Some-day clothes vs fit & flattering
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startergal53
Posts: 120 Member
The battle to have a "waistline" began in earnest at 52 for me. In January I began to fight back, exercising and then joining here in March and slowly but surely I am seeing a reduction in my measurements. (Virginia there is a waist!! :happy: )
But in the meantime I have to dress better for the body I have.
To that end, last night I brought out the "summer" clothes and decided to try every item on before they made it to the closet.
Well, let's just say it was an enlightening experience.
Sadly, many of the items left me wondering what I had been thinking when I purchased them. I seriously had some real winners in the bunch. Worse was that many of the items hadn't been worn last year because either I didn't like them, refusing to part with them because of what I spent or they didn't fit but I held onto them because of the "some day" factor.
The "some day" items were weighing me down more than I had imagined.
At first the piles to stay or go co-mingled, indecision weakening the mind, my energy waning I declared that if it didn't fit today,(not next week,month etc,) if I didn't absolutely love it, or if it didn't look good on me it was gone!
Once I sorted out items that fit well, I looked at them with a more discerning eye.
It dawned on me that many of the items that I decided to keep because of "fit" alone, did little to flatter my shape or improve my attitude/and or determination to work at getting fit and I decided enough was enough!
Fit does not necessarily equal flattering and that's when things got interesting.
I made quick work of the summer clothes and even quicker work of the winter items that were going to be stored.
Happily I eliminated over half of the items and if I were to be honest there are a few more things that could easily be removed.
To that end I marked June 15th as "closet purge" day on my calendar. Between now and then I'm going to keep track of what I wear and what I steer clear of and make eliminations where necessary.
Would love to hear from anyone who is "closet" challenged or in my case both "closet & clothes" challenged. This is a great way to purge the excess stuff that may be weighing you down.
But in the meantime I have to dress better for the body I have.
To that end, last night I brought out the "summer" clothes and decided to try every item on before they made it to the closet.
Well, let's just say it was an enlightening experience.
Sadly, many of the items left me wondering what I had been thinking when I purchased them. I seriously had some real winners in the bunch. Worse was that many of the items hadn't been worn last year because either I didn't like them, refusing to part with them because of what I spent or they didn't fit but I held onto them because of the "some day" factor.
The "some day" items were weighing me down more than I had imagined.
At first the piles to stay or go co-mingled, indecision weakening the mind, my energy waning I declared that if it didn't fit today,(not next week,month etc,) if I didn't absolutely love it, or if it didn't look good on me it was gone!
Once I sorted out items that fit well, I looked at them with a more discerning eye.
It dawned on me that many of the items that I decided to keep because of "fit" alone, did little to flatter my shape or improve my attitude/and or determination to work at getting fit and I decided enough was enough!
Fit does not necessarily equal flattering and that's when things got interesting.
I made quick work of the summer clothes and even quicker work of the winter items that were going to be stored.
Happily I eliminated over half of the items and if I were to be honest there are a few more things that could easily be removed.
To that end I marked June 15th as "closet purge" day on my calendar. Between now and then I'm going to keep track of what I wear and what I steer clear of and make eliminations where necessary.
Would love to hear from anyone who is "closet" challenged or in my case both "closet & clothes" challenged. This is a great way to purge the excess stuff that may be weighing you down.
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I agree about excess stuff weighing you down! I've been doing a little closet purging myself lately--losing weight meant being able to fit in some of my smaller jeans again (yea), and that prompted a big review of all my "saved" clothing.
I'm like you--I realized so many things were there ONLY because they fit. That's a pretty low bar which I'm planning to raise--I want to wear things that look and feel great on the new me.
I deserve that, and so do you. Good luck with your June 15 closet purge!
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I was shopping for a nice dress yesterday found one that i really loved and that looks flattering.
when out shopping i also tried on these really nice looking chic clothes that many of different ages wear and that do look really flattering on a slim body. (I'm close to being that kinda body). now these clothes I'm talking of isn't party clothes its every day wear going grocery shopping or having coffee with a friend or just being at home reading a book in.
i try the clothes on and i like what i see in the mirror but then my brain :devil: gets nasty and yells at me
- hey your 51, do you think your 20. you can't wear that all will think you gone crazy while loosing all that weight.
i know i shouldn't think so and I'm working towards accepting the knew me and i want to change how i dress so i don't buy the old style of baggy non flattering clothes but i also find it hard to buy the flattering ones even if i do a little at a time. still have some more to loose before i reach maintain stage and i want what i buy to last more then a few months at end. 0 -
I agree about excess stuff weighing you down! I've been doing a little closet purging myself lately--losing weight meant being able to fit in some of my smaller jeans again (yea), and that prompted a big review of all my "saved" clothing.
I'm like you--I realized so many things were there ONLY because they fit. That's a pretty low bar which I'm planning to raise--I want to wear things that look and feel great on the new me.
I deserve that, and so do you. Good luck with your June 15 closet purge!
I'm with you- raising the bar and reaching our goals. Keep up the good work blue_turtle! :happy:0 -
i try the clothes on and i like what i see in the mirror but then my brain :devil: gets nasty and yells at me
- hey your 51, do you think your 20. you can't wear that all will think you gone crazy while loosing all that weight.
i know i shouldn't think so and I'm working towards accepting the knew me and i want to change how i dress so i don't buy the old style of baggy non flattering clothes but i also find it hard to buy the flattering ones even if i do a little at a time. still have some more to loose before i reach maintain stage and i want what i buy to last more then a few months at end.
I hear you girl. The mind can do a tap dance on us can't it? Thankfully we have control over what we think so you give it right back hear?
You are doing terrific and I encourage you to ignore the lies running through the mind as you learn to accept the person that now stands before the mirror. As our bodies change it takes time for the mind to catch up.
I am much more comfortable covering up because when you are bigger-baggier is better. Unfortunately, baggier clothes do little to flatter or encourage us to stay on track.
Like blue_turtle said, we need to "raise the bar" because we deserve to wear things that look and feel great on.
Such smart gals here I love it and I am encouraged.
What a great way to start the day!
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I totally agree with you here. I probably need another closet purge. My problem is I don't have the money to go purchase more clothes so I become the person I would never have thought and wear what does look until it falls apart. My work clothes are kind of like a uniform so that is what I buy. I started looking into selling "????" to bring in some extra cash and rebuild my wardrobe. I have been so excited the past couple of days but all of a sudden today I am down and beating myself up which is not me I tell you! I have been sharing my food diary with my husband letting him know that even though he is a wonderful cook/chef we need to change the what we eat and our portion sized and no seconds. I never had to worry about what I ate until around 52 when I started getting healthy, then my metabolism just tanked and in a matter of months the weight just flowed on. I will settle to lose 40 by the end of the year. This is being realistic and I am sure there will be a difference. I need to lose 50 but will take 25. Sorry to rant but point being you all just inspired me and that is what I need. Tomorrow I go back to work which means 8 hours of walking and talking and a better mood.0
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I totally agree with you here. I probably need another closet purge. My problem is I don't have the money to go purchase more clothes so I become the person I would never have thought and wear what does look until it falls apart. My work clothes are kind of like a uniform so that is what I buy. I started looking into selling "????" to bring in some extra cash and rebuild my wardrobe. I have been so excited the past couple of days but all of a sudden today I am down and beating myself up which is not me I tell you! I have been sharing my food diary with my husband letting him know that even though he is a wonderful cook/chef we need to change the what we eat and our portion sized and no seconds. I never had to worry about what I ate until around 52 when I started getting healthy, then my metabolism just tanked and in a matter of months the weight just flowed on. I will settle to lose 40 by the end of the year. This is being realistic and I am sure there will be a difference. I need to lose 50 but will take 25. Sorry to rant but point being you all just inspired me and that is what I need. Tomorrow I go back to work which means 8 hours of walking and talking and a better mood.
I mostly buy used clothing.0 -
Over the past 2 years I've purged nearly everything. I have a couple new things that fit now, but I'm just not that into getting more clothes til I'm closer to goal. I have about 2 feet of hanging clothes and half of that are robes. Felt good to get rid of all the out dated clothes I thought I'd get back into. Looking forward to an updated wardrobe in about 25 more pounds.0
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Kingscrown- you are doing fab!
Fitted makes us stand taller and push ahead doesn't it? So excited to see you are striving to reach your goals. It is encouraging to see the progress others make and remind me that I can do it too.
TriciannT I hope you are having a better week.
As Leslie Sansone says, "put the muscles in motion" it has kind of been my mantra. I do the walking with Leslie dvd's and find them to be great inspiration to moving. Most libraries carry the dvd's so you can check them out to preview and many are online youtube.
You mentioned that your hubby loves to cook and that you shared your weight loss goal with him. Does he support your weight loss goal or is he ambivalent about it? Some times it makes it difficult (but not impossible) to stretch ahead if we are thinking about others in the equation.
Losing weight, doing what it takes to reach goals for me well, I have to be a bit selfish as opposed to "selfless" which can be difficult at times but it is necessary. So be encouraged to stand firm with one serving and then get and move. :happy:
Even though I have June 15th as closet review day, yesterday I rearranged everything: like colors together/ long sleeve -short sleeve/pants/capris so I can find items and spotted two that somehow got missed. The editing continues! lol
Hope everyone is having a great week. Here is to reaching our goals ladies and pressing on!0 -
I try to clean out the closet once a year and found that I would keep some things every year because they were some of the more expensive items that I hoped to fit back into eventually. In Dec of 2012 I had lap band surgery and by April of 2013 I had lost 50 lbs. I purged the closet in earnest and bought a few new things to get by on while I lost more weight. Well, now its June of 2014 and I have not been able to lose more weight. So I did buy additional items. I just started using MFP and I hope to get it going again.0
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Hey elllec63 MFP is a great tool- glad to see you here.
I missed the June 15th closet clean out day so here I am a week or so later:
It's been interesting because I notice I only wear about a third of what is in the closet. Things I naturally gravitate toward week in and week out the rest just kind of hangs there.
Just into summer proper I'll hold off to get rid of anything that doesn't get worn as summer progresses.
Everything is manageable and the only thing I have purchased was a dress for the wedding (two actually-simple dresses that can cover any occasion what I would call multiple use dresses-a size down - great discounted price could not resist!)
The good thing is I have curbed buying for the sake of buying- staying out of the stores and on the trail walking helps.
October 1st closet clean day- see you then!0 -
I, too, have an ongoing clothes purge. First I get rid of anything too big. Then I starting getting rid of things that still fit, but I didn't like. I have a closet upstairs that has clothes that are too small. Some have never been worn and I bought for incentive. Now I have purged most of the things that I don't especially like. Those things that are too small go back about 4 years. I generally buy classic, though colorful, so style is not generally a problem. I have a friend who is a counselor in a work release program for women, so these things which are in very good shape can go to good use.
This has led to an around the house purge. I have way too much "stuff, and can't believe I do after a mass clean out when we downsized a few years ago.
I always ask my daughter and then nieces if it is something they want/need and if not it goes to good use. I have stored away things like my wedding china that I no longer use b/c my daughter is not ready to say let it go, even to her cousins.
I try to have something to send out every 2 weeks. At this point in my life, divesting instead of having is what gives me the feel goods. Also if there is something my daughter really wants and will use now, there is very little I won't let her have now. I had rather see her use and love something that means something to me than me hoard it and then her to have no place for it when I am gone. I have been there, myself with having no place for inherited items and feeling guilt at letting them go.0
