I recently started a new job. I went from a jeans every day kind of workplace to a dress pants every day kind of workplace. That meant clothes shopping. Now, usually I enjoy clothes shopping, but this one came with some deadlines, which made it a bit more intense. Because I was looking for specific things, I noticed something. My brain has not realized that my body has become smaller since my keto weight loss.
I am always looking for a bargain, so I start with the sales racks. I did find some nice dress pants, but they were $100 on sale. I’ll go naked first. So, I kept searching and I started to panic as I wasn’t finding anything suitable. I looked at a couple of pairs of pants and thought, they’re a size 14-16. They’ll fit. There were a couple of nice shirts on sale, but they were extra large. I thought, what the heck, I’ll try them on. Guess what? I looked like I was trying out for a job as a clown. They did not fit. They looked baggy and sloppy and downright ridiculous.
Online Shopping after Keto Weight Loss
So, I decided I’d do some shopping online. I haven’t done much of this because the sizes are never the same. But, I got a couple of pairs of leggings so I started shopping on Amazon for tunic tops that would be long enough to wear with the leggings and keep me in the dressier category. I thought I’d order large shirts because I wanted them a little baggier with the tight leggings and, in my brain, I am still a large or extra large. They came and they will be okay, but they are really too big. If I had tried them on in a store, I would have bought the mediums, not the larges.
Finally, I needed a black cardigan. I found one on sale at Walmart and bought it on the spot. It was a large. Again, it’s too big, but it will at least fit over top of sweaters I wear in the winter.
What is with my brain that I still see myself as a large or an extra large? For some reason, I was able to recognize my weight loss from a plus size to a regular size, but that’s where I stopped. My mind just can not wrap itself around the fact that I am a size 12 pants (or a large) and a medium in tops. It just won’t go there.
What to Try on When Shopping!
When I try on clothes in the fitting room, I take a large and a medium shirt, “just in case.” It’s always the medium. I try on the medium, expecting it to be too tight. It fits. I look at myself in the mirrors, expecting to see bulges and rolls. It actually looks pretty good. I try on size 12 pants, expecting to have my belly hang out and it doesn’t. Then I try on the shirts with the pants and the shirt doesn’t have to hang down over my butt because it all goes well together. I’m not an extra large or a large anymore. I’m a medium.
It’s been almost two years since we started this keto journey. When is my brain going to catch up with my body? Honestly, I don’t think it ever will. I spent my entire life feeling like I was too big, too fat, too chesty. Now that I’m a pretty healthy weight and size, I just can’t comprehend that it’s over. The constant yoyo of weight loss and gain is done. Sure, I can feel guilty about not working out and getting in better shape, but my body is healthy and I look and feel better than I have…maybe ever.
Shopping Tips
I looked up some tips on how to reconcile your body and your brain after weight loss. I couldn’t find anything. All I could find was how to lose weight, and how to tell you’re losing weight. We are so focused on losing weight as a society, our brains are just programmed to think we still need to lose. So, here are a couple of tips I’m going to try.
- Look at myself in the mirror at least once a day and say one thing I like about what I see.
- Do self-affirmations each day, such as, “I am enough.”
- Take only a size medium shirt into the dressing room when I try on clothes.
- Only try on a size 12 pants.
- Buy clothing that makes me feel good.
If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’m going to keep researching and see what I can find. Please remember, no matter what size you are, you ARE enough. You ARE beautiful. If you feel good, you look good. It’s not just trite sayings, it’s the truth.
Wendy
