Feeding Our Fashion Sense

I know, this isn’t a fashion blog, but I want to say that what we choose to wear goes a long way to impacting how we feel about ourselves. There are items we can wear that will make us feel and therefore look thinner. V-necks, empire waists, straight-leg jeans, knee-length skirts and dresses, and yes shoes with a heel, (it need not be 3 inches high), are flattering to all but only a few people and therefore can make us feel thinner, pounds before we reach our goal. A lot of it is also about posture and generally how we carry ourselves. When we feel good about ourselves, we stand a little straighter. Standing straighter can make us look like we’ve instantly lost 10-pounds. When we slouch, our bodies fold in on themselves and we look heavier. There is nothing worse than seeing some of today's young women, (and older ones, too), wearing jeans that are so tight, their bellies flop over the top. They then ‘cover’ that belly with a shirt that’s too short or too tight.

Wearing tight clothes, a size too small if you will, does not make you appear that size. We're not fooling anybody, least of all ourselves. It simply looks like we’re in a size too small! And worse, it actually makes us look heavier.

Take a look through your closet. Try on a few things. How do they fit? I mean really fit. Jeans too tight? Skirt too short? Shirt pulling across the front so the buttons are pulled apart like an accordion, leaving a gap at the bust? I saw a young woman today who looked like she could stand to lose 30 pounds and part of it was because she was wearing the wrong clothes. Her jeans were so tight around the top that her belly fat hung over the edge. How did I know? Because she was wearing a clingy top over her jeans that revealed every bulge of her stomach. Had she instead, been wearing a shirt that draped, gently falling away from the body like the baby-doll style blouses that are so popular right now, she would still be 30 pounds overweight but it wouldn’t be obvious to someone 100 feet away. And I’m sure when she put on that outfit and looked in the mirror before she left the house this morning, she probably stood straighter, sucked in her stomach and thought, yeah, that looks good. Trouble is, we don't keep standing straight and keep sucking in our gut once we leave the house. Wear something flattering that makes you feel good about yourself. Think of it this way. Look at what you're wearing right now. How would you feel about it if your ex-boyfriend saw you in it? Still want to wear it? Still think it makes you look good?

You owe it to yourself to dress better. And by better I don’t mean more expensive. Plenty of discount stores like Marshall’s, Ross, even Sears, have some really cute clothes that are not expensive and look really flattering. Update your wardrobe! And no, don't wait until you've lost those 25 or 30 pounds and reached your goal. You should look good at every level of your weight. Remember, if you like what you see in the mirror, that’s going to motivate you to keep eating less, eating better, and look good doing it. You are worth it!