Loose Pants Dance

"Those pants are huge on you!" Abby said as we got on the elevator the other day.

I smiled. Her words were music to my ears. After months of disciplined dieting and running, I have finally started to feel a difference in the way my clothes fit. Now, I am fully aware that I've probably stretched out these pants from constant wear and they might fit a little tighter once I throw them in the wash, but for now I'm going to enjoy the loose-fitting feel they have. I enjoy the fact that I can fit my thumb in between my stomach and the buttons of my pants and that I don't have a red indentation across my midsection after sitting all day.

The ultimate test was today when I slipped on my favorite pair of work pants and didn't feel like I was going to split the back of them when I walked or bent over. The last time I wore these pants I brought a second pair in my work bag just in case that happened-- that's how tight they were. There is now also room for my thumb to slide along the inside of the pants at the waistline where they used to roll over and bunch because I could barely button the one remaining button. They were so tight, that halfway through the day I would unbutton them while at my desk in order to prevent a permanent red line across my belly--it hurt too!

You might be laughing (I would be too), but I'm serious. I'm not proud of it but I love these pants. I've had them since college and love the way I feel and look in them. Despite the stomach rolls (hidden by a baggy shirt) and the torture of a tight waistline, I felt skinny in them because of the way they fit on my legs. They're also the prefect length to wear with heels. They're like my own personal pair of Traveling Pants-- I feel confident and pretty when I wear them.

Now I may have lost some of my gut, and I don't have a six-pack or a flat stomach by any means, but I am so proud and happy that I can wear these pants without the fear of them splitting. Again, you're probably laughing but it was such a concern before that I stopped wearing them all together recently--the way they made me feel didn't outweigh the fear of public embarrassment if that happened.

I am fully aware that these pants too may be stretched out a little, but I'm going to enjoy the way this feels until laundry day.