Weight loss is a numbers game, right? If it’s not the numbers on the scales, it’s the number of inches you’ve lost. It’s the number of calories you can burn in a workout and the number of calories/syns/points etc you can eat in the day. And it’s also about the number inside your clothes.
Today I want to share my thoughts on the last set of
numbers, the numbers inside your clothes (well not your clothes, clothes in general.)
Because I’ve come to the realisation that these are the
numbers that probably affect me the most.
When I think about it, the numbers on the scales didn’t
bother me so much when I was regularly fitting into size 12’s. And if my weight
stayed the same but my size 14 jeans felt looser than I didn’t mind.
I’ve been known to cut the label out of clothes (after
writing down the way it needs to be washed, obvs) so that people don’t know
what size it is.
I’ve bought clothes
purely because I can squeeze myself into them and it’s a ‘nice’ number.
I’ve made sure I’ve hidden the hanger size when carrying
clothes round the shop, and I’ve even not bought something because I was too
scared that the person behind the till would judge me because of the size of
clothes I was buying.
I mean, how crazy is that? Why would Paul from New Look care
that I was buying a size 18 top from their plus size range? Would he have to
wear it? Would he have to see me in it? No! Does he even care that it’s an 18
for Pete’s sake? I highly doubt it.
Yet there is something about the numbers that sit in my
clothes (THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN SEE) that bothers me. And I hazard a guess that
it affects others too.
We’re all so quick to become excited that the next size down
fits. That we can get into a certain number, even if it’s just a fluke and you
probably won’t fit into this regularly but yay omg look at the number #nsv.
We all know that clothes sizes vary between brands, and even
within brands themselves. As I type I’m wearing a 16, 10 and 14. Yesterday I
tried on a 10 and a 16 in the same shop. The 16 didn’t fit and the 10 did.
It’s then that it struck me, clothes sizes are a load of
crud! So why does it bother us so much?
I often wonder if it affects people who are ‘naturally slim’
and have never had a weight issue? Do they panic if they have to go up a size
somewhere or do they just know that sizes come up differently all the time?
I know so many people, myself included, that focus their
goal weight on what that means to the size of clothes they’ll be wearing. For
example I’d love to be a straight forward 12, but clothes shops make that
impossible, so why do I bother setting myself that goal?
So instead, I’m going to try and focus on feeling confident
in the clothes I’m wearing, forgetting their size.
Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate going down a
clothes size. Shout that shiz from the rooftops ‘cause it shows you’re losing
weight. But let’s all try not to make it about the size, more the fact that you’re
getting smaller! It’s something I’m going to at least try to do, if I ever
start to lose weight again…
Something that’s always stuck with me from some sort of ‘How
to Look Good Naked’ or ‘Trinny and Suzannah’ show is that the right fitting
clothes will make you look slimmer anyway. So what if I can squeeze myself into
a 12, if the 14 looks better it should make complete and perfect sense that I
should by the 14. Yet, I always by the 12 and tell myself it’ll look better
once I’ve lost a couple more lbs.
How many of you have half a wardrobe filled with clothes
that will look great once you lose a couple of pounds because you didn’t want
to buy the size up?
It’s madness! The amount of money I could’ve saved and
clothes I could wear if I’d only bought the right size to begin with is crazy.
Because at the end of the day, the only person who knows
what number your clothes are is you and the person selling it to you. And
chances are, the person who sold it to you won’t remember and/or care in about
5 minutes after you’ve left (if that).
We deserve to feel confident in our clothes, and to do that
they need to fit properly. So instead of worrying about the number inside,
start strutting your stuff and showing how great they look on your actual body!
Please, let me know I’m not the only one that does crazy
stuff like this and this post actually makes sense to you too?
