Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today

199 pounds

In my last post, I talked about an amazing dress I just found at Old Navy, and one of the comments I got about that blog came from my dear friend Emily (pictured in the self-portrait above), who said this:

"After I surfaced from the ridiculous stress of the last six months, I realized that I've gained some weight. Rather than beating myself up over it and refusing to buy myself new clothes until I slim down, I went out and started buying dresses. I'm convinced that they're much more flattering than jeans. I feel better, and I know I look good, because people keep asking me where I'm shopping."

I'm repeating what Emily said here because embedded in her words is one of the most important things I could ever say on this blog: if you want to feel good about yourself, you MUST get yourself some new clothes.

Not tomorrow.

Not when you lose five pounds.

Now.

They don't have to be expensive clothes or even completely new clothes (raid a friend's closet if you have to), but they have to be new to you and they have to fit your body the way it looks TODAY.

It's a common misconception that if you've put on a few pounds, you should deny yourself the luxury of buying new clothes, punishing yourself with a too-tight wardrobe until you reach your goal weight. But this notion is completely misguided. Because as long as your clothes don't properly fit, you'll feel lousy. And as long as you feel lousy, you're more likely to take those emotions out on a super-sized Extra Value Meal.

No, when you are feeling bad about the reflection in the mirror, you shouldn't deny yourself flattering clothes. Instead, that's the exact time to engage in some serious retail therapy.

Another reason this is crucial is because until you feel good about yourself in the present, you will most likely never ever be able to feel good about yourself in the future . . . at least not for long or in any lasting more-than-superficial way. And, honestly, nothing makes you feel better about yourself than a slimming pair of jeans that actually fit and flatter your bottom half rather than turning your waist into a muffin top and stretching your thighs to thunderous proportions.

Trust me, I know.