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"Instead of Losing Weight, I Lost the Clothes that Didn't Fit"

checkthestove
checkthestove Posts: 44 Member
The title of this post is a title of a video on Youtube that showed up on my recommended for some reason.

I gave it the benefit of the doubt and wached it.

She has been losing and gaining weight her entire life, but more specifically she had been gaining slowly over the course of 4 years and her clothes didn't fit anymore. She admits that she ended her eating disorder behaviors and that's why she's been gaining weight.

She explains that it makes her feel bad every morning, so she wants to just get rid of all of the clothes in her closet that do not fit.

At one point, she gets upset while throwing away her clothes and says she doesn't want to do it, but then says, "It's better than the alternative."

While that could mean anything, it seemed to mean it's better than trying to lose weight and falling back into her old behaviors.

After throwing away all of her clothes, she goes shopping for a new wardrobe of clothes that fit and that she feels good in.

She never discloses information about her body, but you can see that she's somewhere in the overweight bracket. She's not extremely overweight or obese, but she's not exactly in the healthy range.

The comments were filled with people expressing their opinions on the video and everyone seemed to come from different perspectives. Since we are a community that focuses mainly on our bodies, I was wondering what you guys thought of it.

Does this send a lazy message or an inspirational one?

What is your opinion of it?

I have my own opinion, and I tried to make this as unbiased as possible, but I am curious to see what everyone here thinks.
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Replies

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    Do you have the link?
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
    Everyone has to do what's right for themselves. I've had body image issues my whole life, which also circled around losing and gaining weight, but I don't think giving up and giving in would be the answer for me. For me the answer was trying to be the best I could be, at my age, with what God gave me and what I have the ability to change. But this didn't happen over-nite, I didn't find easy peace with myself just by working out or losing/gaining weight. I found peace with myself by working on my inner demons, day after day, year after year. Sounds like that's what she is doing, her way. Kudos to her. Altho she may be a bit overweight, there's a great chance she is healing internally, and that alone will make weight loss easier and more sustainable when/if it happens.
  • viren19890
    viren19890 Posts: 778 Member
    Disclaimer -since we don't know exact sizes or any other specific details. Response is based on what I've deduced from the video.

    She isn't really accepting who she is because she found a new dimension to exist in but changing sizes. She is coming to terms with the fact that she is over-weight and since her old clothes remind her of this fact everyday she decided to throw em out. From my point of view this isn't acceptance-this is avoidance. Sure get new clothes to feel comfortable in them but keep the old ones so you can work towards them.

    This line of thought- "I don't want a reminder that I'm overweight and just want to exist" what will she do when she goes out for shopping with her friends and they are buying smaller sizes? This same of line of thought means she does not want to lose weight since she failed so many times of doing it properly. (Giving up). She wants to exist -makes me think that she will let loose further and gain more weight. (Unless this is another one of those buzzfeed videos to garner video views and shares)

    From my point of view- An organic healing will happen when you don't let clothes, food, society or any other OUTSIDE factors mess with your mind. Healing would happen when you say "aight I accept that I'm overweight and I've failed at losing these pounds, now I'll go slow and love my body for what it is but since I love my body I would do my best to make it as healthy as possible" instead of- "ok I've failed, my old clothes remind me of failure, Imma just get new clothes and burn any reminder that I was smaller size"


    Anyone who has lost weight and kept it off knows that it take zero talent to be in shape.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
    I didn't really agree with it much. It seemed like she couldn't make up her mind during the video, first she was saying after her first shopping trip that she hated herself and looked like she was about to cry, but the second day she was saying she's okay with herself. I find it hard to believe she's suddenly okay with herself after seeing the mental breakdown she had the day before when she tried on something she didn't like. I know the feeling of buying things that look good and feeling good about yourself for the day or moment, but obviously that feeling goes away quickly if you're not ACTUALLY happy with your body. I really think she needs to work on how she loses weight, and figure out how to do it in a healthy way. Seeing a nutritionist or a therapist for her eating disorder would be a lot more beneficial than throwing away clothes and buying new ones that make her feel good in the moment.

    And I hope she donated those clothes instead of just throwing them out haha
  • mustb60
    mustb60 Posts: 1,090 Member
    This is surprising that she is not taking in to account the health factor here. Is getting fit only about appearances? I don't think this ostrich's approach is going to lead her to a healthier path.
  • SophieSmall95
    SophieSmall95 Posts: 233 Member
    edited July 2016
    As someone who used to have a really unhealthy view on weight and disordered eating. I don't think the video means she is giving up on her weight all together. I think she is just trying to get to a healthy state of mind before she continues with any future weight loss. And I agree with doing that, as someone with a healthy mind is more likely to do well in their weightloss and maintenance in the future. And trying to stick to a healthy weightloss regime with that unhealthy disordered mind set is extremely difficult.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    edited July 2016
    She admits that she ended her eating disorder behaviors and that's why she's been gaining weight.

    No, she gained weight because she chose to eat more calories than she burned. Moderation and/or weight loss doesn't require "eating disorder behaviors."

  • oolou
    oolou Posts: 765 Member
    It made me pause for thought.

    I bought a few things last year. The previous year, nothing. This year so far, nothing except a new pair of exercise leggings. Are my clothes starting to look a bit worn. Yeah.

    I dunno ... I just don't want to buy any more clothes for the size I'm currently at. I'd rather wait until I reach a smaller size again. Right now I'll just make do with what I have.

    I think it's great that the girl in the video has accepted her size and has bought clothes which make herself feel good and thrown out the clothes which no longer fitted.

    But I don't want to accept the version of who I currently am.

    Does that mean I dislike my current shape/size? Yes. I think I'm fat and don't look good. Hence why I'm trying to lose weight.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I think being happy and satisfied with your body is important. Stress and unhappiness are also linked to disease. Personally I'd rather be overweight and happy than stressed and unhappy striving to be in the healthy weight range.
  • NotJustGingerly
    NotJustGingerly Posts: 7 Member
    I think the video is an expression of her personal journey to learn some self love and is not lazy. Most people I know have items in their closet that don't fit but they cling to for whatever reason. I used to work in a plus size women's fashion store and the message I think we all need to learn is to do whatever you need to do to be comfortable and confident in your own body. If it means getting rid of the clothes that make you feel bad and buying new clothes that make you feel good, then do it. Not doing anything and being miserable is lazy; therefore the inspiration she wishes to pass on is to rethink your approach in regards to clothes and your personal self image.
  • ja1721
    ja1721 Posts: 4 Member
    xmichaelyx wrote: »
    She admits that she ended her eating disorder behaviors and that's why she's been gaining weight.

    No, she gained weight because she chose to eat more calories than she burned. Moderation and/or weight loss doesn't require "eating disorder behaviors."


    From what I've noticed, people who are recovering from eating disorders tend to gain more weight than just a few pounds. Its very common. You have to break the mentality. For you and me saying we cant eat a certain thing or that we need to excercise more is fine but for someone recovering from this, it could trigger them. The only way to make sure she wasnt taking in more calories than putting out is that she still count calories and exercise, but most therapists would tell her to not do that, because there is no way for sure that anyone could keep on eye in her and make sure she was't going the the extreme. It would be too high risk, like allowing to a recovering alcoholic anywhere near a bar. Once they have recovered enough that they can move to a different stage, they can be a healthy weight. If it works for her than great. She cant do both at the same time.
    On top of that her metabolism is going from starvation mode to normal, so whatever extra she will eat (extra from straving) will be held on to for dear life in her fat reserves. So she is going to be a bit "plump."

    As for my two cents on this question:
    The eating disorder recovery world is very different than our world. If someone recovering from an eating disorder eats a piece of cake, its progress.
    But if we do, its a set back. Which is why i believe this question is being asked to the wrong group of people. We dont know the ins and out of and eating disorder. We dont know the recovery process. We dont know this girl at all or what will work for her. Bottom line: unless we have been there, what do we know. If it helps her even for a little while, then whats the issue?