There are many reasons why women try to lose weight. We want to lower our blood pressure or cholesterol, reduce our chances of developing health problems such as diabetes or breast cancer, and overall, just be healthier. Let's be honest, though. Probably the most common reason ladies want to shape up and slim down is so we feel good about ourselves and our appearance. Who doesn't want to feel confident stripping down to a bikini?
With all the many reasons we have to lose weight, there are a million more ways to motivate ourselves to drop pounds. One not so traditional and pretty extreme way is to buy smaller-sized clothes. It may be just the thing to inspire someone to stick to their exercise plan, though. So tell me, would you buy clothes a size or two smaller to motivate you to reach your goal weight?
CAFe'NOIR
I have a tighter (smaller-sized) pair of jeans I can wear when I'm in good shape, so they're a good gauge to know if I'm staying healthy, or if I'm indulging a bit too much. Right now, I can wear them, but we'll see what happens after the holidays!
1I'm guilty of buying things that are a bit tight if I realllly like them and they don't have a bigger size. Usually when I can comfortably wear them I know its a 'good day'... luckily, I lost weight in September from being really sick and I've had these 'good days' ever since... ha.
2I kind of hate this idea. First, how are you to know that your body will ever healthily be that size? Is it just a random guess or a ridiculously ill informed hope? You may be setting yourself up for disaster because your body naturally will not be that size unless drastic and unhealthy measures are taken.
Second, I believe that it's more motivating to be confident and look and feel good throughout the entire weight loss process. So having some extra tight jeans in your closet staring at you every day will be a mood killer and will make you feel fat in your "fat jeans."
Instead you should dress for your shape, accentuate your positives throughout, and then when you do meet your goals, go out and buy the clothes that fit as a reward.
3I used to do this, but then I realized that when I lost weight, my body shape often changed so clothes looked different on me. No matter the size you wear, if the clothing doesn't flatter your body shape, it won't look good. Now I just buy what's most flattering for the body I have NOW, and not the body I hope to have after however many hours in the gym.
4I've found that buying something that is a little too small for you as a motivator for working out can backfire. Depending on how you have decided to slim down, your body may end up in a slightly different shape than you expect. I remember doing that once with a pair of jeans when I was more focused on cycling and spinning. I slimmed down, but my legs and butt became more muscular and the jeans just didn't work. So now I just reward myself after I meet my goals.
5I would never buy clothes a size smaller but I have kept some favorite boot cut jeans from about 8 years ago. I put weight on for my wedding and couldn't fit any of my old jeans for the past 3 years. But now that I've been working out more and more this past year, I am starting to fit comfortably back into these jeans. They serve as motivation because they looked so great on back then and now when I wear them, my husband usually comments on how great my butt looks - more motivation.
6Nope. My motivation is to be able to wear a bikini to the beach with my cousins this summer!
7And I'm almost there!
8I have bought clothes a size smaller to try to motivate myself but it really isn't treating yourself well to do it. Recently I ordered some new clothes THINKING I ordered my correct size and they fit a little snug so that tells me I need to start working out and watching what I eat more.
9One obvious problem with this is that everyone carries weight differently, so even if you lose a certain number of pounds, it might not be reflected in your body exactly as predicted . . .Oh, I just saw that Anon #5 beat me to this point!
10I've never done this...the concept would probably make me anxiously overeat!
11I've heard of this before. Never tried it and never will. I'm okay with my body.
However, a long time ago, when I was in college, I had a really bad break-up and became depressed. I'm already thin, but when that happened I just wasted away to almost nothing and had to buy new clothing that was like size double zero or something. Then, I got into better shape and now I have all this useless clothing that is way to small for me to wear. Every once in a while, I try that stuff on and feel fat, because I can't fit into it, but I just remind myself that I wasn't healthy at the time and if my regular clothing fits, I'm okay.
12I usually keep clothes when I gain a little bit of weight. (I get rid of anything that's more than a size too small.) My weight fluctuates a lot, so it's not unusual for me to go between two sizes. I won't get clothes in the wrong size, though, even if I'm pretty sure I will be the smaller size again.
13No. I used to do that when I was overweight and it was a great way to waste money. Plus, you have no idea how things will fit when you lose weight. The best way to motivate yourself is to buy clothes that fit you well, closely perhaps if you want motivation, but to buy things out of your size is just a waste of money.
14no, i buy clothes that fit me now. some people view it as motivation, but i see as a way of torturing myself until i fit into that particular piece of clothing. i do have things that i bought when i've smaller, so when i can't fit into those, i work at making sure that i can.
15I've done this with classic pieces over the years (only on clearance) and am glad I did. Now that I'm losing weight I don't have to go shopping
16I've not done that but it actually sounds intriguing - considering our vanity will get the better of us every time
17When I was losing weight, I never bought any new clothes until I was swimming in my old ones. I always waited until I had lost weight, then bought the new clothes. Buying them too small on purpose sounds like a big waste of money to me.
18many years ago I did this and I didn't lose weight at the time.
19I've tried to stick to the advice of buying the size that I currently am--the whole self-acceptance thing and all--but when I did that in the middle of my working out/weight-loss regimen, I ended up with several outfits that no longer fit me because they were too big. My solution is to buy stuff with a bit of stretch, or that can be cinched or worn loose, according to whatever size I am. It's easier.
20I realized I needed to lose weight when I wanted to wear a new shirt that I got for Christmas. It really showed that I had a little extra (it's the very bottom). I try it on occasionally to see where I fall.
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