Exclusive | This Ozempic unexpected side effect? Wreaking havoc on women’s wardrobes: ‘Images should come with a warning’

Dina Pattelli cannot weight to wow them this fall.

As of 2022, the 43-year-old Staten Islander has shrunk from a size 18 in jeans at 300 pounds — to a slimmer size 8, thanks to a combination of trendy weight-loss drugs.

But with her body constantly changing, the married mother of two reports she’s struggling to find the right fit.

“I’m very happy to have lost the weight,” Pattelli, currently at a healthy 160 pounds, told The Post. “But I constantly have to buy new wardrobes.

“I spend all this money on cute clothes and half the things don’t fit me because my body changes so much. It was difficult”, she confessed.

Pattelli found himself in a predicament after using the anti-obesity pill Contrave, as well as Mounjaro, an injection for type 2 diabetes, to shed 140 pounds.

Pattelli’s husband, Carl, 42, spent half of that during the shoot.

Finding fashion to flaunt new physiques is a fashionable — and often daunting — problem for people like Pattellis, who have experienced recent and relatively rapid weight loss.

Darkening those once-dreaded dressing room doors, stripping the sale racks or even cleaning out one’s closet is now a new kind of challenge for many of Ozempic’s estimated 15.5 million Americans, Wegovy and their fat relatives. .

In fact, users of weight loss drugs online have joked that the cuts should come with a different kind of “warning.”

Cyberkids say the small labels should let patients know that size problems are a possible side effect of the drugs — one of the less unpleasant consequences (as opposed to erectile dysfunction or, in rare cases, death).

However, some disgruntled users say shopping for clothes has become even more “frustrating” since slimming down because they still haven’t been able to figure out their “true size”.

Turner Allen, a personal stylist in NYC, often helps newly trimmed clients overcome the pains of rapid fat loss—with a sprinkle of pizzazz.

“There’s a huge psychological component to weight loss combined with personal style,” Allen told The Post.

“Many times [my clients] have some sort of mental concern about what they think they look like compared to what they actually look like now,” said the professional. “When you lose a lot of weight, it takes time for your brain to kind of catch up with what your body looks like now “.

Recent research from the University of Padua in Italy supports Allen’s anecdotal findings—experts found that formerly obese people who have lost significant weight through medical intervention tend to be “more psychologically burdened and have more difficulty judging their bodies ” than their overweight peers. .

“Their mental body representations appear to be unrelated to their BMI,” the study authors said.

So, in an effort to help clients fashionably harmonize body and mind, Allen suggested that little youngsters explore bold styles and look-at-me colors.

“They are able to occupy space in a safe way,” said the glam guru, describing the uplifting effects of his tutelage. “They don’t feel like they have to hide anymore.”

This is music to Mariah Hopkins’ ears suddenly.

The 32-year-old told The Post she’s more than willing to come out of her shell this season — if she can find clothes that fit.

Between February and July, the married mother of four, who gave birth to her children back-to-back over the past decade, shed 50 kilograms using a compound semaglutide – the active ingredient in the GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

The cosmetics marketer now weighs 125 pounds, a far cry from the 175 she weighed at the top of the year, and she’s eager to strut her stuff in size 2 low-rise jeans.

“I need to overhaul my entire closet,” the newly loaded Utahn shared. “Nothing fits. I even have to buy new underwear.”

“This medication is expensive,” added the millennial, who is ditching baggy shirts and sweats for cropped sweaters, sexy skirts and cute sweaters this season. “But the most expensive part of losing weight is buying new clothes.”

And though picking up pieces in the juniors departments of Target, Walmart, and online stores like Shein may have set her back around $1,500, Hopkins says it feels better to splurge—than feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

Weight loss coach Amy Kane, who recently unloaded a massive 160 on Mounjaro, agrees.

But to avoid breaking the bank on new clothes and help curb any “well, what fits?” confusion, the 34-year-old said she advises weight-loss warriors to regularly treat themselves to yummy balls throughout their travels.

“Invest in your health by buying yourself a dress or a pair of jeans that make you feel good,” insisted Kane, a married mother of three from Chicago. “This is part of the process of losing weight and feeling good about your new body.”

But since dropping from a dress size 28 to a size 6 over the past 23 months, the brunette, like her peers, finds herself struggling to get the right clothes.

“I had a hard time knowing what I look like,” Kane confessed.

Throughout her transition, she said, she has bought clothes “three sizes too big” because of insecurities about her new frame.

“But I’ve always loved fashion and I’m happier now that I can go into any store and find great options for my body,” she explained, revealing that she recently grabbed some leather pants, paired with calf. autumn boots.

“Shopping can still be a bit of a push,” she admitted. “But now, it’s a lot less anxiety-inducing.”