I can share in your recent trouble, been there and done it more than a couple times beginning January 2017. By that fall, none of my prior hunting clothes remotely fit. By the time I went on my sheep hunt in 2018, none of my clothes from the 2017 season fit either. Granted, I lost almost 170lbs. All I have gained since is muscle which I seem to put on and burn off in cycles every year. Every sheep season since 2018 I have worn essentially the same gear (cant say its the same boxer-briefs, but same pair of pants, same base and mid-layers, and jacket--this year I did get a cool new pair of pants I might wear, but still love my old Mountain Hardwear Guide pants so much and kind of wanted to see just how many mountain hunts they would last). Spring bear and mountain goat hunting is where I struggle as my sheep gear is a little snug in the spring when I have tried to put on some of the muscle mass throughout the winter to replace what I hiked off over the summer and then everything I lose during sheep hunts, especially years like 2020 where I had two sheep hunts, goat trip, and then solo moose, all within a 6 weeks period and looked like a starved dog by the middle of September. This year I will do back to back sheep trips for myself solo and then my 10 yo daughter. Will then rinse and repeat for either or both if we don't harvest on the first trips. No way will things not be loose by the end of the season.
Never a bad thing to have a couple pair of pants and shirts of two sizes so you can grab what fits you best at the time. And expensive hunting gear, hell yes, love the stuff, looks great on instagram, and honestly is some of the cheapest stuff you can buy if you take reasonable care of it, still get a big portion of your initial purchase back by selling here when you upgrade or go a different direction. Same holds true for fine firearms, optics, etc. If it adds to your comfort, your experience, or even makes you feel even incrementally cooler in photos you will look at for years to come or even posts on instagram, what the hell is wrong with that.
Keep up the hard effort and good luck on your hunt.
