I was just wondering if I was the only (possibly nutty ) one who actually went out and bought clothing for my future self. I went to JCPenney when I started my new healthy lifestyle and picked out a really cute size XL tank top and size 12 jeans. The whole outfit was pretty cheap, and I got it with the intentions of hanging it up on the door of my laundry room (visible in the kitchen) to give me something to look forward to, and also make me think twice about my food choices. Now, I already thought of the obvious flaw of this. Even if I get to be a size 12, my body might not be the right shape for those particular items of clothing. However, I decided that really wasn't the point at all. The only purpose it really serves is as motivation. If I fit into the outfit at some point, then that's great. Worst case scenario is that I'll have to go out and buy something else that fits. I know a lot of you probably have smaller clothes already that you'd like to fit into (or have already found yourselves fitting into), but I've never really been a normal size (last time I was a size 12 was probably 7th grade).

Am I crazy? Haha.

-Lindsey

I've totally bought clothes for myself when I'm a smaller size. I haven't gone out and bought an entire outfit though, usually just get things 1-2 sizes smaller than I am now.

I would totally like to buy a super cute outfit though - my bf would literally take them back if I bought something that is WAY too small.

OH! I had this skirt I used to wear a LONG LONG time ago, I was super tiny, well I go and LEND it to a friend and she never gives it back. Not only that, she SWEARS I didn't give it to her. So my skirt is gone So sad!

-Aimee

I posted on the Mini-Goals forum about my "new" jeans. I bought these size 16 jeans because I was sure I would "soon" fit into them. Well,... that was two and a half YEARS ago--and I gave up and restarted a couple of times in there--but yesterday was the day I could FINALLY WEAR those size 16 jeans.

But that's the only thing I ever bought smaller as a goal. I generally don't like spending money on clothes--maybe that's why it doesn't work so well.

Jay

I buy motivational clothing but I buy stuff that is marked down a lot and aren't too off from my current size. Mostly because it is motivating to see the progress. So I buy a pair of $10 jeans, I try them on and they can barely fit up my hips, then I watch as I get to the point that I can button them, then zip them up and then get loose. Honestly, I'm always on the lookout for heavily discounted jeans more than anything Right now I have a few motivational pieces in my wardrobe that are very tight but they fit. I need them to move from tight fit, to comfortable to loose.

That sounds like a great idea -- not the size 12 I want to be again, but maybe down one size to get into. I had a lot of really nice size 12's from when I was thin but sadly I've waited so long to lose weight, they went out of style.

Hi Lindsey!

LOVE that term "MOTIVATIONAL CLOTHING"!!!

Clothing is a HUGE motivator for me! I first started doing this a few months ago with jeans. Lillybelle mentioned that she buys jeans smaller and tight and then works out/eats right until those jeans FIT. I was able to get rid of my size 20W jeans and am now in an 18 Petite! I now have added a dress with a beaded top jacket in a size maller than I wear right now to my "motivational clothing" plan! I want to have the arms be loose, and to do THAT I know I have to lose more weight.

The "motivational clothing" thing works for me because it is a very tangible tool for measuing progress! If the jeans are getting looser, you KNOW you are losing inches! Losing inches also means that you are getting firmer and less jiggly. LOVE THAT!!!

To get you to that size 12 outfit you MAY want to start in increments. Buy jeans in a size smaller than you wear right now. Work to fit into them. Then move to another pair a size smaller than that. Before you know it, you may need an outfit SMALLER THAN that size 12 you originally picked out!!!

Go for it girl!!!

Cheryl

I haven't bought motivational clothing, but I've saved my favorite items from when I was slender. They're totally out of style now, but I like keeping them as my goal clothing. I'm just very careful not to hold them up to myself and look in the mirror! :-) That's not very motivational--realizing how heavy I've let myself get and how small I used to be. But when the day comes that I can wear those clothes--and I do believe it will come--I'm going to be thrilled to death.

I have clothes in three sizes waiting for me to fit into them. At least I won't have to buy new clothes as I lose weight!

I don't have that problem. I am currently the weight I was in Junior High so it would be dreadful if I started wearing those clothes again

lol I actually gave away most of my skinny clothes last year. I realized even if I ever did fit into them again, they were so out of date

I did buy myself a pair of jeans recently that were a little small, but not alot smal because of the body shape thing. I found the style that fit me or maybe a teeny bit snug and bought 1 size smaller

Yes! I always pick up a pair of jeans or shorts at the thrift store that are a size smaller. Lots of gratification (when you can finally zip them up) for very little money.

I've never purchased anything, but I have a pair of black pants that I'm really trying to get back in to. I bought them right after I got married and then gained 25lbs (the dreaded marriage weight gain.) Of course once I fit into them, I may use this idea. Motivational clothing sounds like a great way to "get in gear."

while I think motivation clothing is great for women to remind themselves that its a treat to wear them if they diet right, sometimes I feel some people are out of line. My sister has 2 friends that do this- one will purchase clothes from my sister that she doesn't fit for cheap prices (my sister's a size 00 or 0, and she has some clothes are are too big for her that are like, size 2) and this girl's a size 10. Now, granted I know its possible to go from a size 10 to a size 2, this girl was never thinner than a size 4, and even when she was a size 4 at her thinnest, she dieted dangerously using drugs and purging. She constantly reminded herself that she wanted to fit those clothes badly and I never thought it was healthy for some a compulsive person. My sister's 2nd friend will go shopping with my sister, buy size 8-10 clothes and NEVER WEAR THEM even though she claims they fit her. Why doesn't she ever wear them? Well, maybe its because she's actually a 3X. She requests gift clothing be be 8-10, and she'll never diet. When i asked my sister why she buys an enormous amount of clothing (she spents A LOT on these clothes. Not just one outfit r two, but a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY) that she can't wear, she'll tell me that its her friend's "goal clothing". I think motivation clothing is nice, but only 1) for non-compulsive healthy dieter and 2) if its cheap, and you only buy a few items and you actually PLAN to diet (the 2nd girl i mentioned doesnt ever diet, ever)

I did just buy a dress that I think is going to be very motivational in terms of maintenance, at least in the short-term. The dress is from J. Crew. The last time I bought something from J. Crew, I was 23 and it was an oversized (back when J. Crew still carried clothing that wasn't skin tight) size large sweater. The dress is sleeveless. My upper arms haven't seen the light of day since around the same time I bought that J. Crew sweater. And it is tiny (truly, a little black dress), but when it came in the mail today and I zipped it up, it fit perfectly (except for a little gapping under the arms)! I am so excited that I can wear this dress that I'm confident I'll be on track for at least the next two weeks (when I want to wear the dress to a wedding). Today, even just knowing the dress was coming in the mail (when I still thought I was going to end up sending it right back because I was sure it would be too small or my stomach would look poochy in it), I was easily able to turn down cupcakes at lunch.

Once I get past the wedding and don't have any place to wear the dress, I'm not sure how motivational it will be. But for now, it's working like a charm.

I do. At the GoodWill or yard sales though. Mainly as something to aim for, but at the same time, when I get to that size, if its unflattering or not the right cut or whatever, at the most I've wasted 4 bucks. I bought a size 10 stretchy dress in a soft sage green color with white and dark green flowers on it. It's literally, hanging on my living room wall as I type. I have very little clothes left from my smaller days, since it took 4 years to put the weight on, I absolutely refused to buy alot of clothes, always planning on losing the weight before I had to buy even bigger clothes. I never got around to losing the weight, until recently, so I think I've got maybe 7 outfits in varying smaller sizes? And, I gave away most of my truly small clothes when I moved out to L.A. to save on shipping, so I am SO going shopping when I hit goal.

With me, I already have some clothes that are still pretty much in style that are all the way down to a size 20-ish. A lot of the clothes that are still in my closet are actually anywhere from a size 24 to a size 28. Unfortunately, most of my clothes were tight to begin with (I've always absolutely LOATHED the idea of actually buying the next larger size), so I'm already seeing progress with those. I just bought the "skinny" outfit as a long term wish thing. It's always been a dream of mine to shop for trendy clothing in normal sizes. I got large pretty quickly when I was younger, so I never got to experience the "joys of the mall", etc. That's probably for the best for my parents though. I'm afraid that I might have turned into quite the mall-rat if I had enjoyed shopping for clothes... haha.