I just gave away about $400 worth of designer jeans. They are not worn out; they are not out of style. They are beautiful, dark blue jeans and I used to love them. That was when I was two sizes smaller. And honestly, not at my healthiest self.
If you own clothes from ‘thin’ to ‘fat’, you’re not alone. Maybe you even have one special outfit that you once wore when 20 or 30 years ago. Many people I know have multiple sizes of clothes in their closet- from the “when I finally lose those past 10 pounds” to “the clothes I wore when I was 20 pounds heavier”.
Thin, thinner and fat clothes. I suggest getting rid of them, and here’s why.
Slipping on your “skinny jeans” is not motivating. Be honest: How do you feel when you put on your ‘skinny jeans?’ Do you feel expansive and happy and like you want to treat your body really well and take care of yourself? Or, do you feel disgusted and full of ‘fat talk’. Do you criticize you body for it’s dimples and soft parts or do you respect and appreciate your body? And it doesn’t matter if you are now a size 6, and you used to be a size 4, or if you are a size 18 and you used to be a size 12.
Before I go on, I’m not saying that you should simply buy new bigger clothes every time you gain a bit of weight and get rid of your clothes that don’t fit. That would be silly, and expensive. Besides, clothes can provide a reality check if you’ve been having a few too many glasses of wine, or if you’ve been doing a bit too much snacking at night.
But if you hold onto clothes that don’t fit, and haven’t fit for a long time, and you try them on as a reminder of how you once were, or look at them longingly and start to feel uncomfortable in your body, it may be time to bring them to the thrift store. Or at the very least, pack them away. Ditto for the larger clothes that you’re holding onto ‘just in case’.
Just like the scale, the outfit you wore in your early 20s becomes a measurement of self-worth. And if you do feel motivated to change, it won’t be out of a desire to love yourself and treat yourself well, but out of disgust that you’ve let yourself go, or simply being upset that you’re not where you once were.
Self-loathing or disappointment with your current size leads to exercising or avoiding certain foods as a punishment for gaining weight. Or, you could be tempted to find a quick fix to quickly drop a few pounds (and we’ve all done that before and know what happens in the long term).
The goal of exercise is no longer to feel strong and energetic. Instead it’s to burn calories, or to compensate for poor eating choices earlier in the day. When you ‘slip up’, maybe you eat something that’s off limits or miss a workout or two you feel bad about getting off track, and you think you failed. You then recommit to your plan and work extra hard to reprimand getting off track. Or, on the flip side, you feel down and depressed and turn to food to sooth your emotions.
In other words, negatively comparing ourselves to where we once were, or how far we have yet to go, robs us from enjoying the present. It’s a slippery slope to the “I’ll be ______ when ______” mentality.
I’ll be confident when I lose weight. I’ll be happy when I lose weight. And then, we look for the something, often a quick fix or crash diet to fix ourselves.
If you ever feel like this, you’re human. It’s natural and normal, but at the same time, it’s not self-serving.
Stop, pause and take a deep breath.
Want to turn things around and start to really feel inspired to take care of yourself? Then treat your body really well in the size it is NOW. When it comes to your wardrobe, buy and wear clothes that make you feel fantastic in the body that you are in. If you’ve always wanted to take a pottery course, or to pursue a different career, don’t wait until you’ve become a certain size.
One of my clients decided to live her life now just last week. She had bought a hot tub, something she always wanted. Something she was going to get after she lost 25 pounds.
I was absolutely thrilled that she finally bought the hot tub. But she had not yet lost the 25 pounds.
I know that eventually she will lose the weight. She’s made such incredible progress and is on the right path, it’ll just take more time. But I love that she didn’t wait until she got to a certain size before she allowed herself to enjoy something she really wanted. And not surprisingly, her motivation to continue on her health journey has strengthened.
By wearing clothes that fit and make you feel good now, and by doing the things that make you enjoy your life now, an incredible internal shift takes place. You start to act the part. And by acting the part, the results inevitably come.
Ready to commit to truly improving your health and to actually enjoy the process? Be sure to check out my 6 metabolism boosters– they are not what you think! Let’s do this!
