Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

198 pounds

In my last post, I talked about how my husband and two friends have changed the way I see myself, but there's another group that needs recognition as well—the folks at TLC's What Not To Wear. 

I watched this show pretty religiously during the time when I changed from seeing myself as a monster to seeing myself as a unique, attractive individual. And a big part of the reason I made that leap was because that's exactly what they do on What Not to Wear—they take a regular looking woman and help her see how beautiful she really is.

If you've never watched this show, it's time you did. Hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly (pictured above) work with the schlumpy, the frumpy, the overweight, the underweight, the overdone, and the underdone. But rather than try to fix what others might see as wrong with these women, Stacy and Clinton accept them for who they are and make them look fabulous without any mention of losing weight or changing their bodies—instead they focus on their assets. In other words, like Mark Darcy, they accept them just the way they are. 

And when you see how fabulous these women look after they get a new wardrobe, new hairstyle, and new makeup, you will be amazed. The message is that with only a costume change, we can all look that good, and I love that What Not to Wear gave me that gift.

There are some people in my life who think I worry about my clothes too much or dress up too often, but what What Not to Wear taught me is that paying attention to these superficial things can make me feel good about myself in much deeper ways. And that's a lesson I'll always treasure. 

If you haven't watched the show, it airs at 8 and 9 p.m. EST Friday nights on TLC.