Recently, I was getting ready for a special event at the Houston Museum of Natural Science when I realized I had nothing to wear that I felt good in. I had gotten rid of many of my “fat” clothes when I lost weight last summer. When I started gaining it back last fall, I denied how heavy I was getting by not buying new clothes because I was sure my weight would go down again shortly. Eight months after the weight gain began after Hurricane Ike, I was back to where I started and I had nothing to wear.
In the course of talking with R about how I felt after getting some new clothes, I came to a eye-opening conclusion. There’s a dangerous mentality for many of us who are struggling with losing weight that we have to put off doing things that would make us feel better emotionally. We think it wouldn’t be worth buying new “packaging” (i.e. clothes, etc.) since our bodies are going to change so much. This mentality was even subconsciously expressed by Kristen on “The Biggest Loser.” She talked about all the things she was going to be able to do when she was thin. What about things you can do now??? Why do some of these things have to wait until we thin?
One aspect of this mentality says that taking care of one’s physical appearance starts “When I get thin.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the following:
“I’ll get better fitting clothes when I’m thinner.”
“When I’ve lost 5 more pounds, I’ll get new shoes.”
“I don’t want to get new pants until I am a size smaller.”
I’ll __________ when __________.
I _______________ until _________.
Fill in the above blanks with whatever the excuse is for not not taking care of their physical appearance. And while they are saying this, they look sloppy because their clothes don’t fit them properly and their hair needs a trim or a cut and style. And at some level you feel sloppy. Does everyone do this? No. but it happens more than I think anyone realizes.
Taking care of yourself starts right where you are at – no matter what size you are. It’s hard to feel good about yourself if:
- your hair isn’t well styled
- your clothes don’t fit you well
- you don’t look put together when you go out.
Taking care of yourself isn’t just about going to the doctor when you need to, getting your eyes checked or going to dentist to get a cavity filled. Its making sure that you are well-groomed and well put together while you are on your weight loss journey. When you feel better on the outside, it helps how you feel on the inside.
Since my little experience getting ready to go to the museum, I’ve done a little clothes shopping, I got my hair cut, and I treated myself to pedicure. I’ve spent maybe $300 on these three things, but I feel infinitely better about myself. My hair more manageable. I feel better because my clothes fit. And that carries over into my mental state and helps reinforce that I am on the right path and I’m making the right choices towards not only my physical health, buy my mental state as well. I am reinforcing the idea that I am worth taking care of.
Tags: clothes, dentist, doctor, Grooming, hair, pedicure, Self Care, Self Esteem
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Sing it sistah.
I think this is in part why people tend to either never get “finished” or slip back. They haven’t done all the mental work that goes along with the general concept of really taking care of yourself, loving yourself, respecting yourself, and really truly believing you’re worth it (whatever “it” is). Because it’s the rest of your life… regardless of the present body you’re in.
You KNOW I love this! It’s so where my head is lately. No more bad talk, no more food is the enemy talk, no more waiting until things fit! I realized if I love me NOW then I will love me more when I get to where I want to be. Otherwise, I’ll just be singing the same sad song! Life’s too short for that so I chose to live, enjoy & just take life as it comes. It’s a lifestyle right?
Hugs!
How easy we forget this! I fell into the trap of being stuck in t-shirts and jeans all the time because it was just stupid to dress up to work at the chicken plant. Make-up smears off, hairs covered by a hair net all the time, and you just get plain old nasty dirty. I always feel better when I fix my face and put on nice clothes but I don’t do it because I’m basically lazy about it. The funny thing is, since I’ve been using the mineral makeup, no one knows that I’m wearing it–they know I look different but they can’t put a finger on it and it feels much more natural and comfortable for me to use it.
I guess I need to start small–tonight, I touch up the hair, maybe a little makeup tomorrow morning.
Thanks all for your comments. I really think this is a mind set that helps the journey of weight loss. tiny decisions that made a huge difference every day.
I relate to your post as someone who has struggled with weight off and on most of my life. I have found that making it a priority is the only insurance that it will happen. It looks like that is what you’ve done, too. Taking care of yourself is so important because when you feel good it leads to others wanting to be around you which makes them feel good. It has a ripple effect. I wish you luck on your journey.
Jerry