Definition of "fat pants" -- the pants you used to wear before you lost weight or had to buy because you gained weight. There isn't a particular size that determines pants to be "fat pants" -- they are just the bigger pants in your closet that you have to wear when you gain weight or have on hand in case you gain again.
Now the question often comes to me, "Should I keep my fat pants or get rid of them?" Some people (we could call them experts, but what exactly is an expert in the fat pants field?) say that as soon as you lose weight, you should get rid of your fat pants. Otherwise you are just keeping the option open to gain weight -- making it easier because you know you have the wardrobe for it. Some say if you wear your fat pants when they are a little roomy, it may make it so you don't notice when you do gain weight. I doubt that though. I always can sense how my clothes fit and when that's changing whether the pants start out baggy or not.
Others say that you should wear comfortable clothes when you gain weight. I know when I gain weight, it's twice as discouraging to walk around in tight pants (not to mention uncomfortable). After I had my last baby and was 20 pounds heavier than usual, I heard Dr. Phil say that when you're trying to lose weight, you should wear clothes that you feel good in so you are in a positive mode. You'll succeed when you feel good about yourself. I actually went out and bought a few new pairs of "fat pants" that I could feel good in after hearing this and it did make a difference in how I felt until I was able to get back into my other clothes.
Now I have a bit of both. Mostly I have my weight loss clothes -- the ones I wear when I'm at the lower end of my weight range. (I tend to fluctuate up and down 5 pounds all the time -- sometimes up to 10 if I'm not careful around the holidays). Then I have a size up of pants that I have to wear when the weight has crept on and the others are too tight. I don't enjoy being that size, but it sure is more comfortable to wear them.
And yet I wonder . . . would it be better when I am at the lower end of my weight to just give the bigger sized pants to the thrift store and vow to never need to wear those clothes again? It would be nice. But I just fear I would gain the weight for whatever reason anyway then have only snug clothes to wear. Hmmm. Perhaps I should go a whole year without going up a size first just to see if I can do it. It's not like my clothes are so trendy that someone will miss out on the fashion of the season if I wait that long.
It would be nice to have weight maintenance mean always sticking with that particular weight, but for me (at least for the last 5 years), weight maintenance has been more like a pilot flying on course. He's not really on course the whole time, he's veering off, then getting back on, winds blow the plane off a bit, then he gets it back on the path again. I'm not really yo-yoing, just steadying myself to stay about where I feel most comfortable and healthy. Maybe that steadying range will get smaller and smaller, so I don't have to hold onto quite so many clothes.
i keep my fat pants only because i hate to throw them away, but people are telling me that my clothes look too big on me now and i should have a tailor take them in. that's an option, but i don't want to pay more than the pants are worth.
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