There is one thing in my life that stresses me to no end… No… It’s not work or any individual person. It’s the clothing industry. Even as a little kid, I didn’t fit average clothing. I’ve always been taller and bigger than kids my age. Mom used to buy my clothes out of the JC Penny Catolog because that was one of the few places that carried Big/Tall clothing. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that KMart started carrying Big/Tall sizes. Walmart and other stores have also picked up the lines in the last few years.
Even with the stores now carrying Big/Tall sizes, a lot of times its a crap shoot whether or not they have clothes that fit me. My build is weird. I can’t wear tapered shirts because when I get a shirt that fits my belly the shoulders are so baggy that it looks sloppy. Pants are the same way. I can find pants that fit my waist but are tight in the thighs or other areas or they are too short. What causes the stress is more than just finding somewhere that carries the right sizes… It boils down to that no two clothing manufacturers (and even sometimes styles from the same manufacturer) cut their clothes the same way. I have to try them on to figure out what works. Once I find something that works, I stick with it. That means that when I’m out shopping, I usually stroll through the clothing department to see if they have what works. I buy them whether I need them or not because sometimes I have to search several stores to find what I need. So far, all the clothing I’ve mentioned is all standard daily casual clothing. That is tricky enough. Want a bigger challenge? Try finding special clothing that fits me… Suits, special work clothes or in today’s case… Motorcycle Safety Gear.
I will take this space to mention the fact that almost two years ago, I was almost 350 pounds. This surprised the doctor and diabetic dietitian.
Both told me that I carry my weight very well. OOOOO.. That makes me feel sooooo much better knowing I “carry” it better. That’s like telling a Leaper that they look better because their arm fell off so they don’t have as many sores. Anywho… I was up to wearing a size 46 relaxed fit jeans. I spent several hours trying on the known size only to find that they weren’t fitting. “Great!” I thought to myself. “I refuse to buy another size up. Its hard enough finding clothes now.” That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I began really working to lose weight. In about a year, I managed to go from 348 to 275. I could actually fit into a size 42 regular jean. I wouldn’t say it was a good fit, but I could get them buttoned and zipped. “Go me!” I challenged myself to keep losing.
I hit a brick wall. Not in the form of losing weight, but in the form of my sugar going too low and feeling sick all the time from it. I asked Doc to lower my meds. He wouldn’t. He wanted me to eat several small meals instead of 3 big ones. The problem was I was already doing that. I felt so lousy that I finally started eating more to allow my sugar to be higher. This led to gaining back a lot of the weight. I was at 314 or so when my back went wonky on April 1st. My sugar was over 300. Once I started letting food control my sugar, I kept snacking and snacking. I am at that point again with this medicine. It was given to me to get my sugar down in case they need to operate on my back. I’m trying to be more cautious about my ‘tween meals. I’ve gone from 314 down to 298. I can now easily wear my 44 regular jeans. That fact hasn’t necessarily made finding clothes that much easier yet. 42 seems to be the size they start becoming readily available.
Back to today’s dilemma. Last summer, I bought a mesh motorcycle riding jacket for crash protection. I had to order it twice because… even though I followed the sizing guide… The size recommended would not fit my irregular frame. I have wanted to buy a pair of pull over riding pants to go with them but, as noted above, no two manufacturers cut them the same way. I decided rather than go through the process I did with the jacket, I would go to motorcycle shops to try things before I decided what to buy. My options are limited because the Safety Equipment manufacturers apparently believe that only average build people ride motorcycles. If you’re small or big… You have two choices: Pay big bucks or hope you can fit in one manufacturer or another even though they don’t have the type of gear you really want.
I had decided I wanted mesh pants similar to my jacket or chaps. I prefer the pants idea because the thing you slide on the farthest if you crash is your backside…. something that is quite unprotected in chaps. We have a store locally that carries all kinds of work and specialty clothing and boots. After work today (yes.. I had to work Saturday… That’s another blog), I stopped at the local store. It is the smaller of the two stores but I had seen something when I was in there a few weeks ago that I thought ‘might’ work. My jacket experience told me that even though normal sizing told me I should fit in a 2x, I was probably going to need a 3x or maybe larger. I started my test fittings with a 3x. I got them on. They fit fine at the waist but again my goofball body threw me a curve. They were too tight in the thigh and knee. There was no way I could bend my legs far enough to get my feet on the pegs of the bike… let alone be able to lift my leg up and over the seat. A 4x in that brand would probably be perfect or so my brain tried to logically conclude. They didn’t have a 4x. The clerk said the other store might have 4x because the matching jackets go up to 7x.
I hopped on the bike and headed for the other store in Meadville. I had planned on riding as much of the day as possible anyway… might as well do something productive at the same time. The Meadville store did indeed have sizes up to 7x from multiple manufacturers. They were on sale too… “Woo Hoo!” I stood a chance. They didn’t have much of a selection of pants. I found a size 44 and thought maybe I could try them just to see how close they were to casual pants sizes. Holding them up to my waist immediately told me that this particular manufacturer must have bought their measuring tapes with defective spacing between measurements. These things were no where near a 44. Off to find my second choice…. Chaps. There was a very large selection of multiple sizes and styles. I should be able to find something.
While providing less protection, the way chaps are made, they naturally offer more adjustability. I started with a 3x from one manufacturer as a baseline. Waist was great but I couldn’t zip the leggings. “Ok… maybe a 4x. Nope.” The 4x waist was smaller. The leggings zip this time. “GAHHH!” I tried multiple pairs from different manufacturers with the same results each time. One part would fit… the other wouldn’t. After trying on up to 6x, I decided it wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t going to buy something that was going to be uncomfortable. My back provides enough discomfort while riding. I don’t need clothing to add to it. I left for home flustered that there were so many manufacturers 
represented, yet there wasn’t even one selection that fit well enough to bother trying.
I stopped at Sheetz to check the air in the tires and eat a snack. I knew it was almost time for the sugar to start making its presence… or lack there of… known. After checking the front tire, I put the cap on the valve stem and stood to move to the rear tire. The world took a loop. I began to sweat and shake. “WOE!!!!!!” I grabbed on to the bike to stabilize myself. No… It wasn’t almost time… It was beyond time to get a snack. I’ve been carrying stuff to eat/drink just in case this happens. I ate my goodies and grabbed a sweet tea for the road just in case. I hung out there for a bit just to make sure the shakes stopped. This is the problem with controlling the sugar with medication AND diet. If you don’t get the balance right, your sugar can go too high and then quickly drop too low. This is what you are supposed to avoid. The medical profession prefers that you hold it as level as possible… even slightly high is better than rapid transitions.
When the sugar took the dive, I decided that was the end of my ride. I had a 40 minute or so run home. I headed back. The rest of the ride I kept a close watch on how I felt. I made it home without issue. I drank my spare sweet tea just for safety sake when I got home. I tinkered around a bit around the house and then headed to get dinner about 6 ish. I still would like to find the right kind of pants but at this point, jeans will have to suffice. I guess its a good thing I added the saddle bags to the bike. I am going to have to up the snacks I carry if this sugar doesn’t settle down soon. Being loopy when you’re sitting around the house or office is one thing… When you’re trying to balance on two wheels, it’s a whole different ball game.
The adventure that is my life continues…
Have a great weekend!
~Cappy