Ignore the Tags

Don’t let numbers ruin your happiness.

BY ALLISON OKUNEYE

Full transparency disclaimer. I have not worked out in 2 years. In those two years, I have gained at LEAST 30 unwanted but definitely hard-earned pounds. Do I regret the Oreos for breakfast? Possibly.

Did I fall into an unhealthy “eating my feelings” routine, CLEARLY. All of that changed 2 weeks ago when I finally joined a gym and have been working out 4 days a week. All week I kept hyping myself up saying, way to go self! You are here, you showed up, you are sweating, you are finally moving towards a healthier version of you.

To say I have been in a better place mentally would be a TOTAL understatement. I feel great! I will admit I was slightly confused when I didn’t drop 10 pounds in the first week, but hey, baby steps. So fast forward to a lovely Thursday, I worked out early, took a shower, and had on a super cute outfit. I was really loving myself for the first time in a LONG time. I will admit that getting comfortable for shopping the sizes that fit my current body has been hard to get used to but I had made peace with it. You can imagine my surprise when I went to try on a bridesmaid dress for a wedding in August.I give the woman a size range thinking to myself, “I have been working out for 2 weeks surely I have dropped a dress size!!” Here is what I know, not only did I NOT drop a dress size, the dress that fit me was 4 sizes bigger than the size that I usually fit in.

Any ounce of feeling cute, feeling good, feeling healthy, FLEW out of that dressing room. I went from feeling confident to feeling completely deflated…well deflated emotionally but obviously INFLATED physically! Once the shock wore off, I got dressed and didn’t even bother to look in the mirror as I left.

I was driving home and I started thinking about why I was so bummed. I felt confident walking in, I loved the dress on me, but I could not get over the number that was associated with the dress. I have been styling people for long enough to know the huge discrepancy in brands and sizing, so why did I let this bother me so much? The whole way back to my house I basically had to hype myself back up because I refused to let that number on the back of a dress (that I loved and looked great on me) ruin my day.

We all have these moments of insecurity about different parts of our bodies and it is extremely hard to let these moments pass without taking some of our self-worth with it. This is my reminder to you, that you are MORE than enough. The size tag on your dress does NOT mean anything about you as a person. If your goal is to get healthier, that is great! But do not equate happiness with a number because there will always be a brand that will burst that bubble. This has been a ROUGH year and a half, and I think we need to be a little kinder towards ourselves (and to others). Instead of being angry at your current body, try to show it some gratitude for helping us get through this dumpster fire of a year! Try to show yourself kindness and grace regardless of where you are on your health journey. Try to love yourself through the process.

Stay fearless, and SCREW THE SIZE TAGS!!

Questions? Comments? Feel free to email me

dkdesignheadwear@gmail.com