Weighing In on Style and Weight Gain/Loss

Happy Monday!
For those of you, who like me, watched yesterday's Superbowl game - wasn't it great?  I thought it would be a blowout, but nope, was a nailbiter in the end!

And Miss Beyonce.  All I can say is Hater's Can't Hate (this is what my daughter says - not sure of its cultural references!)  I am not sure you can find  a more talented, exhausting-to-watch, sexy performer today.  If she had any more left in her gas tank after that performance all I can say is "I want what she's having!"

 

  

Of course, she's doing a lot of hard work to have that boday.  My daughter told me the other day that Tim McGraw is doing 4 to 6 hours a day of exercise to get and maintain his 8 pack. 

And such a good segue to today's topic related to my style and shopping conundrums these days!

Yesterday, I wrote of realizing that the disconnect between my current style satisfactions (or dissatsfactions) were that I was at times riding trends, but those trends, styled by others, did not truly reflect my style as represented by other ways that I was decorating myself.

And as you know, this is partially due to my recent milestone birthday and my desire to move into my 50s "owning" my own style and realizing I do not have the body or mind of a 25 year old.

But there is something else - I have gained 15 pounds in the last two years, due in main to high stress, somewhat to less exercise time, and also I believe, to hormonal changes.

So the dressing for comfort is also related to this weight gain!  Abby asked me yesterday about how those of us who go up and down in weight regularly learn to dress for that.

I went back and found Fabulous Florida Mommy's great post on this issue, called Dressing for the Size You are Now.    It was really helpful to me at the time.

I actually wanted some more comfy pants for the house while I work on losing some of this weight gain, and have chosen fabrics with stretch in them - ponte knit pants, slightly larger button ups.  But I refuse to try and shop for two sizes of clothes, especially since I do hope to lose some of this weight now that I am not stressed, and am eating and exercising better.  But I also know it won't happen overnight.  So I actually went out the other day and bought a very inexpensive pair of boyfriends jeans to help me get through around the house and be able to breathe. 

I am typically a size 6 in Joe Fresh, though I had a size 8 in the arsenal.  This time, I went slightly bigger to a 10.  These are actually too big on me, but the 8 were tight, and when the 10s are belted they are very comfortable and great for doing things around the house.  I just could not justify buying expensive pants that I would only wear (I hope for a month or two).  Places like Joe Fresh or Forever 21 are good spots to buy cheap fashionable styles that you don't feel badly about abandoning!

Having said all of that, even with everything, I may never be my old size again, since by the time I get there again, my body will have changed in other ways.  So the 4s and 6s I might have worn 5 or 6 years ago are probably not going to work for me anyway.  And I can see the importance now of building a wardrobe that has forgiveness for 5 or 6 pounds either way and will be taking that into account as I shop on a go-forward basis.

Right now, my closet looks positively bare - all of the work-related items i am not currently wearing have been relegated to a back closet, as are the things that are too tight right now.  I don't like seeing them there in my closet and so have chosen to move them out. They feel depressing and I don't like to feel depressed when I look at my clothes.  But I don't want to get rid of those things I really love - I will hang on to them for a few months longer in hopes that I will fit back into them.

The funny thing is, I really like this small closet of clothes - it makes me feel very zen-like.  I am less confused dressing in the morning. 

Okay - it isn't quite like this, but I would love to get there!

But how about you?  How do you accommodate those weight fluctuations?  Do you have two sets of sizes?  Anyone else carrying an extra "friend" around with them these days?

Happy Monday and Stay Safe out there!