It sucks that you gotta spend money for clothes that fit better, but I think the EXCELLENT feeling you get in buying a lower size is so worth it!
I remember when Zeller's (department store in Canada) used to have a guarantee that if your kids wore out their clothes before they outgrew them, they'd replace them for free - I think some place should offer the same thing but backwards: if you out-shrink your "fat" clothes before you wear them out, you can get the size smaller for free!