't have a whole lot of faith in myself back then. 

Well I have no plans to EVER have a need for those larger sizes to stick around waiting to be pulled out of bins on that tragic day when I find that I can't get my pants to button. I have gained enough confidence in myself over the past 2 years to not need a safety net. I now know that I'm not a ticking time bomb just waiting to get fat again and that the choices I make are entirely within my control. And I choose to keep progressing, rather than move backwards.

At the risk of going all Jenny Craig commercial on you guys I had to post these!
Had a good laugh when I opened up my bin of winter clothes and found
my special fat pants! Had an even bigger laugh when my sister's boyfriend
tried them on and they fit!  ;)

So, if I have no need for these "fat clothes" then why, you ask, are you looking at the above pictures of me holding up my fat pants? These are not just any fat pants. These are special fat pants. The only fat pants I still keep. These pants were the only pants that fit me when I was at my heaviest non-pregnant weight. These are the pants that I was elated to finally be able to fit back into 2 weeks after giving birth. I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and joy the moment I was able to zip these pants up because it meant that I had gotten down to my pre-pregnancy weight...yea...I know, right???? What was I thinking??? 

At the time, I was just happy to have lost the baby weight and would settle for being the same state of overweight that I was before my pregnancy, just as long as I wasn't MORE overweight because of the pregnancy. I had no expectations that anything I did to try and further my weight loss would be effective or long-lasting, and didn't want to get my hopes up. So I assumed that these pants were the best I was going to get. 

Two years, 45 pounds, and a whole new mindset later I know myself better than that. I know that I care enough about feeling good from the inside out to never let myself get back to that unhealthy and unhappy state again. I know that I am in control and I know what I am capable of. So, why do I keep these particular fat pants, you ask? These fat pants are a symbol of the knowledge I have gained about myself throughout my journey of living a healthy lifestyle. THESE FAT PANTS serve as a reminder that I can do anything I put my mind to, and that I am stronger than I once gave myself credit for. And THAT, my friends, is why I keep these fat pants.