At what point in shifting body size do you get alterations done? When my weight increased a decade ago, I bought sparingly, hoping not to be at the size for long. As the weight came off, I divested myself of most of those items, but have had a couple skirts/dresses altered.

Most of my adult life, I’ve laid claim to a particular waist measurement that i was generally slightly over, but within an inch of. The last couple years, I have dropped down to it in summer, then put on an inch or two in winter. I just got the tape measurement out to see if I’ve reached it—cool fall has begun, so I doubt I’ll drop more this year, but I’d like to put on less winter fat this year than last. I’m actually under that measurement, nearly an inch. A couple days ago, I had a similar startling experience with the bathroom scale. I thought it was a funny fluke, and joked to my friend, who is quite fat-phobic for himself and doesn’t always cover his negativity about others that way as well as he’d like, that I thought the scale was broken. He said You're skinny. 53kg is nothing. Trust me you were nothing to hoist. Was just having fun. Obsession makes folks go overboard to look saggy and old in the face and/or the body or emaciated or steroidal huge or botoxed babe or unpleasant personality, etc. Don't go down that path.... I don’t read “skinny” as a compliment; being told that there is such a narrow target zone doesn’t exactly allay any concerns I have (& I think he’d already say I have an “unpleasant personality”, haha).

After I took off the bulk of the weight, I learned I have Hashimoto, a slow metabolism. I’ve taken thyroid hormone for a few years because of this. I’m going to get my blood levels checked, because although the weight loss suggests a fast metabolism, my pulse was recently measured at 60, while I was chatting away (ie I think it is lower at other times).

In the meantime, it’s chilly out—I need to wear clothes! I just had a bunch of high summer shorts & a pair of pants taken in, but it’s too cool for them now. My “special” dilemma is the “forever wardrobe”. I keep my clothes literally for decades, and pull them out of deep storage to wear.

So my questions are: how soon after a body change do you change your wardrobe to suit, how much of it do you change, and what suggestions do you have for me?