Are You Waiting to Buy Clothes Until You Lose Weight?

Have you considered the opportunities that may be bypassing you in the meantime? There is no reason to put your life and goals on hold just because you have weight to lose.
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Are you in the midst of losing weight and as a result are holding off purchasing new clothes in order to save time and money? OR I'm sure we have all heard someone say something along the lines of "I'm not going to buy new clothing until I lose some weight."

To this mindset I always say - What are you waiting for? Have you considered the opportunities that may be bypassing you in the meantime? There is no reason to put your life and goals on hold just because you have weight to lose.

Let me demonstrate this concept further with a fictitious illustration -- Sally has made a resolution to lose weight and has decided to hold off purchasing new clothing until she is at her ideal weight, which may take up to 9 months perhaps longer. At the same time, she also would like to be promoted at work and find romance. Her existing wardrobe is not reflecting how she would like to be received at work or on the dating scene.

Is it wise for Sally to continue wearing clothing to work and social engagements (including dates) that does not give off her best energy for the next 9 months, possibly more? Absolutely not! She is putting her work and romance goals at risk.

During times of weight transition, to be time- and budget-smart while maximizing your image potential, follow these 4 easy steps to ensure the image you are displaying is in alignment with your short-term goals:

1.Take an inventory of your short-term goals.
Estimate and write down how long it will take you to achieve your desired weight. Then write down your short-term goals that you want to achieve during your weight transition. Some examples may include: job change/promotion, finding romance, attract more clients/sales etc.

2.Take an inventory of your short-term image goals.
For each short-term goal identified in step #1, write down the image you would like to project in order for the goal to be successfully achieved.

For example if you would like to be promoted at work, the image you would like to project may include words like professional, modern, vibrant, powerful and respected.

3.Take an inventory of your current wardrobe and identify gaps.
Review your current wardrobe in light of your short-term image goals identified in step #2. Identify where you can fill in the gaps between your current wardrobe and your short-term image goals. Sometimes you can work with many pieces in your existing wardrobe and just add in a few key staple pieces that are new.

For example, let's say you are looking to change jobs and you own a classic suit that is still a reasonable fit that works great for job interviews. However, all of the blouses you currently own that go with the suit are outdated (which translates to old-fashioned, resistant to change, outdated thinking). It is very possible that you only need to fill in a gap by adding a new blouse in your color palette and style to refresh the outfit. You could attract a dream job and a salary increase just by spending a small amount of money on a new blouse!

4.Fill in the gaps.
Now it's time to fill in the gaps identified in step #3 by going shopping! Also keep your eyes open for items that can be easily altered during your weight transition.

Now you have 4 easy steps to ensure the image you are displaying is in alignment with your short-term goals during weight loss. You will more than likely want to repeat the above 4 steps periodically throughout your weight loss because as clothing becomes looser, it may not align with your image goals (i.e. the suit in the example above more than likely will not look professional if it becomes extremely loose).

There is no reason to put your goals on hold just because you have some weight to lose. All we really have is the present. Give off your best and most authentic energy today to attract the opportunities your heart desires!

I hope this blog post inspires you to wear your authenticity!

Carol Brailey Image Consulting
Inspiring Individuals to Wear Their Authenticity

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