BLOG 142 JEANS
They say the tell-tale sign you know you are losing weight and working out is when your jeans start to FIT better. Coming from a FIT Chick who never wears regular clothes, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what size I wear. But I hear clients refer to this all the time as they shed inches and pounds. Go by how your clothes feel ? In my case, when gearing up for a competition by leggings do actually fit differently. Anyways, the retail industry markets sizes and we gravitate towards the sections in stores where we find what works for us. But how accurate are these sizes??
It honestly depends where you shop, what size you will wear. SO how can you mark all your progress and hard work by what pants size you wear or desire to be?? You don’t because a pear of jeans at the GAP that are size 4 don’t necessary fit like a size 4 from H&M. In fact, “This phenomenon is called ‘vanity sizing’, and it occurs because clothing size in the U.S. is not standardized, so brands are free to create their own definitions” :
Use this link below on your browser to see a good image of this comparison (sorry the image would not insert here)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2702866/Are-six-Gap-eight-H-M-A-look-just-jeans-sizing-differs-25-mainstream-retailers.html#ixzz4zgyeZXHt
And yet, we fall for the trap. Society tells us what sizes define you as “skinny”, so much so that “skinny” jeans were created. The tighter the better somehow took precedence over what was comfortable. Here’s the reality, “Despite the inconvenience caused by vanity sizing, it does seem to have a positive psychological effect on shoppers. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that smaller size labels increased the self esteem of customers, while larger size labels reduced self esteem” (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2702866/Are-six-Gap-eight-H-M-A-look-just-jeans-sizing-differs-25-mainstream-retailers.html) .
So best practice would be to keep a pair of jeans, regardless of the size that you currently are not able to fit into. As you start to notice progress and change, revisit them. Do they FIT now?? Size is not the priority. Men, this goes for you too. Your self-worth, hard work, and fitness journey don’t depend on any number. Your fitness journey is about daily strides to become the best version of you. Rip the tags off and focus on the process because you are soooo worth it.