Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The Purge - Part 1

My lovely wife and I dove into our scariest project of the summer last night, my closet. Technically it's the guest room, but everyone simply refers to it as my walk-in closet.

I have to admit I am a bit of a clothes horse. It's not so much that I buy a lot of clothes, I just never throw them out. Here was a typical conversation from last night:

ME: "Maybe I should get rid of this, I've had it for a while."
LAURA: "You had that when we met!"

My lovely wife and I have been together 12 years!

Heck, I'm still wearing clothes I bought in high school. I was into the baggy grunge flannels back then. 4 years before grunge went national I would like to point out!

I have also collected a lot of clothes in the last three years. When you're going up a size every 6 to 8 months it's hard not to accumulate.

The purge was long overdue.


The main criteria for getting rid of clothes was size. Everything with a XXXL went without even trying it on. A lot of the XXL stuff went as well. I was really surprised at how much stuff ended up in the to go pile. There are clothes that that I haven't worn in years because they were too tight that are now to big to wear. I missed them going up and coming down.

Last night was the first time in this whole process that I have felt like a person who has lost nearly 50 lbs. Seeing my old clothes looking like a Mama Cass mumu on me, clothes that used to be tight just 9 months ago, made me really see my body in a new way.

While this was mostly a joyous occasion, there are some things that I will be really sad to see go. I had just received a lot of really nice clothes for Christmas this past year, which I hardly had the chance to wear and now they are 3 sizes to big for me. It made the whole experience a little bitter sweet.

Tonight I tackle pants and sweaters. I have a feeling the purge has only just begun.

The most triumphant moment of the evening:

- One of my favorite shirts is a western / rock star shirt my lovely wife gave me for Christmas 3 years ago. I have never been able to wear it properly, even when she gave it to me. Last night I buttoned it up for the first time.

Here's me in the shirt this past Christmas weighing 288. I'll take a new picture tonight to compare and contrast.

Tony
8/28: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

3 comments:

Em said...

"mama cass mumu"...I just spit carrots all over the screen!!

Thanks for the laugh. And can I just say how much different you look compared to that Christmas shot?? Wow.

You might be one to contend with those Phit -n- Phat before and after shots, Tony!

ElleTeeJay said...

I second Em's "Wow!" It's amazing how you don't notice soemone's weight going up and down when you see them every day.

I'm amazed by that picture, babe. I can't wait to take the other picture tonight!

FatBlokeThin said...

Your weight loss is very impressive - well done.

I started at 270 and am stuck at 242-ish now but have been stuck in a rut for some time now. I have just started gym work in earnest so i am hoping this will kick strat the process.

You are a great inspiration - I will mention you on my blog if that is OK.

Good luck for the last 20lbs!