The Size of My Clothing

Continuing my answer to Don Juan de Bubba's question below, the answer to "Have you noticed a difference with clothes?" is definitely yes.

Most of my pants have a size 52 waist. Hmm...Let me explain to any ladies reading this that in men's cloting, a size 52 waist means that it's 52 inches around my waist. Men's clothes, for the most part, are sized in actual units of measurement rather than the strange meaningless numbers used for women's dress sizes. But I digress...

I've worn size 52 for many years. However, last year, after I hurt my back, one of the clues that I had started to gain weight again is that my pants started getting tighter and tighter. Toward the end of the year, just before I started the diet, I had real trouble fastening my pants. I'd have to grab real hard on each side of the fly and exhale in order to close and button them. The belt was a struggle too.

I suppose I could have just solved the problem by buying pants with a 54-inch waist, but I didn't want to accept that I had gained so much weight. Normally, I'd feel a bit stupid for not accepting the obvious reality, but in this case I'm convinced it helped lead to my decision to diet. I didn't plan it that way, and I don't normally torment myself to encourage change, but that's how it worked out.

I normally wear comfortable shorts when I'm in the house, so I only change into regular pants when I leave the house. At some point, I started planning my day around how many times I'd have to go through the trouble of putting my pants on. Realizing the absurdity of that situation is one of the things that made me decide to diet.

All that has changed now. My pants started fitting better almost instantly, probably because my stomach and intestines were no longer bloated with gas-making food.

Getting dressed is no longer the chore it was becoming. It's a normal thing now. You know, like it is for everybody else.

I've noticed lately that my pants are a little loose. I can tighten the belt, but there's definitely a bit of loose fabric bunched up inside the belt. And the belt itself is also looser, causing me to go from the largest-size notch position to almost to the smallest-size position. The notch change isn't necessarily meaningful, since leather belts stretch out from being worn, but it's better than going the other way.

I'm also starting to fit into my nice dress shirts again. The buttons don't pull any more and the collars aren't as tight.

I'll have more to say about shirts in another post.