I see tailor shops all over the place. But they perform alterations, not brand new custom fitted clothes.

Unless you don't like what Target has to offer, and I don't think it's really cheaper either. I went to one shop that wanted $17 to expand the waistline on one pair; that's cheaper than any shop.

I don't have good experiences with any polyester content in trousers and thus, avoid them. I remember dealing with horrendous static cling and severe static electricity buildup, which is not pleasant. Oddly enough I haven't had that problem with some shirts. Perhaps the trick is to ensure under 66% polyester content.

Too bad all the bottoms sold at Target and Wal-Mart seem to have high polyester content because it's a cheap material, except for jeans.

I look for high cotton or wool content, perhaps with a bit a spandex for slight stretch if I can.

Paying $14-20 to let it out, assuming there's extra material for that, can be worth it if you just need a couple inches, when the alternative is $50-60+ for new ones.

You can tell if the back seam has a V-shape on the inside. If not, there's no extra material.

But if you expect to need 4+ more inches, you'll probably just need new ones.

If you expect to keep gaining, there might even be something to be said for getting trousers that are too big, taking them in, then letting them out later.

If it wasn't for embarrassment (tailor shops tend to be small businesses so the owner will likely start recognizing you if you go in too much) I might consider this route to save money.

These shops can also be good for attaching suspender buttons (clip style is either unreliable, or the heavy duty clips destroy the fabric). But it's very easy to learn basic sewing. Within half an hour you can complete six buttons on one pair, and it will probably be a better job than what they'd do. The buttons I sew on are stronger than the seams themselves. I've thus never went to a shop for that, always did that myself.

And if I'm not mistaken, I think some dry cleaning shops can also do alterations.

I don't know if this counts, but if I've had a really good eating day/session, I like to slap/clap my hands on my gut.

Still not much jiggle though, at least not yet.

Just be sure to take it easy at first.

It's really easy to burn out on it, otherwise.

As far as I can tell, it's a terrible value for the money. I've also tried it, and my experiences weren't positive. I'll also tell you what you should try instead.

Before I begin, these are my experiences with "Serious Mass." I'm not sure if "Mass Gainer" is a different brand but I suspect all of these weight gain powders are equally awful. They do have some upsides, but there's better places to get those advantages.

At Wal-Mart, they want $20 for a 2.96 lb can. They claim 4 servings, and they call 2 scoops to be a serving, which means there's only 8 scoops worth. I really doubt you'll find a lower price elsewhere. Larger package sizes exist, but the discount isn't very substantial.

They claim a "serving" contains 1,250 calories, so each scoop should be about 625. In terms of calories per dollar, it ranks poorly at only 2,500 calories per $10. A large #3 combo from Whataburger, a fast food joint offers a similar ratio, and it's prepared takeout food.

You will have to mix in over a cup of water for each scoop, which makes it a bit filling. In fact, the directions even suggest 1.5 cups of water for each scoop. The powder will fluff that up a bit more, so that's 625 calories in nearly 16 fl. oz.

That's not an impressive calories per fluid oz. ratio either.

But wait, can't you mix that with milk, half & half, or even cream? Eh.. no, you can't. I tried it with half & half, and the mixture was SO thick there was no way I was sucking it through a straw. The amount of suction you have to generate to get it through the straw was just too much. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I tried that with cream. So no, you have to use water.

An ideal shake is one that you can suck on and drink, almost mindlessly while you do other things.

Given the calories it provides, a fast food milkshake is likely to be a better value, and that's even with the premium expense because of it being takeout food.

There is one positive to it; the vitamins. The thought of being able to just drink your vitamins is appealing. But there's cheaper and better ways to get that.

Ever heard of Ensure Plus? It's 350 calories per 8 fl. oz. bottle, and the chocolate flavor tastes like chocolate milk. Even with it's expense, it's still going to be a far better value than Serious Mass. These "nutritional shakes" are delicious and they have many vitamins, which you end up drinking down like they are nothing. And you know what, it gets even better! Both Wal-Mart and Kroger have their store-brand knock-offs, which are just as good but a good bit cheaper; they are called Equate Plus and Fortify Plus, respectively.

In fact, a 24 pack of Equate Plus, they want $25 for it, far cheaper than Ensure Plus ($25 for 16).

But you know what, it gets even better! You can mix the contents of one bottle (8 fl. oz.) with a cup of heavy cream and it's still pretty easy to drink. In 16 fl. oz., that's 1,150 calories, primarily from dairy fat.

Another thing these gainer powders often have is maltodextrin, a complex carbohydrate with a high glycemic index. Currently I'm not using it, but there's a theory where you may have a reason to try it.

The glycemic index means it should help the various cells of your body open up and absorb more nutrients. Not only might this help for muscle building, but it also helps open up your fat cells to absorb more fat.

And guess what? You can get raw, pure maltodextrin for cheap, if you wanted to try this route.

Suggestions and ideas:

Suits? The jacket should be at least a size or two up. It's surprisingly more flexible on size than the trousers. Vests also typically have a sash on the back that can be made tighter if it's too big.

Tops in general also tend to be flexible on size. Often you'd have to gain quite a bit before the neck area or sleeves get too tight. So if you're an M/15-15.5" neck, you probably don't want to get XL/17-17.5" neck just yet.

For bottoms, yes.. you should use a belt or suspenders. I have noticed a rise in the availability of stretchy bottoms, jeans or otherwise but the stretch probably wouldn't provide more than 1-2" tops, and waist is typically the second largest of all the measurements, after butt. If you do, you might eventually be able to able to get away with a waist size that's 4" higher, but I think you'd have to get to the mid to upper 30s before you can do that.

But yeah, if you're one of those who just try to rely on the waist being snug enough and trusting the button won't pop, you won't be able to do that anymore.

Belt measurements are typically for the middle hole, adjustable 2" in either direction. You might be able to punch another hole but too small and you might be left with way too much slack. For whatever reason I rarely to almost never see belts where the slack goes underneath.

I would think after a certain point, you would just remember the formula and be able to use it on any calculator.

The simple formula for pounds and inches:

(703 * weight in pounds) / (height in inches) ^ 2

That's 703 multiplied by your weight in pounds, divided by the square of your height in inches.

An example of a lady who weighs 250 lbs and is 5'6" would thus have a BMI of about 40.3, as shown below:

(703 * 250) / (66) ^ 2 =

(703 * 250) / (66 * 66) =

(175,750) / (4,356) =

~ 40.35

There is an even simpler formula that uses meters and kilograms, but I can't recall it off hand. However, as an American I admit I'm not used to thinking in metric.

Once you remember this, you won't need to visit a BMI web site, download yet another smart phone program, etc.


Other ratios worth remembering if you can:

1 kg = ~2.205 lbs

75 kg = 165.3 lbs
100 kg = 220.5 lbs
125 kg = 275.6 lbs

1 inch = 2.54 cm

1 foot = 30.48 cm

1 "stone" = 14 lbs (primarily the British/UK residents may use the term "stone"

18 stone = 252 lbs

As of this writing, only 24.7. I ended up losing some weight; last thing I need when I'm still too thin.

Working hard on gaining it back and then some. Would really like to weigh 200+ lbs by the end of this year.

Hopefully the next time I post in this thread I'll be closer to 30 than to 25.

Are you selling content?

This topic doesn't seem to be a personal ad.

It seems like a toss up between either the Gaining or Extreme Obesity message boards, but it's likely better suited for the latter.

Thus, I'm moving this thread to the Extreme Obesity message board.