After Marie Kondo-ing my closet, I realized how much bull shit I was hanging on to.

Not just my old work attire (which, let’s be real, I’m never going back to an office job), but old clothes that I was either waiting to fit back into one day, or that were too big, but I was keeping just in case.

Just in case what????

I thought to myself, “WTF am I doing????”

So I listened to Marie Kondo’s advice and cleaned out roughly half of my closet that hadn’t been worn in years (yes, YEARS!).

And I felt incredibly light and accomplished and now that a few months have passed, I can honestly say I haven’t given another thought – until now for this blog – about those things I no longer have.

It Wasn’t Just Me

In those few months, I’ve had a few clients talk about their clothes – some that fit, some that don’t, some that they’re hoping to fit into.

But one client in particular expressed how she was waiting to lose weight more before buying new clothes for herself.

She didn’t want to “waste” all that money buying new clothes when the plan was to continue losing weight and then she’d have to buy new ones again.

My recent experience with cleaning out my closet had me primed to coach her through this, because I had recently done something similar.

When I asked how long she had been waiting to buy herself some new, fitting clothes, she sheepishly answered that it had been several months, if not over a year.

That means in those several months or more than a year, she had been reluctantly putting on clothes that she didn’t like, didn’t fit properly and didn’t make her feel good, ALLLL because she was waiting to lose more weight.

Are you as flabbergasted as I was??

Double Jeopardy

It dawned on me (and thus resulted in being flabbergasted) that when we do things like this (waiting to buy new clothes), we’re punishing ourselves multiple times for the same “crime”.

First, you punish yourself for being heavier than you wanted.

Then, when you’ve lost some weight, you’re punishing yourself with ill fitting and unflattering clothing until you lose even more weight.

Double punishment – WTF!?

And that double punishment can go on for YEARS if we don’t catch ourselves. Literally, years. Your weight loss journey could span five or ten years, and all that while you’ll be feeling frumpy in clothes you hate, and wondering why you don’t have motivation to stick to it.

Doesn’t that seem asinine when you say it like that?

How about instead, you give yourself some damn credit because you’ve lost some weight, gotten healthier and are taking care of yourself?!

Celebrate your massive accomplishment by treating yourself to a couple new pieces that make you feel confident in your progress!

It’s not just a physical win when you lose weight, it’s a mental win too. And there should be a lot that comes with it in the form of confidence, a new energy about you, and showing up as more YOU! Mirror those changes in your appearance with clothes that make you feel good, and have you feeling yourself a little!

Out With The Old

I realize you can’t go overhauling your wardrobe with every five pound loss or gain, but adding a new, proper fitting piece here and there can be a HUGE boost in morale as you stick to it.

And for Pete’s sake – get rid of the old clothes that you know don’t fit.

Don’t keep them around as a ‘just in case’ plan for if you fall off the wagon and revert back. Don’t give yourself that back up plan and instead burn the boats (or in this case, the jeans).

I know you’ve heard the saying “look good, feel good” and it’s true! When you know you look good you show up more confidently in life, and more importantly, for YOURSELF!

You feel your worth and you want your clothes to reflect it – so go buy the damn clothes! Stop this holding pattern of “when I lose X pounds, I’ll buy new clothes” – NOOOO. Do it now and be proud of the fact that you’re making progress. Show it off! And keep showing up!