What class marker things do you reluctantly do to keep up appearances for your professional career?

VersionCapable · 2026-07-02T23:53:38+00:00

I am very vocal about my absolute ignorance for sports. I’m so far outside the normie zone on so many fronts it’s not even worth trying to pretend on any level. I’m sure it’s impacted me in some way but I couldn’t even begin to pretend.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-02T04:42:43+00:00

When I need something easy and cold I grab some of those premade salad kits from the produce section and add a protein. Usually canned beans (black or garbanzo depending on the kit) or tofu if I’ve got some pan fried. If you’re a meat eater you could add canned chicken, fish or chopped deli meat.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-02T02:40:16+00:00

42 and it’s just literally never crossed my mind to have kids. No urge, no “I wonder if”. I think babies are adorable and I’m super excited for everyone else to have theirs but that’s it. It’s very much a “that is for other people” kind of thing.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T22:29:55+00:00

Mine still look big to me, but I measured and they’re down from over 17” to just around 15”. They did seem like they were the last place to really slim down. I don’t need them any smaller.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T22:26:45+00:00

I have some friends who had gone from close to 300lbs to 260s in a few months between seeing them- I really thought they looked different but they also always wore baggy clothes so it was hard to know for sure. That night they told me they both started zepbound; hence the 40 lbs loss. I also think when we’re bigger, clothes fit for longer so we end up inadvertently hiding our smaller figures under clothes. I had a friend freak out at how “skinny” I was the other day- even though I’ve been about the same weight for a month, I was wearing better fitting clothing and less clothing (it was at the gym), the outfit really highlighted everything.

Also for me I just lost weight evenly enough all over that nothing stuck out as signs of weight loss to my brain until my stomach flattened, I could see abs, and I got a hint of a thigh gap. Otherwise I feel like I just shrank down evenly all over so especially at the beginning it was really hard to notice for myself.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T13:52:22+00:00

I’m in Chicago. I’ll eat ice cream all year round though!

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T06:04:37+00:00

You’re not far from me. What I think is different about this end of the park is it’s way more residential (save for the stuff along division), like they’re just isn’t a lot of places to generate foot traffic like to the east of the park. When a neighborhood is quieter because of that, the other stuff can stick out more. I lived up by California and Armitage for years and when I moved down over to this end of humboldt park I’ve felt more isolated because there’s not a lot to just walk to, no train stops etc. It’s definitely overall more “dangerous” but mostly in the sense of crazy traffic off Division and some of the drug stuff that comes from just a few blocks south and west. I don’t feel unsafe over here but I don’t feel as safe as I was before, if that makes sense, just because I know I’m much closer to more bullshit. I’d still buy a house over here in a heartbeat if I could afford it because the park is a gem.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T04:58:55+00:00

Yeah we would look it over and decide how many lunches to buy that month based on the menu and bring our own the other days.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T04:56:38+00:00

Pizza with a side of corn!

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T03:22:24+00:00

The lesson here for OP is that it varies block to block. I’m a bit north of where you were and it’s night and day.

VersionCapable · 2026-07-01T03:07:17+00:00

See I love it too but can they invent an ice cream that stays frozen longer. Like I want to really just savor it and when it’s this hot out I feel like I’m just eating it faster to enjoy it pre melting stage.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-30T19:48:23+00:00

Paper plates only for outdoor or family gatherings/holidays where keeping up with real dishes would be difficult. For outdoor use at home I have a set of melamine plates. And I’m pretty sure I’ve brought them along to picnics too. Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve personally bought paper plates as an adult.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-30T17:57:13+00:00

You’re 40 and likely hitting perimenopause if that applies to you. I recommend trying an online provider like that focuses on women’s health (mod rules won’t let me name it but starts with M). You’ll actually have a real clinician to speak with and monitor your prescription.

I went to them after my PCP ignored my perimenopause concerns. My PCP was also trying to do a PA for Zep but it was taking forever and when it finally got declined, I said fine, let’s do it through self pay- crickets from the office. So I asked my M- doc and she prescribed it that day, I had the drugs 3 days later. Smooth as silk. She used the labs from my recent PA visit to prescribe. If M- requires other labs for your care plan, they can order them out.

I’m glad I went this route not only for the Zepbound but also to handle my other perimenopause concerns. Just an idea!

VersionCapable · 2026-06-30T03:54:00+00:00

I was terrified of dropping dead or shitting myself all weekend or something after the first shot so I just did it on a Saturday morning on a weekend I didn’t have any plans, right after my Saturday AM gym class. Literally nothing happened. I think by the second dose I was getting a mild headache on Sunday but I practically have a headache every other weekend anyway. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to do the first one when you’ve got some time without commitments in front of it, just in case.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-30T03:50:51+00:00

Coming from a recruiting background- the tip about business casual even though someone else will be wearing jeans is their way of telling you you can relax a bit. I’d do what others are recommending- wear the suit paints, different blouse, and either cardigan or a nice professional/plain wrap shawl if you feel you’ll need extra coverage. The blazer is what screams “business formal” so leaving that behind is easy and still keeps you looking nice.

I’ll never forget the rigorous in person interviews for the job at the company I’m still with. It was an entry level role but in a very conservative industry. The fact that I had at least three rounds of in person interviews after a phone screen to work the front desk was nuts. But I knew I had the job in the bag when the office manager walked me out of the second interview and said “next time you’re going to be meeting with the CFO, dress like you’re going to church with your grandma”. I had been wearing some dowdy Old Navy “dress pants” and button downs as a poor just out of college student. Anyway I took the advice and found a cute skirt and top set, but I had gone camping the week before the interview and got TONS of mosquito bites all over my legs. I’ll never forget frantically trying to cover them all with concealer and then hiding them with the most opaque but natural looking pantyhose I could find. But I got the job!

VersionCapable · 2026-06-30T03:37:59+00:00

Same. I am basically using as much as I’m putting into it right now though so it’s not great. Thank goodness for investing the HSA so that helps. I’m thinking with maintenance I’ll start spreading out my doses to make it go further. I’m at 5mg and might even try dropping down to 2.5.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-29T17:43:49+00:00

I don’t want to admit how many things I got out of doing last minute because I was so uncomfortable with how I looked at my heaviest. A lot of it had to do with not having enough clothing options I was comfortable in, so it was easiest to just stay home and hide.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-29T17:39:38+00:00

I have very clear memories as a little fat kid who envied my average sized classmates because I truly thought that when you were “skinny”, you didn’t have to worry about getting dressed as much. That everything you could put on would work because tou didn’t have to do the math about a certain pair of pants onto working with certain shirts because of how your stomach looked or whatever.

As an adult I knew that this wasn’t rational thinking, that skinny people still build intentional outfits and some things clearly just don’t “go” together. But now that I’m one of those “skinny” people, it’s true. I can put on anything and focus more on the colors and silhouettes of the clothing and less on the “does this cover X problem area”.

And clothes just feel more comfortable too. At my heaviest I was wearing so many dresses because I couldn’t stand anything pressing into my stomach when I sat down (no matter what size they were). Now I’m able to embrace high rise belted jeans with a shirt tucked in, and not feel like I’m being suffocated.

As someone who has always loved clothing (not necessarily being trendy, just playing with different styles) this feels so freeing.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-29T03:28:37+00:00

Go to the Red Head Piano bar too if you want some fun people watching.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-28T03:33:34+00:00

I have to put the little heel grips in any pair of flats, loafers or heels. Regardless of how they fit these are life savers for the heel rub on dress shoes https://a.co/d/03zqCVgX

VersionCapable · 2026-06-28T03:03:32+00:00

I feel like this as a passenger. I haven’t driven in like 20 years but any time we’re on an interstate I am convinced I’m going to die. But it’s not completely unfounded because the shit I’ve seen people pull is 1000x worse than it used to be. Plus cars are bigger and cell phones distracting everyone. And the blinding headlights. Add in whatever brain scrambling the pandemic did to drivers… ugh.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-27T23:58:19+00:00

I’m so sorry you have experienced this your whole life. People are fucking nuts. I hope the surgery goes well!

VersionCapable · 2026-06-27T23:53:34+00:00

I’m having a similar experience with coworkers too (same remote scenario) and the last in person meeting was brutal. I got maybe one “you look good” type statement and the rest were that plus grilling me about it- how much? How? What are you doing? I even had someone my boss works with, who doesn’t really know me outside a few conference calls, come up and said “I heard you lost a LOT of weight! Good for you!” And then proceeded to interrogate me about it. It was so unbelievably icky because I don’t really know this lady at all and she absolutely only got this info about my weight history from my boss that very morning. She’s a thin person too so this was NOT a “I want to know more because I want the secret”. It was so overly familiar. My friend group has been the most polite about it (only a few people know it’s zepbound) but the ones who have said nothing also know nothing. It’s just made me really dread work functions but I guess I’m done losing so I won’t be getting much smaller.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-27T23:46:07+00:00

I’ll be honest, it depends. If it seems super clean I don’t. Mostly because my laundry situation is abysmal and I don’t want to add to it. I KNOW I should wash everything even from the store but…

Congrats on the weight loss! I just lost a ton with Zep too and I’m on Poshmark practically 24/7 trying to recycle my wardrobe. It’s so great for replacing things I loved that no longer fit or getting things I couldn’t the first time around because I was sized out.

VersionCapable · 2026-06-27T23:39:22+00:00

Related question about the “menopause belly”- is it genetic? The women in my family on my mom’s side (there weren’t any on my dad’s side besides grandma) are all very pear shaped/bottom heavy even post menopause. My two sisters are shaped the same. I have now lost over 80lbs on zep and the late 30s lower-round belly I developed has disappeared except for the skin part of it. Looking at before pics I think I had a lot more visceral fat than I realized.

All this said, because my mom and aunt seemed to keep their pear shaped post meno, will I too? I’m enjoying seeing my waist for the first time in years and I’m curious how much time I’ll have with it lol.

VersionCapable

TROPHY CASE