OT: Tailoring (or: My Whole30 Success Story)

[Nooch]

Over the past few months I've lost about 60lbs, however last year I'd purchased a few custom suits from Indochino. Anyone have any experience having suits taken in what might amount to a dramatic amount? Obviously prices will dictate the value between buying new again vs. having these two suits fixed, but I wasn't sure if it might even be worth it.

At the end of the day, the suits have been worn a grand total of maybe 6 times, so I'd feel crappy having essentially wasted the money on em.. Too bad indochino doesn't offer a size down program like rapha, lol...

[biker72]

The tailor told me to buy a new suit.
I'd worn the suit twice then lost almost 100 pounds before trying it on again.
I bought a new suit.

My information is rather dated so I would check with a tailor just to make sure.

[ANAO]

Over the past few months I've lost about 60lbs, however last year I'd purchased a few custom suits from Indochino. Anyone have any experience having suits taken in what might amount to a dramatic amount? Obviously prices will dictate the value between buying new again vs. having these two suits fixed, but I wasn't sure if it might even be worth it.

At the end of the day, the suits have been worn a grand total of maybe 6 times, so I'd feel crappy having essentially wasted the money on em.. Too bad indochino doesn't offer a size down program like rapha, lol...
Somebody actually just offered me a tailoring job. Midtown east.

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[Nooch]

Somebody actually just offered me a tailoring job. Midtown east.

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not sure if someone offered to tailor something for you, or if they offered you a job as a tailor

[ANAO]

not sure if someone offered to tailor something for you, or if they offered you a job as a tailor

Well done!

An apprenticeship.

[Nooch]

Well done!

An apprenticeship.

an interesting career move, though you are quite the sartorialist... you going for it?

[ANAO]

an interesting career move, though you are quite the sartorialist... you going for it?

Pay is similar to where I am now, but the ceiling is lower unless I take what I learn there and open my own shop. I can also peddle insurance policies in addition to that, I guess?

[batman1425]

Depends on the level of modification that is needed - but the bill can quickly out pace the value of the garment. I had two ~$250 off the rack suits when I was 50lbs heavier. They would have needed to have nearly every stitch removed to shrink every panel to make them fit with out looking out of proportion. At some point, the modification is essentially making you a new suit out of the pieces of your old one. It was going to cost half the price of a new one (each) for the mods which wasn't worth it to me. Sold them on the bay for 40 or 50 bucks each and bought new ones that fit.

It's a good problem to have though.

[echelon_john]

Nice job on unhitching the dessert cart, Drew! Very impressive.

[pdonk]

No way will the pants look right. Belt loops on back will be too close, leg openings through thighs too large and rise will be funny too.

Considering cost of indochine suit it is better to replace than rebuild.

[paredown]

I have had to go both ways--let out and take in--depending on my weight, the era etc.

The limit on taking in on the jacket is usually (if there are pockets) you can really only work with the back seam--and the waist (from the back), but you can't do too much.

Standard suit 'drop' is 6" (eg 38 chest, 32 waist) and when I was young and slender I would have to get them taken in to an 8" drop (38-30) and that was pretty much always doable. So 2" in the waist on trousers, and maybe a size in the chest (1" on either side of the center seam on the back, and the same 2" on the waist of the jacket).

I tend to think it is better to start with the correct size, and everything stays in proportion--unless you love your existing suits. The tailors we knew at Nordstroms were very good--but one of the measures (heh--a pun) of how well the floor people were sizing their customers was how many or how few alterations were being asked for. Too many, and they would give the staff another coaching on proper fit.

[Nooch]

Nice job on unhitching the dessert cart, Drew! Very impressive.

LOL, thanks John! The Whole30 is eye opening.

I do not recall a time that I weighed this little (still fat for a cyclist...) which is to say it was sometime while I was a child and wasn't concerned about the scale...

[echelon_john]

Fantastic--seriously. Great job. (furiously googling 'whole30')


LOL, thanks John! The Whole30 is eye opening.

I do not recall a time that I weighed this little (still fat for a cyclist...) which is to say it was sometime while I was a child and wasn't concerned about the scale...

[jlwdm]

Congratulations on the weight loss.

With the loss of that much weight and the low price of those suits it is a no brainer. Go buy a bunch of new clothes - you deserve it.

Jeff

[MattTuck]

Well done!

An apprenticeship.

You should open a suit shop for cyclists. Figure out the right way to handle the big quads, and you'd be in demand from the cyclists. :)

[ANAO]

You should open a suit shop for cyclists. Figure out the right way to handle the big quads, and you'd be in demand from the cyclists. :)
I already considered it.

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[ANAO]

You should open a suit shop for cyclists. Figure out the right way to handle the big quads, and you'd be in demand from the cyclists. :)
Did you know there's a denim company for people like us? I can't recall the name. Why not an atelier?

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[Louis]

I already considered it.

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Business model: hang around the velodrome handing out your business card and watch the bucks roll in:

http://i.imgur.com/UZ0Cvkf.png

[pdmtong]

chapeau on the weight loss. well done.

at some point, the pants taken in too much mean the pockets are too close together. that's the signal buy new and pass on the tailoring.

[happycampyer]

As batman noted, the garments would probably need to be re-cut, and even that might not work with the amount of fabric that needs to be removed. For example, you can't just take the pants in in back because you'll end up with one big pocket, the seams and creases will all be in the wrong places, etc. Even if the pants are opened up along the sides and the back, there's only so much fabric that cam be removed, since you can't take it out of the front (unless the side pockets get recut, too). At some point it becomes more work to alter than to make a new suit.

Congrats on losing that much weight.

(Ha! I was typing the same thing as pdmtong, just took me longer)

[pdmtong]

As batman noted, the garments would probably need to be re-cut, and even that might not work with the amount of fabric that needs to be removed. For example, you can't just take the pants in in back because you'll end up with one big pocket, the seams and creases will all be in the wrong places, etc. Even if the pants are opened up along the sides and the back, there's only so much fabric that cam be removed, since you can't take it out of the front (unless the side pockets get recut, too). At some point it becomes more work to alter than to make a new suit.

Congrats on losing that much weight.

(Ha! I was typing the same thing as pdmtong, just took me longer)

OTOH...I should add, what's a suit? I only wear those to funerals now. Not part of the silicon valley wardrobe. sportcoat yes, suit no.

[ojingoh]

chapeau on the weight loss. well done.

at some point, the pants taken in too much mean the pockets are too close together. that's the signal buy new and pass on the tailoring.

^^ Count on your waist contracting about an inch per 5 pounds of weight loss. In your case (chapeau) that's 12 inches, a staggering amount. Rule of thumb is when you take in pants more than 4 inches, your pants will look too weird to make it work. "Front" pockets will be in the wrong place - basically behind your hip - and the rear pockets will almost touch.

Then there's the jacket. The deal with jackets is you can adjust pretty much everything except the way the shoulders fit. If it fit you 60 pounds ago, it will cost more to tailor it and get it looking good than to just buy a new one.

[jlwdm]

OTOH...I should add, what's a suit? I only wear those to funerals now. Not part of the silicon valley wardrobe. sportcoat yes, suit no.

Suits seem to be making a comeback. I have worn dress shirts to work most days and once in a while sport coats. Lately I have been dressing up more and I purchased five suits. Also, I have been wearing more lace up shoes instead of loafers. I have always had a strong interest in clothes and am enjoying dressing up more. As my wife always says it is better to be over dressed than under dressed for an event.

Jeff

[Nooch]

Did you know there's a denim company for people like us? I can't recall the name. Why not an atelier?

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There are a couple, like Fran Denim, catered more to the powerlifting crowd.

Thanks for all the compliments! I wish I'd been riding more throughout it, but time restrictions allowed for this to be a mostly dietary change. I've lost a few inches from my quads and calves, unfortunately.

This last whole30 ended today (today is day 31) and in the last 30 I've lost 15lbs and 2" off my waist..

[MattTuck]

Suitsupply is a decent value for suits, and if you order online they have a thing where you can order two sizes and then return the one that doesn't fit.

[PQJ]

I needed to get a new suit for my bros wedding. Looked high and low and eventually settled on made to measure from Suitsupply. Initially I was impressed by the company. Stuff looked nice, reasonably priced, and the guy taking my measurements seemed to know what he was doing. Boy was I wrong. When pickup day arrived, I discovered the suit was an abomination. The measuring guy couldn't have done a worse job if he tried; or the factory couldn't have done a worse job if they tried. Either way, for something supposedly made to measure, it could not have looked and fit worse. Suitsupply made almost no effort at keeping my business. They basically offered a refund and nothing more, which I gladly accepted. Ultimately, I believe that in life if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. For the price, Suitsupply may be workable, but I think the quality is crap. Just my humble opinion.

[Nooch]

I needed to get a new suit for my bros wedding. Looked high and low and eventually settled on made to measure from Suitsupply. Initially I was impressed by the company. Stuff looked nice, reasonably priced, and the guy taking my measurements seemed to know what he was doing. Boy was I wrong. When pickup day arrived, I discovered the suit was an abomination. The measuring guy couldn't have done a worse job if he tried; or the factory couldn't have done a worse job if they tried. Either way, for something supposedly made to measure, it could not have looked and fit worse. Suitsupply made almost no effort at keeping my business. They basically offered a refund and nothing more, which I gladly accepted. Ultimately, I believe that in life if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. For the price, Suitsupply may be workable, but I think the quality is crap. Just my humble opinion.


Indochino excels here -- the first suit I got, measurements done at home as best as my wife could, suit came out huge. Took pictures, gave them some advice as to what didn't seem to work, how much needed to be taken off where, and they had a new suit out to me in about 2-3 weeks. From there, they cover $75 (IIRC) in alterations to EACH PIECE, that they refund you within like two days of submitting a claim. All really easy and then the second suit I bought, matching the updated first suit measurements, was perfect.

[MattTuck]

I needed to get a new suit for my bros wedding. Looked high and low and eventually settled on made to measure from Suitsupply. Initially I was impressed by the company. Stuff looked nice, reasonably priced, and the guy taking my measurements seemed to know what he was doing. Boy was I wrong. When pickup day arrived, I discovered the suit was an abomination. The measuring guy couldn't have done a worse job if he tried; or the factory couldn't have done a worse job if they tried. Either way, for something supposedly made to measure, it could not have looked and fit worse. Suitsupply made almost no effort at keeping my business. They basically offered a refund and nothing more, which I gladly accepted. Ultimately, I believe that in life if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. For the price, Suitsupply may be workable, but I think the quality is crap. Just my humble opinion.

I don't have a horse in the race, but I've heard similar stories from many people about made to measure products across many brands. Suits and dress shirts, especially. Seems that doing made to measure on the cheap (or even not so cheap) does not have a great likelihood of success. If you want to go to a high end custom tailor to make a suit, you're talking big money -- but that is probably the way to do it to get a well fitting custom suit. I think the expectation is that you go in once or twice after the initial measurements to make sure everything is still on track. You're just never going to get that level of precision from made to measure.

For suit supply, off the rack, I do think they have a good value suit for the money. If an off the rack suit doesn't fit and can't be altered to fit, then you've got some tough decisions to make, unfortunately.

Styleforum has pages and pages of people getting made to measure suits and being unsatisfied with the results.

[fuzzalow]

Those old suits are goners - don't even think about altering them for the amount of weight you lost (congrats on that). Even if a tailor could do it, you'd know that suit from the before & after and you will always see the alterations on yourself when wearing the suit no matter how it well done 'cos it'll never be perfect. You did the hard part in losing the weight, why mess with your psyche and how you feel in wearing an old suit? Don't wear old suits with the new you. Wearing clothes is all about the ease and confidence in doing it - go forwards anew. Very important: if you care about how you wear a suit, don't blow it by wearing cheap shoes because that is the dead giveaway.

I bought a SuitSupply off the rack as a knock around suit. It's OK but for the price I'd guess it was fused so it won't survive much dry cleaning. Fused suits to my eye always drape funny and can be seen by how it moves when you see somebody wearing one. Which for most these days of mass market suits is a lotta people. Suits are another one of those things that if you care about to know, you'll know.

If you don't need suits as part of your career requirement then SuitSupply might be good enough but anything else you really should pay up and buy something decent. What "decent" is is a whole 'nother discussion.

[PQJ]

I don't have a horse in the race, but I've heard similar stories from many people about made to measure products across many brands. Suits and dress shirts, especially. Seems that doing made to measure on the cheap (or even not so cheap) does not have a great likelihood of success. If you want to go to a high end custom tailor to make a suit, you're talking big money -- but that is probably the way to do it to get a well fitting custom suit. I think the expectation is that you go in once or twice after the initial measurements to make sure everything is still on track. You're just never going to get that level of precision from made to measure.

For suit supply, off the rack, I do think they have a good value suit for the money. If an off the rack suit doesn't fit and can't be altered to fit, then you've got some tough decisions to make, unfortunately.

Styleforum has pages and pages of people getting made to measure suits and being unsatisfied with the results.

Yep, that's what I concluded. For MTM to work, the maker needs to know what they are doing, and that is going to cost $$.
FWIW, I ended up getting an off the rack suit from Sid Mashburn and a MTM shirt from them as well. Couldn't be happier with both items and I highly recommend Mr. Mashburn.

[christian]

Over the past few months I've lost about 60lbs, however last year I'd purchased a few custom suits from Indochino. Anyone have any experience having suits taken in what might amount to a dramatic amount? Obviously prices will dictate the value between buying new again vs. having these two suits fixed, but I wasn't sure if it might even be worth it.

At the end of the day, the suits have been worn a grand total of maybe 6 times, so I'd feel crappy having essentially wasted the money on em.. Too bad indochino doesn't offer a size down program like rapha, lol...

You can take a suit in about a size and a half. So, from a 42 to a 40.5. And you can't do anything about the shoulders. I am sorry to say you will be making a lovely gesture atGoodwill, or you'll be socking them away for when you gain weight.

[AngryScientist]

so related note:

i just looked at the basic rules of this diet, and it sounds strictly MISERABLE.

i didnt dig too far in, but is there a maintenance plan that exists after the 30 days of basic self loathing?

congratulations are definitely in order for losing such a mass of weight, 60 pounds is a crazy amount of extra weight to not need to carry around any more!

[jlwdm]

I have always been a clothes shopper so I see more clothes sales than most people on this forum. I live close to a Neiman Marcus Last Call and reasonably close to an excellent Neiman Marcus store. Not all Neiman Marcus Last Call and Neiman Marcus stores are created equal. I go to these stores for the big sales which are on a pretty regular basis at Last Call. I do wear L sizes which limits my choices a little bit.

My recent new suits are two from Isaia, two from Armani (not the new G Line made outside of Italy) and surprisingly one Hickey Freeman. I always thought of Hickey Freeman as an old man's style suit, but they have some current styles. I recently purchased a HF suit with Super 160s wool from Italy, with the suit made in the US for around $450. It fit well but I had it altered at Neiman Marcus for $82. Nothing major to change, finish pants, shorten sleeves move button slightly on jacket and sew up the vents (my personal style). It is a great suit with a perfect tailored fit for under $550. These suits are much higher quality than places like Suitsupply.

You do need to spend a little time to find the right buys though.

In Seattle the downtown Nordstrom has more high end suits than most Nordstrom stores and the Nordstrom Rack in Factoria is a good place to find them for great prices. I swing by the Rack when I am in the area. I keep a bike in a storage facility in Factoria which makes it easy. The Armani outlet north of Everett is also excellent.

Jeff

[ANAO]

Since we have a few experts here, this is somewhat on topic now that they have the Crosby cut, what is the jury's verdict on J.Crew suiting?

I worked there a few years ago and stocked up a bit, and have been grabbing 1 or 2 more every year or so. They fit me pretty well and are between $250-$350 on sale, so I'll buy linen in the winter and chunkier tweed in the summer.

The inconsistencies in pant lengths just mean that each suit fits me a bit differently - I never tailor any of them, unless the pants arrive un-hemmed. Some give a 1" break, some leave about 1" of sock showing, some have cuffs.

I have about 8-10 of them at this point.

[Nooch]

so related note:

i just looked at the basic rules of this diet, and it sounds strictly MISERABLE.

i didnt dig too far in, but is there a maintenance plan that exists after the 30 days of basic self loathing?

congratulations are definitely in order for losing such a mass of weight, 60 pounds is a crazy amount of extra weight to not need to carry around any more!

For sure -- and keep in mind, my total loss for life is about 105 (from highest recorded weight, but probably even ten more than that).

The point of the Whole30 (not to make this a thread all about it) is to clear out all the crap for 30 days. No legumes, dairy, grains, alcohol, sugar (or sweetener of any kind). Oh, and no processed foods. I spent 30 days eating meat, fish, chicken, eggs, fruits, nuts, and vegetables and drinking black coffee, water, and seltzer.

After the 30 days, you continue eating whole30 and add dairy for one day and spend the next two days strict whole30. Then the fourth day do w30+grains, then two days strict. The point is to assess how each of the individual items affect your body -- are you bloated? gassy? constipated? did you break out? etc... and it'll help you determine what you want to add back into your diet regularly or sporadically.

From there, you ask yourself questions -- Do you have a specific desire to eat a particular food? is it going to be incredibly delicious or significant? will it make you feel like crap? Is there a less bad option? Is it worth it (if it's going to make you feel like crap?)

It's really done a lot to help me "fix" my relationship with food. I'm an emotional eater -- and I love sweets. Today happens to be my birthday, and day 31 of my second W30, and my wife asks me what I want for dessert -- I don't have an answer. I'm not craving the sugar like I was. It's actually pretty remarkable, and while restrictive, food just becomes fuel with less attachment.

That said, it's not for everyone, for sure, but it was definitely eye opening for me!

Another eye opener -- watch 'Fed Up' on Netflix...

One more edit: the goal of the W30 isn't weight loss -- it's a common byproduct, but not the end goal. The end goal is fixing your gut and you relationship with food.. You're not even supposed to step on the scale for the 30 days.

[ANAO]

For sure -- and keep in mind, my total loss for life is about 105 (from highest recorded weight, but probably even ten more than that).

The point of the Whole30 (not to make this a thread all about it) is to clear out all the crap for 30 days. No legumes, dairy, grains, alcohol, sugar (or sweetener of any kind). I spent 30 days eating meat, fish, chicken, eggs, fruits, nuts, and vegetables and drinking black coffee, water, and seltzer.

After the 30 days, you continue eating whole30 and add dairy for one day and spend the next two days strict whole30. Then the fourth day do w30+grains, then two days strict. The point is to assess how each of the individual items affect your body -- are you bloated? gassy? constipated? did you break out? etc... and it'll help you determine what you want to add back into your diet regularly or sporadically.

From there, you ask yourself questions -- Do you have a specific desire to eat a particular food? is it going to be incredibly delicious or significant? will it make you feel like crap? Is there a less bad option? Is it worth it (if it's going to make you feel like crap?)

It's really done a lot to help me "fix" my relationship with food. I'm an emotional eater -- and I love sweets. Today happens to be my birthday, and day 31 of my second W30, and my wife asks me what I want for dessert -- I don't have an answer. I'm not craving the sugar like I was. It's actually pretty remarkable, and while restrictive, food just becomes fuel with less attachment.

That said, it's not for everyone, for sure, but it was definitely eye opening for me!

Curious. Interested to hear how this would affect high training loads. Maybe this winter is the time to try.

[jlwdm]

ANAO, I come from the camp that all suits should be tailored. Pants need to be hemmed to the proper length and sleeves need to be shortened so that the appropriate amount of shirt shows for looks and to limit wear on the suit sleeves. Also, the body should usually have some minor adjustments. It is better to spend a little less on a suit and have it tailored to a perfect fit than to buy a more expensive suit that does not have a perfect fit.

I guess the different length pants work for you, but the suits would have very different purposes. Personally again I do not ever wear cuffs.

Jeff

[ANAO]

ANAO, I come from the camp that all suits should be tailored. Pants need to be hemmed to the proper length and sleeves need to be shortened so that the appropriate amount of shirt shows for looks and to limit wear on the suit sleeves. Also, the body should usually have some minor adjustments. It is better to spend a little less on a suit and have it tailored to a perfect fit than to buy a more expensive suit that does not have a perfect fit.

I guess the different length pants work for you, but the suits would have very different purposes. Personally again I do not ever wear cuffs.

Jeff
Here are 3 different examples of "the same suit". All size 40R, with 32/32 pants. All pant lengths are different.

But I wonder how OK the J.Crew quality is. I'm still wearing suits from 5 years ago fro them that I wear once a month in season, roughly.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170607/82decba967f164d085cb91579a6c8f70.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170607/7fad958605872375bb5d3e64ab4489e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170607/316b7a80f083114db4dc0dd09f9d9caa.jpg

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[jlwdm]

...

It's really done a lot to help me "fix" my relationship with food. I'm an emotional eater -- and I love sweets. Today happens to be my birthday, and day 31 of my second W30, and my wife asks me what I want for dessert -- I don't have an answer. I'm not craving the sugar like I was. It's actually pretty remarkable, and while restrictive, food just becomes fuel with less attachment.

...

One more edit: the goal of the W30 isn't weight loss -- it's a common byproduct, but not the end goal. The end goal is fixing your gut and you relationship with food.. You're not even supposed to step on the scale for the 30 days.

I am an emotional eater also. From Nov 1st to April 1st I lost 40 lbs by working out more, eating better food and less food. My goal was 50 lbs. Then life got in the way: my mother died and some work pressures have led to a 10 lb weight gain - no exercise and eating nothing but junk.

I am going to give this a try for 30 days, but it will be tough because even when I am eating well I eat a lot of grains and dairy.

I also like to weigh myself constantly - it will be really hard not to weigh and measure myself. But my clothes will tell me what is happening.

Edit: I just put Fed Up in my Netflix cue and am heading out for a 30 mile bike ride - heck with work.

Jeff

[AngryScientist]

yea, giving up booze and dairy would be an absolute non-starter for me :)

[Nooch]

I am an emotional eater also. From Nov 1st to April 1st I lost 40 lbs by working out more, eating better food and less food. My goal was 50 lbs. Then life got in the way: my mother died and some work pressures have led to a 10 lb weight gain - no exercise and eating nothing but junk.

I am going to give this a try for 30 days, but it will be tough because even when I am eating well I eat a lot of grains and dairy.

I also like to weigh myself constantly - it will be really hard not to weigh and measure myself. But my clothes will tell me what is happening.

Jeff

I do suggest reading "It Starts With Food" before or as you do it -- it'll outline the why's of everything. Either that, or "The Whole30," again, essentially the same information, one is more focused on the 'product' of the whole30, if you will. But on the same token, all the information is available online and free, so don't feel obligated unless you're really interested in the 'why?'

https://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

Best of luck!!

[MattTuck]

I meant to post this the other day:

It is the Styleforum ranking of suit brands.

Take it as just another piece of data to consider.

Google Doc - Styleforum Suit Hierarchy (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y32yqkSU5_ZnVO7ub_B5Y6J9E_izu6qD6nwdzw7V1HU/edit#gid=1990531564)

[MattTuck]

And another link for those looking to learn more about suits...

The Cost of Quality

http://journal.styleforum.net/how-much-does-a-quality-suit-cost/

Actually has some relevance for cycling also.

[jruhlen1980]

I do suggest reading "It Starts With Food" before or as you do it -- it'll outline the why's of everything. Either that, or "The Whole30," again, essentially the same information, one is more focused on the 'product' of the whole30, if you will. But on the same token, all the information is available online and free, so don't feel obligated unless you're really interested in the 'why?'

https://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

Best of luck!!

Congrats on the weight loss. Just out of curiosity, how did you like the Indochino suits otherwise? I've lost some weight and need a couple new suits.

[Davist]

You've lost too much weight for tailoring, Indochino are inexpensive enough (sorry ~$400) to just get a new one. I've had good luck with them based on measuring at home. They also have some (sorry didn't check where you were) stores in certain metro areas, which can help if you're not confident with measuring, and as you stated, they supply $75 credit per piece for tailoring.

Next step up in quality in made to measure would be someone like Oliver Wicks, which will get you a better construction, details, etc.

As for the J Crew stuff, well, it's not real high quality in fabric or construction and priced way too high for what you receive.

I like the tailored fit myself, working for a European company, too much (an opinion) of tailoring in the US looks like it's your big brother's jacket to me, even in the quality brands.

I'm an amateur, but the boys at Style Forum have lots of good info.

[tiretrax]

Google Doc - Styleforum Suit Hierarchy (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y32yqkSU5_ZnVO7ub_B5Y6J9E_izu6qD6nwdzw7V1HU/edit#gid=1990531564)

Interesting list. I can't believe that Charles Tyrwhitt outranks Loro Piana.

Congratulations, Nooch. Be vigilant. Last year, I cut back on sweets, soft drinks, and other junk for two months prior to going to Colorado. I spent a week acclimating and riding and ate only real food - nothing processed, no fast food. Then, I did Ride the Rockies. By the end of the two weeks, I slimmed down quite a bit. When I got home, my clothes were all very loose, and I felt great. My metabolism continued at a high rate - for a while. I was often hungry and returned to eating all kinds of junk that was in the office or convenient. I am back to where I was, maybe even a little worse off. Time to repeat the process and make my pants loose again. I'm thinking of riding a TdF charity event next year. I wonder if I could complete the course.

BTW, jlwdm is as well dressed on the bike as off (and gives good sartorial advice - although I prefer a vented jacket).

[Nooch]

This might just end up a whole30 thread after all.

After thrashing about for the last month and change (a trip to vegas, a birthday, fourth of july, and general debauchery) I was back up to 187 yesterday (fake weight -- lots of bloat from the weekend, but i digress). I'd been hovering around 5 pounds up from my low of 179.4, so I'm back on the whole30. Looking forward to dropping back below 180 and hopefully stabilizing around the 170 mark.

There's also another biggest loser going on at work, so I figured I'd give it one more crack to take the pot before I'm out of weight to lose, lol.