jennadianne

I gave in last week and bought new pants for work. I have a job where I have to wear a uniform and the pants have always been God awful. But, whatever.

At first, I was pretty disappointed because I felt like I have been working so hard with eating intuitively and making working out a regular habit. Not that I have been TRYING to lose weight, just making better choices. And then I saw this randomly on IG.

Sometimes the internet is good for something. I find that every once in and while it provides gentle reminders that everything is okay.

While the scale has not moved, my clothes are definitely fitting differently. I can’t say they are fitting better or worst but It’s frustrating. Realizing that you’re gaining strength and muscle in all the places is mind-blowing. And not only are you stronger physically but most likely you are mentally stronger than you were. For some reason we are only taught that we work out and eat less to get smaller; to buy clothes in a smaller size. That somehow got ingrained in our heads as the ultimate goal.

My daughter pointed out not too long ago that I am “getting those leg gains”. Kids say the darnested things. Until I noticed the definition in my legs when moving. I have calves too. My stomach does not seem any flatter, but when I look in the mirror I feel like if I flex just the right way I am starting to see abs (that I have not seen since before kids).

After seeing this tweet I realized that as a society we see clothes not fitting solely as a negative. For whatever reason, we are constantly trying to shrink ourselves into the smallest versions of ourselves. I don’t know why we think we are better at a size 2 than a size 12.

I completely understand if you have a medical condition, or if you’ve been sitting on the couch doing nothing the idea of having to buy bigger clothes is disappointing. But if you are being honest with yourself and putting in the work; showing up for yourself every day and still finding the need to buy new clothes – it’s okay. Your body is changing I promise. And I promise it is not happening as fast as you’d like or how you’d like, but it’s changing.

Back to the pants I ended up buying for work. Most of them are men’s pants and that discouraging at first but you know what they felt way more comfortable than the women’s pants. The women’s pants don’t allow for hips or an ass. (Which I don’t understand honestly because most men don’t have hips or asses either). I have to wear a belt, and they still feel too big around the waist but this is all part of the process that I have been learning to embrace.