After buying yet another suit (Navy Boss Black on Clad), I got to wondering if I should slow down my buying since I'm trying to lose weight. I have bought 3 suits in the past couple of months and I was wondering if they will still fit after I hit my weight goal. I'm 6'0" tall and around 220 lbs, and I carry most of my weight in my belly area. I would like to get down in the 190-200 lb range, but I'm a naturally bigger person. All the suits are 44R and "modern" or trim cuts. I know the only thing a tailor can't fix is the shoulders, and all fit me well in that area. I don't have much experience with tailors so I was wondering if these suits will still work for me if I lose all the weight I want. I'm assuming I might have to get the jackets brought in a bit, but I'm hoping everything else will be fine.
-
OnlyShawn
Memberwell...in the past 9 months i've gone from 282 to 210. I started at a 48 jacket, and am now at about a 40/41 (I say that because I get italian jackets in size 42, and they're sized a bit slimmer than US jackets). I'm also a pretty big dude in general. I say that to tell you that I wouldn't be surprised if you go down to a 42 (or smaller) before you're done...20-30 pounds is nothing to shake a stick at.
that said...if you're fitting into the jackets in the shoulders right now, unless you lose more weight up there, you'll be fine w/ the 44's. (be careful, though...I thought before--about 20/25 pounds ago--that my shoulders didn't have any more weight to lose, so I bought a ton of XL shirts, planning to have them altered around the midsection as necessary...well, now they're too big, and I fit fine in a trim L--gant rugger, or big medium--LEC). I could probably fit fine in a 44 in teh chest, but I tend to appreciate the snugger fit of a 42, PLUS that gets me commensurately shorter sleeves, so I don't have to alter. apparently I have shorter arms than I should for my chest size.
there ya go...there's my experience.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Yeah, I used to wear a 46 when I was like 60 lbs heavier, now I'm around a 40-42 like @OnlyShawn.
I'll repeat my advice to buy good quality used clothes (or thrift them) then you know you can resell them when they don't fit anymore.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Thekillabeejc
MemberThanks for the advice guys, and congratulations on the weight loss. I do feel like I don't have much weight to lose in my shoulders/chest, but I could be wrong. I feel like most of my fat is in my belly from excessive drinking while in college. Maybe I'll have to work on building more upper body muscle too balance out the weight loss.
Good idea Jason, if I get ti my ideal weight I guess I'll have to get into the eBay game.Posted 3 months ago # -
hornsup84
MemberThe OP's reply hit on what I was going to weigh in on. If you're losing that much weight, I imagine you're going to the gym and assume that you'd also be gaining muscle mass in addition to the fat loss. I've been around the same weight for a couple years, but it shifts depending on whether I'm eating healthy and going to the gym or whether I'm stuck behind my desk 24/7 and eat from take-out cartons for a majority of my meals. On that note, the weight isn't necessarily the larger issue, but more the shape (which speaks to overall health/fitness).
Posted 3 months ago # -
Nick
MemberA few years ago, I lost 50lbs and went from 225 down to 175. After that, I've leveled out and havn't lost any weight these past few years (mostly due to going off to college, and you know how college diets can get).
Your clothes will not fit. Even after you level out weight wise, your body will continue to even itself out in proportion. After losing my weight I was at a large (and about a size 38 pants), but since then I've evened out and gone down a medium shirt and size 34 pants without losing any more weight.
It's a pain in the ass because you will have to constantly buy new clothes. My pants and shirts don't even last 6 months before they're too big, so I can't buy any expensive clothing. But at the end of the day you'll look at yourself and realize how much better you look. And the best compliments are when someone comments to you on how much thinner you look (I had one girl claim I must be on crack I lost so much weight).
Posted 3 months ago # -
bassopotamus
MemberI've lost about 30 lbs in the last 6 months, looking to lose about 50 more, and have decided I'm just not buying anything until fall. I have 5 suits, 3 of which I was too fat for that now fit perfect, one which was perfect 10 lbs ago and is now a hair big, and one that is just too big all around (which I don't really mind, because it was cheap to begin with). I have pretty much no occasion to dress up may through the end of august, so mid august I'm going to pick up some new stuff (maybe 2 suits and some new shirts). Personally, I think some tailoring might help the OP, but there are going to be limits. In general, I think A LITTLE too big is better than too small.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Big_Scooter
MemberI used to be 188 lbs, pretty heavily muscled and I thought about 20 lbs of extra fat. I have lost now lost about 35 lbs (probably over 40 lbs of fat, since I have more muscle now), moving down to the low 150s. I'm about 5-8 lbs away from full 6 pack territory now. This is not me attempting to brag, this is set-up info for what I am about to say.
Most people think they really only have belly fat to lose. I did. You hear it all day at the gym. Most people are wrong. Fat does not only sit outside your muscles in big slabs. It is also inside muscles and beneath muscles. When you lose fat, you will pretty much shrink all over. Clothes likely won't fit. Without very significant muscle growth, your shoulders and chest will be smaller.
I was amazed at how much fat I had to lose. Looking at pictures, people still assume I only lost about 15-20 lbs. The bottom line, however, is that it is still worth it. Plus, I'm pretty sure no one reading this will complain about an excuse for clothes shopping.
Posted 3 months ago # -
frost
Memberjust a random observation, but based on posts I've read.... 90% of this board is either 6'2" 130 lbs, OR (Height Irrelevant) 36R / 95 lbs soaking wet, OR in the process of shedding their New Years Resolution weight ---- which is all well and good, meaning you bastards aren't stealing my already-too-common size when it comes to sales ;)
Posted 3 months ago # -
BenR
MemberI'm 5'9" and about 150 lbs... pretty average, at least as far as healthy-weight people go. My problem is I carry a lot of my weight in my legs so I end up wearing smaller tops (36R/small) and larger bottoms (31/small or medium) than someone my size might otherwise wear.
FWIW, I feel like there are a lot of people here in the 38-42 range.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Zack Malibu
MemberListen to Big Scooter! I'm actually going through this situation right now. I'm an average sized guy, tall and lean (literally a hair under 6 ft. and 160 lbs.). For a few years I was hovering around 175 and a little more bulked up, but I don't do any lifting anymore and instead do tons of cardio, so I've dropped 15 pounds or so across the past few years (my most recent weigh-in was last Tuesday). I had mentioned in another thread that I was looking to revamp my wardrobe on the (somewhat) cheap, but now it's almost a necessity, since I've gone down a shirt size! I went to put on a shirt/tie the other day and the collar felt way too loose, so I assumed it had somehow been stretched. Grabbed another shirt...same result...way too wide for the buttoned up/tie look. Fortunately I had a store credit to Express that covered a few new shirts that will at least hold me over, and I do have some shirts that were extra slim/fitted so I had sized up, but my closet just went from about 75 button down shirts (seriously) to 15.
Posted 3 months ago #
