Hey Aimee, isn’t this super shallow? Writing about losing weight AND on top of that, looking cute while doing it? Well. If you’re a gym bunny who takes slutty butt-selfies and that’s your gig, yeah. That’s totally shallow. Also, cut it out. Go read a book.

Working out to lose weight and feel stronger, more capable and happier is not shallow. And looking good while you do it is actually a scientific tool you can use to make working out easier.

I’m serious. One of my college professors, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson is an expert in social psychology and positive psychology. Look her up, she’s a badass. She did that famous study where they had men and women take math tests with a mirror in the room, with no mirror in the room, and after trying on BATHING SUITS. Guess what happened. The women did worse with the mirror and after the bathing suit. The men did better. How sad is that? Women see themselves and LOSE CONFIDENCE and literally get dumber. Their cognitive ability actually declines. Men see themselves and think “I’m hot shit” and do even better. http://www.academia.edu/2096369/That_Swimsuit_Becomes_You

Now you might think that focusing on your looks before or during a workout might bring up self-consciousness and self-criticism, and lower your confidence. So why on earth would I have you focus on your looks before working out?

Because you’re going to catch yourself in the mirror no matter what you’re wearing. Even if there is no mirror, you’re going to look down at your thighs at some point. Or feel something jiggling. Or look down your shirt while in a plank and see your stomach sagging down way farther than you thought it would. There’s no avoiding self-awareness completely when working out. SO. You need to do everything in your power to make sure you FEEL POWERFUL when that happens. You need to feel like a guy would. You need a little tip in the “I’m hot shit” direction. You need the good pants and the good bra that are supportive, so you don’t jiggle. You need to wear something wicking so you don’t feel like a sweaty water buffalo. You need to at least cut the neck or arms off of that old T-shirt so it’s apparent that you made some effort and care about what you’re doing. It’s not a message to others, it’s a message to yourself.

It does not have to be a full-on head-to-toe LuluLemon situation. That’s annoying. (And not very creative.) It just has to be something that makes you feel confident, capable, and covered. Something that shows what you like and hides what you don’t. Something that makes it look like you actually like yourself. (And if you don’t like yourself yet, try pretending. Put the outfit on, and when you see yourself in the mirror at the gym, you might start to change your mind.)

Feeling put-together when you work out (wearing WorkOutFits) is not about dressing for others. It’s about dressing to feel good about yourself. It’s pre-emptive psychological warfare against negative self-talk. It communicates respect and enthusiasm for what you’re doing. (Wearing a WorkOutFit says: “I’m into this. I’m here. Let’s do this!”) Also, cute clothes are fun.

If you can’t tell by now, I am super passionate about this. I wrote an entire Piperlime ad campaign  about the power of dressing well. I’ve been a work-from-home person for three years and I KNOW how wearing sloppy clothes affects my work and my mood. I want you to see how changing your clothes can change your outlook.

Try it. Send me before and after outfits. Tell me how it felt. Maybe we’ll send some testimonials to Dr. Fredrickson for an addendum to her article. “The Effect of Fashion on Trig Functions and Tricep Dips” or something like that. 🙂

Anyway. The point is: Get those purple shoes, my friend. They WILL work better than the sad boring ugly white ones.