I know I’m going out on a little bit of a limb here, but that’s never stopped me before. I wanted to share with you my thoughts on how some clothes you choose to wear can make you feel “smaller” than you actually are, which may not be a good thing.
Case in point. When I was gaining weight, I switched from wearing relatively fitted clothes to clothes that swung around my body when a good breeze came along. Shirts that flowed were preferable to shirts that fit well. Wearing shirts like this one made me “feel” smaller because of less constriction. This feeling of freedom in clothing often gave me a little more freedom to eat what I wanted.
Why?
I think I ate more when I wore looser clothing because I unconsciously associated looser clothing with a smaller waist, less fat hips, and arms that were not bigger than my husbands. Popular fashions these days include those long knit jackets where the front pieces hang longer than the rest of the hem. These are an overweight woman’s best friend because the fabric helps hide your actual size. However, these jackets and other clothing items like them don’t hide anything, and often aren’t flattering to your size – whatever it may be.
I confess here that I have to watch myself with this even now because I do love a good roomy fleece. I see pictures of myself in an oversized fleece or jacket and realize that I look bigger than I really am. This is often true no matter your size – whether you are an 8 or a 28.
Just to illustrate this point, I took two pictures of myself today. One with my beloved but way too big fleece, and one with an equally warm but well-fitted sweater. Notice that even though I weighed the same in the two pictures, I look different.
I’d encourage you to look at your wardrobe and get out of the habit of wearing clothes that are too big. Not only may you find that you look better, but you may find yourself resisting the temptation to overeat because of your elastic waist pants, a long flowing shirt or loose jacket that gives you the impression that you have room to spare.
How do you choose clothes, and do you try to hide behind too-big or loose clothes? Diane
Guilty as charged. I too tend to pick up the baggier variety in tops, but make the following excuse for myself… it’s often to hide the fact that I’ve taken in my waistband and can’t sew for toffee!
Maybe I need to rethink, even find a decent tailor?
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Tailors can be our friends! I can sew (learned from necessity) but am often too lazy to “fix” a waistband or hem a pant. That’s bad!
and it was always the SUMMER for me.
even though that was technically bathing suit season it was also BAGGGGGY season, too.
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Wow- that does make such a big difference in the way that you look. Sometimes I put on hoodies just so I don’t feel so insecure in a tighter shirt, especially when I’m feeling bloated!
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I agree. When clothes fit tighter around one’s body, you tend to think and act upon it. So you eat less. I too wore big clothes and thus I think I too ate more because the clothes felt more lose around my body. I think it is very much a physiological thing as well. You have a point.
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I agree, Diane! I have Friends who use tighter clothing as a reminder to help keep them on track with their weight maintenance, and it works!
I wore loose clothing for years; like you looking back now I can’t believe how awful I looked in some of those outfits. Now I wear fitted clothing … I never have and never will like tight clothes.
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I am a very sloppy dresser and love to be comfy above all else. I look better when I go against that and dress more fitted:(
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When I started dressing for the body I had instead of hiding it I felt better. And by feeling better my weight loss and health journey picked up.
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You are so right on. When I am going to a party or a dinner I will purposely wear fitted clothes so that I can literally feel that I am full and use it as a way to keep me from overindulging. I am all for a few pieces of really good chocolate or a few bites of an indulgent dessert, but it’s a nice reminder not to go overboard when you look really nice.
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Thank you for reminding me how different clothes can make your body look! Great post! I’ve put away in a difficult to get to place all my elastic waist pants. Time to go through the closet and get rid of those oversized tops!
This is a great post! You are so right. When I was plus-sized I used to wear clothes that were much bigger than needed to be. I thought I was hiding my fat. I may have had a 24W jeans and 2X shirts but I wore things big.
As I lost the weight I realized that I was still wearing big clothes to hide. I changed that and it made a huge difference. I now wear clothes that actually fit properly and I look much better.
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This is such a great point, and I love the two pictures comparing the different clothes. I was just walking around today in sweat pants that are too roomy and thinking how I feel thin in them and that is a very deceiving feeling when my actual fitted jeans are getting a little snug. You are so right…I need to keep putting on the fitted things, but it is so tempting to wear the comfy, warm, and looser clothes in the winter for some reason.
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Diane, What Not to Wear talks about this all the time! I used to do the baggy/big thing when I was heavier to hide it all… even now, sometimes I still fall back to that during those times I feel “ugh”. Great post & you look amazing!
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Great illustration. It’s interesting that large, roomy clothes actually make a thin person look less thin! I will concede that I buy flattering things to hide a less than flat belly bulge and the adipose layer that has somehow formed over the ribcage in midlife (sigh) but I wear more fitted pants and slim skirts now. In hindsight, as a petite person, the weight disguising larger flowing skirts and bulky sweaters made me look even chunkier than I was 25 pounds ago! I actually look more slender in tighter clothing.
I had one of those “duh” moments when my bone structure started to emerge after I lost weight. For some reason, I didn’t realize the rib cage went all the way up and when I could pull my shoulders back and see my sternum, I realized the little ridges were ribs. Duh… but it had been a few years since they’d been in evidence.
Interestingly, a weight loss tip I heard that’s popular in France is that women wear a piece of ribbon tied to fit around the waist close to the stomach, and when they’re eating and they expand, it make the ribbon give feedback and they know to stop eating, even if the brain/fullness connection hasn’t kicked in yet.
Guilty!!! I buy mediums and get them home and they are too big!! It has been almost a year at maintenance but I still don’t see myself as a smaller person. I guess it takes time for those imprinted images in your brain to change!!
Not only did I like baggy clothes I wore a lot of black colored clothing thinking/feeling it made me look smaller.
Its nice to have color besides black in my wardrobe now.
A few times this past month I’ve received compliments on my weight loss, but I’m only down 5 – 10 pounds since I moved here four months ago. I think most of it is because I’ve been wearing a few more fitted items that didn’t fit me before, so wearing the fitted outfit shows the loss better than all my clothes that are getting loose.
Funny thing, but I’m actually sitting here in comfy loose clothes because I confess I do like them better sometimes.
Ha, very true. I started buying fitted clothing when my husband started going shopping with me after we were married. He has to remind me over and over “you are not a large!” Large just “feels” better, but doesn’t look better.
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At the moment, I just take whatever is in my closet and look closely whether it fits or not. Most things don’t or at least not the way I would like them to. I’v noticed that lose fitting tops still fit when you get bigger. Unfortunately I’ve also noticed that they keep riding up every chance they get and I really hate that. What I can’t stand are clothes that make you feel like you’ll explode in a minute because they are too tight. I sometimes see people on the street wearing clothes like that on purpose, I don’t know how they can stand that.
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Very Good points Diane! I for one do not wear anything baggy outside the house (rarely). When its fall or winter, then I usually have the bigger pants on so I can wear layers. However, I do not like covering my body anymore like I once did. I am proud of where I am and like showing it off.
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I was … blessed?… with a mother who never, ever let me wear sweats (or pajamas as she called them!) out of the house. Making a point to always look semi-put together helps me feel confident, and when I feel confident, I live, act, and eat healthier!! I always try to wear my smallest pair of pants possible too- helps me stay on track! I know if the pants are too tight, I need to work a little harder!
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I am guilty of using larger clothing to mask the excess skin but I still like to wear the smallest sizes that fit most of the time.
Unless i feel bloated, then I think I have gained 50 pounds and I hide in a loose shirt or dress.
Jane~
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Wow, what a difference in looks, when wearing the loose clothing that is too big as compared to the snug (and gorgeous) sweater. Today I am wearing NEW clothes (I usually am, after a 186-lb. weight loss, I had to get a whole new wardrobe), and I noticed I probably should have gotten the top and the jeans in one size smaller. It’s hard to think I could fit into a size 8 jeans and a medium top, but I think it would look better on me. Like you, I always went for the flowing NON-figure hugging clothing when I was 300+ lbs. It’s hard to get out of that mindset. Plus I still have a little bit of a tummy that bulges, and I like to hide that if possible.
Diane, this is excellent advice – and timely, as the weather is getting colder and we are all running out to buy enormous sweaters to hide the holiday weight gain. I was just discussing this exact subject with a friend today. Thank you for your wonderful blog. Jennifer