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










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