Clothes. They can be a form of self-expression. At the least, they cover up enough of our body to not break any laws when we leave home.

When you’re leaving diet culture, either through ditching dieting or recovering from an eating disorder/disordered eating, clothes can be a significant trigger.

Clothes in our wardrobe can symbolize our previous goals, the goals that often times consumed our lives. Clothes most often provide us with concrete evidence that our body is changing, whether or not we’re comfortable with the changes yet.

I want to spend some time today unpacking some ways that clothes can stunt or halt our progress towards a peaceful relationship with food and our bodies.

This can present itself a number of ways so I’ll focus on the most common. So let’s tidy up our wardrobe.

Clothes in our “Goal Size”

I was guilty of this one. I kept clothes that no longer fit my body, hoping that one day I would fit back into them. This kept me stuck, because I had these reminders of a body I was no longer in every time I went into my closet. Getting rid of them was difficult, but now that they are out of my closet I have new found freedom and peace. I am not reminded daily of my former body. I have clothes to choose from that fit the body that I currently live in.

Clothes that do not fit WELL

This one is tricky. When I’m defining well, I’m speaking to the clothing fitting your body comfortably. My rule of thumb is can I eat a meal in this and not feel like I’m struggling to breathe. Can I sit down and not have the waistband digging into my hips.

I was guilty of this one too. I had many bottoms that just weren’t comfortable. They looked cute, but by noon I was uncomfortable. This directly impacted my relationship with my food and body. I kept blaming myself, not bottoms. It was also difficult to register my hunger and fullness cues accurately, given that I had external pressure on my stomach. So sending those clothing items to a new home was essential to me moving forward in my relationship with food.

Clothes that do not bring joy.

If you’ve been on the internet for more than 5 minutes you have likely seen at least one person talk about Marie Kondo’s Netflix series “Tidying Up.” I’m going to be really honest here, (whispers) I haven’t seen it. This is partly due to the fact that I don’t have Netflix, and mostly due to the fact that I don’t have internet at home.

But she brings up a principle that I have used to guide my clothing purchases for sometime now. “Does this item bring you joy?”

Applied to our wardrobe this question should go something to the tune of “does this bring me confidence?” Whoa! I can understand that you may not be there yet. Body confidence can take some time to build, especially if our body is still changing. But I want you to imagine this with me:

You’re getting dressed for the day. You put on a shirt. It fits well, it’s comfortable, and you have peace with wearing the item for the day, because you know that you’re not likely to fidget with your shirt. Now we’re putting on bottoms. They are cute, you’re looking at angles and fell at least neutral. You have room to eat during the day.

This is the confidence that I want you to have. That you can get dressed, feel comfortable, and have the mental space to take on the world, because you’re not using precious mental real estate on clothes that don’t fit your body.

I can honestly say these three things have brought me an immense amount of body peace. I get dressed in the morning, I ask myself am I going to fidget with this all day.

For those of us with bloating, I make sure to keep loose fitting items in your collection. Bloating most certainly changes how we perceive my body, and can quickly tank our body image. When getting dressed, if I feel even the slightest bloating, I opt for looser fitting clothing. These items have expandable waist bands. This keeps me from being distracted by how I “think” people are perceiving my body.

Privilege Check

Let’s start with the fact that I am a straight size, so finding clothes is not too difficult for me. I am also able-bodied, and cis-gendered. Secondly, I can mostly afford to add new clothes a few times a year.

Fashion for many is inaccessible (financially, or sizes not being available).

If you are struggling financially, getting new clothes can be difficult. I would recommend checking the services in your area. Second hand shops with gently used clothes often have many sizes available. There may also be resources for low-income individuals/families where clothes may be free.

If finding clothes for a larger body is something that is relevant to your life, I again recommend thrift and second hand stores.

Selling your old clothes that don’t fit, can also free up some money to get new clothes that help you feel more comfortable in your body.

TL;DR

• Get rid of clothes that no longer fit your body, this is triggering.
• Get rid of clothes that don’t fit your body well, this is triggering.
• Get rid of clothes that don’t make you feel comfortable, and at least neutral in your body, this is triggering.
• Get new clothes, either from the store/online, second hand stores, or agencies that provide clothes to those in need.

Today is the best day to change your life!