Wearing tight / smaller clothes to lose weight

jessathemessa wrote: »

I actually do something totally opposite. I still have quite a bit of weight to go, but at 1lb a week, it's going to take a while. So every now and then, I buy myself a nice shirt that I really love and that fits well. When I dress in something that I look good in and feel good in, it makes me happy. When I'm happy, I'm far more motivated and it's a constant reminder of all the work I've done so far and how much I can still do to do better.

I do this too! Or I buy clothes that just fit but might need extra control underwear to make it look smoother/better fit. When I was a bridesmaid recently the dress was ridiculously tight so I had to focus more than usual on weight loss for a month to make sure it fit. In that case I knew I didn't really have a choice but to make it work! At the moment I wear clothes that fit just right so I can tell when I am bloating up really easily and that is motivating I guess.

I'm still weighing in weekly and I just like seeing the number go down as my main motivator

I found it better to buy clothes that look flattering and fit me well. It was really motivating to me to have family/friends/co-workers notice and comment on my weight loss, which was really emphasized by my new, well fitting clothes.

jesikalovesyou wrote: »

Anyone buy/wear clothes that are tight to lose weight? I read this somewhere. It said that if you wear clothes that feel small it will keep weight loss in your mind. I do this with my work uniform. It's snug enough that it makes me make better choices during the day. I've went through three uniform sizes this year.

Because I wear military uniforms, they are pretty forgiving so I don't look terrible when it's snug. I know when I wear a t-shirt and jeans that are too tight, I can look like stuffed sausage.

Nope. I prefer clothes that fit and that I'm comfortable in.

What are some things you guys do to remember to make good choices?

I weigh all my food, log everything I eat, log my exercise (burns from heart rate monitor), eat back my exercise calories, and make the decision that maintaining weight (I've lost 44 pounds already) is more important than what I used to feel like when I was overweight. I make sure I reasonably stay within my calories goals and generally calculate on a weekly basis.

You have to really want to lose weight, and if you don't really want to it's not going to happen.

The choice is yours.

I've found it more motivating to just wear clothes that fit. I feel happier, more comfortable and actually want to do things. I feel more energized and positive toward losing weight when my clothes fit vs too tight or too loose.

It works for some and doesn't work for others. I've seen LOTS of people out there that wearing 2 sizes too small for them because they think it's sexy.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff wrote: »

It works for some and doesn't work for others. I've seen LOTS of people out there that wearing 2 sizes too small for them because they think it's sexy.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I know! Muffin tops galore!

Lounmoun wrote: »

I've found it more motivating to just wear clothes that fit. I feel happier, more comfortable and actually want to do things. I feel more energized and positive toward losing weight when my clothes fit vs too tight or too loose.

Same for me.

I sometimes find it motivating to have clothes to aspire to (like clothes that used to fit or maybe a pair of jeans one size down), but wearing stuff that makes me feel bad doesn't work for me and I tend to do better when I'm feeling good about myself.

Making myself wear small clothes wouldn't motivate me at all. For me, it would just make me feel uncomfortable, gross, and insecure. Negative motivation doesn't work on me; it just makes me depressed. Plus, I've got a lot of weight to lose, so if I did this I'd be spending a very long time in clothing that was too small for me. I personally don't want to spend a year or more of my life looking bad and feeling uncomfortable.

I do plan on buying smaller clothing though, in the not to distant future. I do most of my clothes shopping at a plus size store called Torrid. At certain times you can earn these coupons for $25 off of $50, and in the redemption period you can use as many as you have all at once. I've got 5 of them, which will give me $125 off of $250. The redemption date is in mid October, so depending on were my weight is then I'm going to likely buy a bunch of clothes a size too small for me. But honestly, that's more of a financial decision than a motivational one. I just don't want to buy a bunch of new clothing and then have them become too big on me almost immediately.

zyxst wrote: »

I stopped wearing too-tight clothes when I was 18. Too-tight clothes make me uncomfortable and irritable, but if OP can deal with it, go her.

This. Too tight clothes give me muffin-top anxiety, which means a lot of fidgeting, discomfort and hyper self-awareness/terrible self-confidence.

But, this has also reminded me that when I get to my final goal and need to replace most of my wardrobe, I will be avoiding elastic-waist skirts & pants, big time. I think I used to tend to ignore my weight gain when I didn't immediately notice it with how my clothes fit. Then again, I never weighed myself until I started making changes to get healthy, so I'd better keep the scale for the rest of my life, too. So, I guess what I'll be avoiding most of all is denial!