General

How many of us think of goal weights in terms of clothing sizes in addition to lbs/kgs?

My current weight is 206lbs, and I want to get to 250. Coincidentally, it seems that every 50lbs I gain, I go up three pants sizes (from 30/34 to 36/34 [waist/inseam]), and I go up one shirt size (from M to L, currently).

By my calculations, when I reach my goal weight, I'll be snugly fitting size XL shirts, and I'll hopefully be fitting size 42/34 pants. Thank goodness, too, as these are the largest sizes that I see clothes in my style at thrift stores.

Now, I'm on the search for an outfit that should fit me best only when I reach my goal weight. It'll be like a reverse version of those "here are my old 'fat pants' compared to my now skinnier body" advertisements; I'll be slowly but surely beginning to fit the large pants until one day I'm actually fat enough to wear them without a belt!

Who else has thought about their weight goals like this?

I've considered that on occasion, though perhaps not in the context of what you're thinking. But, more of a practical concern, and when I'd have to get more. It's kind of a hassle to get clothes at a reasonable value, though JCPenney runs decent sales at the right times. Suits and overcoats are particularly annoying, since higher quality ones can be spendy, so I hope you don't have to buy those often.

Although yes, the thought of eventually filling out a 3XL shirt being close to, or even slightly snug is somewhat thrilling. But I also don't know if I really have a clothing size goal. However, it can be an interesting psychological thrill, much in the way of crossing the threshold of a certain BMI score, or numbers on a scale (e.g. 300 lbs or 332 lbs (150 kgs)).

Another possible thrilling fault is having to give up certain clothing brands because they don't go big enough. For example, I don't think Express goes higher than 18 or 20/2XL in ladies and 2XL/44" waist in men's.

In a way, I guess I do think of XL and the measurement equivalents as kind of a minimum starting point, with the ideal of being always at least a 2XL.

Although, at stores I have noticed that higher than 2XL, longer than 18" neck, longer than 44" waist, and wider than 52R in suits (or sport coats) starts to become uncommon, and at that point you will probably have to start shopping online a lot more often, maybe even exclusively, eventually.

If you ever travel, there may even come a point where you might even have to start thinking in terms of backup sets of underwear and clothes well in excess of your anticipated needs, because the odds of finding that size locally on short notice might be difficult or impossible. Amazon is pretty good about 1 day, but that's only in the US (and maybe the UK?), only really available in the large cities, and I'd say about 95-99% reliable (not 100%).

This is also my opinion but you might want to give up thrift stores, at least for clothes. Unless you're exceptionally lucky, there's usually a reason a clothing item ended up there. They're often very tacky; items the original buyer likely regrets getting in the first place, only to then not wear them often if even at all, because of the tackiness. It's how they're still in reusable, saleable condition. The clothes that aren't tacky are often reused and worn down to tatters and thus, can't be resold.

It's also kind of like a "treasure hunt" experience. Some may genuinely enjoy this, but it can be very time consuming for a trip that might not be productive at all (you don't find anything you're looking for and is suitable).

Thrift stores are good for some things though - new glasses and stemware for the dinner table, and some cooking implements. Sometimes even furniture if you want something functional and you don't care much how it looks.

If cost is an issue, there's Amazon, and JCPenney does run decent sales at certain times. I can't recommend Temu at this time because of excessive reports of false charges, misrepresented items, and items that never show up at all. The risk of knockoffs being sold on E-Bay is also very high - the other day I bought shoes off of E-Bay that were knockoffs. They hurt my feet bad and were falling apart within the month.

Sure, you could buy some clothes that are way too big as kind of a goal to aspire to, but be careful. Sometimes there are plateaus or it might take longer for you to finally fill them out. Or the weight could settle in places that you don't expect.

But, clothes that are slightly too big can serve as a nice, subtle psychological reminder that you are still too skinny and need to keep eating.

Also, 34" inseam? Either you have unusually long legs for your height (which I'm not sure if I have ever seen), or maybe you prefer to roll up the ends? At 5'8"-5'9", I'd have expected a 30" inseam.

As a thrifting enthusiast, I have noticed that selections get slimmer and slimmer the further you are at the "extremes" of the available clothing. At my smallest, I would wear 24" waist by 34" inseam pants from Hot Topic (no other brand in my price range provided that sizing). Unsurprisingly, thrift stores never carried smaller than a 28" waist, and most brands that provided those sizes also never provided inseams longer than 30" for waist sizes smaller than 30" or 32". Needless to say, I was somewhat pressured into gaining just to be able to wear men's pants!

Unfortunately, the limited supply at thrift stores also applies for wider pants. I've noticed that closer to the city, the best thrift shops don't carry larger than a 42" waist, and even then there are only a couple pairs available at a time, whereas the other sizes are multiple times as stocked. Further from the city, the same chains can have sizes up to 48" in men's pants, but the brands are all Kirkland Farms or Wrangler pants (those are some of the worst brands to fit my figure). Thankfully, Old Navy is a brand that can accommodate me, with sales that bring things down to $25 for a pair, which isn't much more than what their sister brands Banana Republic and J.Crew go for at the thrift shops (their quality can be nearly identical if you're shopping for the weaker, stretchy jeans). It's definitely way easier to get lucky at thrift stores if you're in common sizes, unfortunately.

My figure has been somewhat predictable in its growth over the last 50lbs. My belly has only grown half an inch faster than my butt, and my pants/shirt size increments have gone up steadily as well. I think as long as I take extra care as to what foods I gain with, I should continue growing like I have. What I'm more concerned about, though, is whether I would even reach the weights it would take to fit the clothes I buy. That remains to be seen.



Lol, I for sure have long legs (and arms). While I do stand at 5' 8", I sit eye-to-eye with 5' tall people, and I can high-five 6' tall people even if their arms are reaching up high. Pants with a 34" inseam are either just right, or barely too long. 32" inseam pants, especially at smaller waist sizes, tend to actually measure 30" and/or float above the tops of my feet. Part of this is that I really do have long legs. I think the other part is that many men's jeans are made with no expectation of the voluptuous butt and thighs I have (the more my butt and thighs stretch them outwards the less they can properly hang on me)!

NGL there's definitely that voice in the back of my head being like "wouldn't it be great to fill up a 6x shirt/pants" but ik that's not easy to find after a certain point. Either way I'd love to just get huge so ig I'll just go till it's not reasonable anymore XD

When I was smaller I did monitor how I filled out my pants shirts , and think about the next Size up on the rack. But at my current size it more if where shall I get a Size up from, so more a dread nowadays. I tend to see how I can prolong my clothes now, with modifications or mixing what I wear with them to cover up defincies. However when it becomes obvious it run out of options it's still accilerating to think gee I once fitted in those.