Clothes & Weight Gain
- athleteswitheds
- Jun 26, 2016
- 2 min read
Wear Comfortable Clothes: If you need to gain weight to recover from an eating disorder you are going to outgrow your clothes, there is no way around that. Feeling my pants slowly become tighter was an instant trigger for me and usually led to me derailing from my recovery. So in the beginning I suggest wearing leggings, lots of spandex, and loose shirts. It makes it less obvious that you are gaining weight and buys you time while you are trying to construct new habits in recovery. Never force yourself into something that feels too tight, it is demoralizing. Instead just take it off and pick something else out. It is not worth the mental battle and you will feel much better it an outfit you feel comfortable in. I wore a lot of tunics, sweaters, track shirts and leggings as I was working through my weight gain.
Get New Clothes: Buying new clothes, especially ones that are loose, can be very helpful. I would buy pants that were a little too big, and shirts that did not hug my stomach at all. It put my mind at ease knowing I could fit into them on any body image day. I understand shopping can pose its own challenge. I went to the store and bought a pair of jeans I liked in multiple sizes to take home and see which one fit. I started with the largest size I bought (a size that was larger than any I had ever owned pre-eating disorder) thinking that I would start with something big and work my way down until I found the pair that fit. *Tip: always work your way down, never up* It did not go as smoothly, I pulled on the largest size and it was too small. I stood there squeezed into the jeans and started hysterically crying. I felt horrible and I took them off and sobbed alone in my room for at least an hour. Once I emotionally drained myself I was able to see the situation more logically. The size on the pants was MEANINGLESS. Every brand has its own measurements. I should not let the number on the pants determine how I feel about myself. So I decided I would buy the pants that fit me, regardless of the size. Same goes for shirts, I was used to wearing a small in everything but now I wear a lot of mediums simply because I like the looser fit and that makes me feel a lot more comfortable and confident. If something is too small in your closet get it out of there, and replace it with something that does fit and makes you feel comfortable!
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