Another maternity leave blog post! Although I’m not really on maternity “leave” more like maternity “slow down.” ;)
This post is from Laura who is Loving Life. She has really captured my thoughts on Bagging Pants and hiding in a “cushion of fat.” Something I did for a long time as well. Right now I just wish my baggy pants were actually BAGGY! But I digress. Enjoy….
I have a pair of pants—rather, I have stolen a pair of pants from my husband. They are made of flannel and have a big, flannel drawstring. The circumference of the bottom hem of the pants is probably 20 inches. The waist is made to fit someone who is larger than I have ever been, and the pants are too long. They are green with tiny white bears all over them.
On some days, when I am feeling particularly crappy, or I have had a size medium button-up shirt on all day, I crawl into these pants like the warm blanket that they actually are. I cinch up that waste—which takes a lot of cinching—and I put on comfy socks. I don’t even care that I’m trodding on the bottom of the pants as I walk around all evening, doing whatever things I have to do around the house.
Part of me says that to digress into pants such as these is to deny all the hard work I’ve done to arrive at this 62 pound lighter point in my life. This part of me reminds me how badly I wanted to get here, and to fit into much, much smaller pants. Most days this part of me is right on… but some days, I just need to be surrounded by the comfort that used to be my bigger, fatter self.
When I wear clothes that are my size and fit me just right, I am showing myself to everyone who cares to look. I get lovely comments from women saying that I look great, and I sometimes get looks from strange men in grocery stores. Almost all the time, these things are great—even the looks from strange men. Let them look! I’m glad to entertain them, and go home to my very awesome husband.
But it hasn’t been easy letting go of 62 pounds of cushion between me and the rest of the world. Sometimes I still look at myself and I don’t know who I am. Sometimes I don’t want everybody to see me. The good news is, now I know that I don’t have to hide in a box of Oreos, or a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. I don’t need to put the weight back on, because most days it’s great to be thinner. And on a quiet evening at home when I want to hide, I can do that. I grab those big, green, ridiculous pants, tie them on, and I can be that silly turtle, hiding in a big, cozy shell once again.
6 Responses to Guest Post: Sometimes You just need Baggy Pants
Leave a Reply
BlogToLose
What's Cooking in my kitchen?
-
I've seen it mentioned in a few of my clean eating and healthy cook books but honestly, I never even thought of Farro as an option for me. I refuse to shop at specialty stores and I try to use only common products that I can keep in stock and purchase from a typical grocery [...] -
I've never had a tuna melt. Is that weird? I guess that's what happens when you grow up not liking mayonnaise. I never ate tuna salad or egg salad or chicken salad. Honestly, they always kind of grossed me out. Then I realized.. hey.. why does tuna salad have [...] -
I have no idea where this idea came from. I was hungry. It was lunch. I had Brussels Sprouts. That was all the catalyst I needed.:) I decided to use a slice of real bacon to add flavor and little fat that would help sauté the sprouts. I'm trying [...] -
WOW was this good. I mean seriously good. It's not vegetarian so don't start throwing stones. I'm calling it a Garden Vegetable Burger because I use the new Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread. It was this recipe on Allrecipes.com that inspired [...] -
I drink water 99.9% of the time but every so often it just doesn't cut it. I want something else. Something more. Something slightly sweet. Today was one of those days. I decided to make a refreshing drink based on the famous Arnold Palmer, half lemonade and half iced [...] -
The other day I made a whole chicken on the grill in pieces. It was delicious! Just a little BBQ sauce and an open flame is all I need to make The Husband happy in the dinner department. I also picked up a few ears of corn from the grocery store. They aren't in season [...] -
Let me explain so you don't think I'm making a chili recipe and just put it on pizza. I'm calling this vegetarian Chili Pizza because chili is what inspired flavors. I think I told you. Little Bean is really into, well, BEANS! We go through a can about every 2 days. Yesterday [...] -
I've confessed my inability to follow recipes here on GreenLiteBites many, many times. I don't know why it's so hard for me. I can barely follow some of my own and I wrote the darn things! I think most of my problem stems from not having all the ingredients listed and, [...] -
Leftover brown rice and leftover sauce meet in this quick lunch idea inspired by my favorite food of all time: Pizza. I swear I can turn anything into a pizza concoction. Have you seen all my pizza ideas? I've used everything from pumpkin to zucchini, polenta to wontons. Nothing is off [...] -
This isn't a recipe just an idea I had to share. I can't believe how good it was! I've never had grilled pineapple. Can you believe it? I just never really had the desire to grill it before. When you love something raw sometimes it doesn't occur to you to cook it. [...] -
I whipped this up for lunch on a whim today because, well, I have a baby who's obsessed with three things… Cheese, Beans, and Avocado. No, really. Look... It's my go to meal for him so I find myself with beans and avocado readily available. [...] -
You know that tradition 7 Layer Mexican Dip? The one with the cream cheese, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, cheese, green onion and olives? Yea. That's the one. Well I had a craving for it the other day. Well, not exactly for it as I can never make anything the way it's suppose [...] -
If you go through the archives of GreenLiteBites I have about 5 total beef recipes. Five. Compare that to the 80+ I have tagged with chicken/turkey there's a clear winner in the meat department on my blog and in my home. I don't have a beef with beef (omg The Husband [...] -
I'm a kitchen sink smoothie maker. Whatever I have on hand goes in the blender and viola! A quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Last year I posted an "Elastic Approach" to how I make smoothies but I still like to share specific combinations that worked really well. This was one [...] -
The other night it was just the kids and I home for dinner and I decided to make what I wanted to make no holds barred. Without The Husband home it's much easier for some reason. Hmmm wonder why? Ok, not here to husband bash.. really.. I'm not! I'm here [...] -
*sigh* I was really hoping to share an awesome turkey burger idea. I had grand plans for my leftover ground turkey. The results was alright but they could have been so much better. I added diced pineapple, red pepper, green pepper, oats and soy sauce to the meat and formed 2 patties. In hindsight I [...] -
I made this on a total whim yesterday having no idea if it would work. To my surprise it did AND the husband actually said he liked it... UNSOLICITED! Here's the story. I had only 4 tilapia fillets defrosted for dinner. I knew it wasn't going to be enough for us [...] -
This is a slight reboot of a recipe I posted last year simply called Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. Staying true to my use-what-I-have-on-hand roots I, well, used what I had on hand and made a similar dish with a spicy twist. Topping the result with avocado added a cool creaminess that [...] -
Did you hear? The Laughing Cow recently launched Smooth Sensations a line of 5 cream cheese spreads. There's Classic Cream, Classic Cream Light, Strawberries & Cream, Garden Vegetable and my favorite… Cinnamon. It's a sweet wedge of creamy goodness! Today I decided to use my new favorite flavor [...] -
Confession time, I recorded a 30 minute video making this with both kids (partally) 2 nights ago. I miss videos. I really do but they seem so much more difficult with 2 children. I'm also having technical difficulties with my video recording and audio syncing making it VERY time consuming to edit. [...] -
A couple of years ago I shared a modified version of Sloppy Joe's I made for a party. Everyone loved it but I've been wanting to try to make something similar for the family on a smaller scale and without the pre-made canned Manwich sauce. I don't particularly have any issues [...] -
Yesterday I was dreaming about a salad. Not just any salad, but a chickpea filled, cucumber, and red onion salad with a fun, tangy dressing. Unfortunately, I had no cucumber or red onion. Well, that's a lie. I had a half of cucumber but it was a mushy mess and [...] -
Dinner meals are getting harder and harder for me to share lately. I've gone back to just whipping things up without really measuring anything (this meal was going to be one of those until I realized I still had enough light to take some photos.) I've also instituted a few brainless meal nights [...] -
Three years ago I posted a video called "Makin' Hard Boiled Eggs" where I shared my system for, well... making hard boiled eggs. Genius name, I know. I'm smart like that. Anyway, since then I've gotten tons of feedback and comments thanking me but all the information is locked in a long winded 10 minute [...] -
Yup. You read that correctly. BEET as in those red vegetables that stain your fingers pink. Honestly, I have no idea what possessed me to make this. I don't particularly like beets. I mean I like them, but I don't looove them. Two summers ago I made them for [...]
About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
It’s so funny this is the post as I just said to DH the other day that I need a pair of sweats. You know the all cotton “Hanes” kind that are soooo comfy but I am too old to actually wear out. As you say, the “comfort pants” as opposed to the comfort food. I have tried to find them but it is not so easy these days. Unfortunately DH and I are over a foot apart in height and at least 100#s in weight so stealing his pants would not work for me. The search will continue though as you have put into words the exact feeling I was having thinking of those types of pants!
What in interesting perspective…comfy pants instead of comfy foods. I never would have made that connection. It’s just brilliant!
Omg. I do the EXACT same thing. Everything you said I’ve thought on more than one occasion. Awesome guest post!
I’ve never thought too deeply about why I love baggy clothes so much, especially around the house. Hm. I do know I want a pair of pants like those though…they sound amazing :) I steal my hubby’s clothes, too!
Isn’t it great that you now find comfort in a pair of comfy, baggy soft pj’s instead of food. That is a wonderful non scale victory.
Wish I could get to the place where big pants offer the same comfort as Oreos. Mayne one day.