You need to clean your closet NOW. Here’s why!

November 5, 2018January 31, 2022Leave a comment

First, let me bust some major clothing myths that I believed for way too long…

If you wear tighter clothes, you’ll be reminded to eat less.
You should always keep smaller jeans within eye sight for motivation.
Throw away all clothes that are too big so you never gain weight back.
If you’re in between sizes, buy the smaller size as motivation.

All 4 of these are lies. And when you believe these myths we’re left with a closet full of clothes that don’t fit and a mad dash every other day to clean the two pairs of pants/leggings that do fit. If you’re anything like me, you have 700 articles of clothing, but wear the same 10 things in a weekly rotation.

My closet and drawers lately have been a disaster and I’ve found that getting dressed and getting out of the house has been stressful. I’ve gone back to the days of trying on 9 shirts before settling on the same one that always looks good and leaving my bed piled high with discards each morning.

This weekend, I did something about it. I decided to build a weight loss friendly closet. And that doesn’t just mean donating any and all clothes that don’t fit, it’s means organizing them in a way that you always feel happy and healthy when deciding what to wear.

Here’s what I did:

First, I laid everything on my bed that I don’t wear at the moment.

Then, I made piles. Pile 1 was for all the jeans and pants that for whatever reason at the moment don’t fit or feel good when wearing. However, since I have an emotional attachment to them I can’t just give them away. Some are smaller and I secretly hope to fit back into them someday. Some just have happy memories and are associated with times that I love thinking of. And others are just expensive and I can’t justify donating. But regardless, since at the moment, none of them fit, I don’t need to look at them everyday.

The next pile was for what I call, forever friends. For whatever reason certain shirts or dresses I can’t get rid of because of the slight chance I’ll need them again. These are the clothes that have a specific meaning and purpose. That outfit you may need for New Years. That shirt you may need for a holiday party. The dress you could possibly wear last minute to another wedding. Your high school sport shirts that you can’t possible throw away. And even workout clothes that are either expensive or might serve a purpose one day. It’s OK to keep all these clothes, but day to day, they cause clutter and chaos.

The next pile was simply seasonal, no big surprise here but I am someone who can go the entire year with jean shorts in my drawers.

The last pile was simply formal dresses. I always assume they belong in my closet but I decided I could neatly get them under the bed to make my closet less of a mess.

And of course, I had an ongoing donation pile.

Then I focused my attention to detail and threw away all the random hangers I had, you know, the wire ones from the dry cleaner or the hangers from target with colorful sizes on them.

I then, organized all of these into my under the bed containers from Target so the are in my life, but aren’t in my eye sight each day.

By the time I was done, I had neat drawers, and a closet filled with all clothes I wear on a regular basis RIGHT NOW. This morning I got dressed in point 4 seconds. And I also realized the exact thing I really need to shop for. The exact article of clothing that I DO need to bring more outfits together.

It’s important to give yourself permission to find ways to be the best version of yourself. We’ve all spent too much time wearing the size we think we should be. Trying to get to a weight we think will make us happier. And wearing clothes that we think we’re supposed to wear. But keeping clothes and sizes in eye sight that don’t fit is completely causing the opposite of motivation. It’s causing stress and anxiety and that only triggers emotional eating more. Your clothes will always be there if you need them, whether under the bed like mine or in another place in your home where you store things. The same way we make a trip to storage to get our holiday decorations once a year, you can make that same trip to get an article of clothing you need once a year.

Happy Monday!

I tried on the same size pair of jeans at every store in the mall…Here’s what happened!

March 28, 2018April 3, 20193 Comments

If you are like me you have spent your whole life trying to find the perfect pair of jeans. Anyone who says jeans are comfortable, in my mind, can’t be trusted. I actually dread putting jeans on every morning. The first thing I do when I get home from work is walk to my room and take my jeans off. THE. FIRST. THING. Furthermore, we all say that size doesn’t matter but no one can deny that it does affect us emotionally. That’s why I did my own social experiment in vanity sizing. My friend Sarah dropped me off at the mall & I walked the entire perimeter of both floors and stopped in every store I’d typically buy jeans in. I picked up the same size pair of jeans at each store. To keep things somewhat consistent, the jeans I tried on in each store were the pair on the table in the front of the store. My rationale, those were the jeans I’d probably want since they are the most in style. I picked up the jean wash in all, no whites or blacks or colored jeans. I proceeded to the dressing room & tried each on. I took pictures & notes. Here’s what happened!

(Ranked below in order of “Fit” to “I can’t get these jeans up over my knees”)

Forever 21: Fit, would purchase.

Charlotte Russe: Fit, would purchase.

NY & Co: Fit, would purchase

Banana Republic: Fit, but snug, would purchase BUT would need to wear a flowy top to hide the slight muffin top.

J-Crew: Fit, but snug, would need bigger size if I was going to purchase & wear comfortably.

Express: Zipped, tiny muffin top, would need 1 size bigger if I was going to purchase.

American Eagle: Zipped, but major major muffin top, major wiggle dance to get in them. I would need 2 sizes bigger if I was going to purchase.

Holister: MADE IT HALFWAY UP MY BUTT. That’s it. Would have been a major rip IF I had continued. Would need at least 2 sizes up if I was going to purchase.

Aeropostale: Nope, not gonna zip. Would need at least 2 sizes bigger if I was going to purchase

Gap: DIDN’T EVEN MAKE IT PAST MY HIPS. LEGIT stopped. I would need 3 sizes bigger if I was going to purchase- This was shocking to me!!!

These results aren’t shocking. We all know that jeans fit us all so differently. And in no way is this a scientifically controlled experiment. It’s the real and raw reality of jean shopping. It’s a glimpse at just how frustrating it is to shop for jeans. How hard we work to find the perfect fit. How much money we spend on a pair of jeans that look good. And how often we DO think of that size. We often buy the smaller size as “motivation” to lose weight which is the most stressful thing we can do to ourselves. We often squeeze ourselves into the smaller size just so we know we are wearing the smaller size. And here’s what upsets me most, when you go try on jeans, if you’re like me, you always take the smaller size in hopes they fit. When they don’t, you subconsciously make a new goal to fit into those. It’s actually maddening. And we need to take back power of those tags.

I hope you think of this social experiment the next time you try on a pair of jeans and they don’t fit. There is literally only one reason I’d run around the mall trying on every pair, it’s because I feel so passionately about every woman ending the war they wage on their bodies. Remember, don’t blame yourself. As you can see from above, it’s NOT your fault that some jeans fit and some you can’t wiggle over your knees. You deserve more than to let a tiny number on the back of your pants determine your true value. And when all else fails, just f*cking wear leggings:)

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I tried on 6 different pairs of jeans in the same size, here’s what happened.

September 25, 2017October 12, 2017Leave a comment

We live in a small house in Jersey City. Although I love my little house, we’re busting at the seams. Every one of my drawers is overflowing with clothes. Yet, I never have anything to wear. I have my staple articles of clothing and if they aren’t washed I feel completely lost. Right now I own about 9 pairs of jeans, I wear 3 pairs.

Yesterday happened to be a day when no laundry was done. Sean, my husband, and I usually go to 10:30 mass but we thought the 9 am would sync up better with Penelope’s nap so we were trying to get out the door to make 9 am mass. Therefore, it wasn’t ideal that I had nothing clean to wear. After trying on 3 outfits I hated I settled on something that was “fine enough” and we made it to church by the homily. The worst part about having nothing to wear is the mess I make while finding what fits. Every article of clothing ends up flung onto the bed and floor.

Later that day, while thinking of the mess I made, I thought, why does this always happen? Why do I have so many clothes but nothing to wear?! Why are the 6 pairs of jeans that don’t fit me even in my closet? As a life long Yo-Yo Dieter and emotional eater, some things fit, something’s don’t on any given day. But beyond that, I actually don’t even know what size I am because sizes are SO ambiguous these days.

That’s why I decided to do a little experiment. I laid out 6 pairs of jeans that I owned that were the exact same size. I tried them on, one by one. Here’s what happened.

First up, American Eagle. This pair was big. It gets a thumbs up because they are so comfy that I can wear them comfortably.

Next up: Nordstrom generic brand. I couldn’t even button..Thumbs Down.

Next: 7 For All Mankind, buttoned, but as you can see, are so tight the pockets are sticking out. Thumbs Down.

Next, Abercrombie and Fitch, they fit. BUT JUST fit so I wouldn’t exactly consider them comfortable enough to wear.

Next pair, Michael Kors, another pair that wouldn’t button.

And this pair, from Anthropologie, fit just right! Finally.

The fact that with 6 pairs, same size, one was too big, one was just right, and 4 were too tight, just proves size doesn’t matter. And this experiment is a good reminder for myself and anyone reading. But it’s more than that. It’s removing negativity from our lives. Like jeans that are too tight that haunt us daily. Any of these jeans that didn’t fit, I packed away neatly under my bed. Maybe I’ll wear them again one day or maybe I won’t. The point is; they don’t deserve my energy and I don’t need to see them everyday. I don’t need to try them on everyday. In a perfect world, all jeans would fit exactly the same, we’d all be the size we want to be and we’d all be able to open our closets and wear any of our clothes on any given day. But that’s just not reality. When we own that reality, we remove the pressure we put on ourselves to look and be a certain size. Just like jeans come in all shapes and sizes, so do we. Own your number, own your style, live comfortably. Happy Monday!

And to buy the official shirt of Monday Dieter, pictured above, Click Here!!

NOTE: They run big when ordering:)

Just buy the bigger size

July 24, 2017October 12, 20173 Comments

This past week I spent the week down on the Jersey Shore at my familys’ beach house. Our beach house is on Long Beach Island. It’s an island with very little chain stores or restaurants and when you get on the island you usually stay on the island. Midweek I was coming to the conclusion that I was running low on wipes. Sure I could have run to our island grocery store to get whatever brand they stocked but the particular wipes I like were at Target, about 25 minutes away, off the island. The biggest incentive to take this trek, there is a Starbucks in this Target. So maybe I was just looking for an excuse to get my Starbucks BUT lucky for me my aunt, who also spends much of her summer on Long Beach Island, offered to take a ride with me.

We headed to Target, got our Starbucks, picked up the wipes and then continued up and down the rest of the aisles, running up our bills in the way every great Target trip goes. At one point, we found ourselves in the clothing section because my aunt remembered she needed to pick up an article of clothing for an upcoming trip. She was in between sizes and decided to just buy the bigger size. That moment was the inspiration for this post today. We both acknowledged in the car ride home that that decision to buy the bigger size wasn’t a moment of defeat but a moment of triumph. I was proud of her for making the hard decision to go bigger. Yes, we all know, its one of the hardest decisions to go bigger. It should be a no brainer, but sadly, it’s not.

It’s because sizes are a lot like the scale. We let them define us. We’ve come up with a certain size in our heads that we believe we should be and when we aren’t that size, we beat ourselves up. We spend way too much time and energy trying to get into that certain size. We think people know what size we wear. We think our lives will be better if we are the smaller size. We think everyone we pass on the streets knows what the tag on the inside of our clothes reads. We give the size too much power. In fact, how many times have we been in a dressing room and we’ve been in between two sizes? We get the smaller size JUST because it’s the smaller size. We squeeze into the smaller size, wear it even though we’re uber uncomfortable simply because it’s the size we want to be. Or we buy the smaller size thinking it will be a vehicle to motivate us. From my personal experience, any clothes I buy that are too small, never motivate me. They actually do the opposite. They haunt me in my closet, collect dust and make me eat more.

I know how hard it is to make the decision to buy the bigger size. It feels like a defeat, a failure. And it’s a reminder of the progress we haven’t yet made. But in NO way whatsoever does the size of clothes you wear define you.

Being 4 months post baby, I’ve acquired a pair of jeans that are two sizes bigger than my pre-pregnancy jeans. These jeans are beyond comfortable, they fit, they look great and I basically wear them everyday. However, every time I slip them on, I do have that moment where I think of the jeans tucked away in my closet from before the baby that I haven’t made any progress to get into yet.

So I decided I need to own my bigger jeans. So I decided to “build the case for the bigger size!” I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans and took pics. And then took the same pics in my comfy, 2 sizes bigger jeans. Unless I need a new glasses prescription, I think we have our answer and a case built for the bigger size. We look better, we feel better and we lift a huge weight of pressure off our shoulders. And it’s moments like this, when I rock my bigger jeans that are more effective than any fruit or veggie.