Buy the dress that fits you now, and not the one that you hope will fit you in six months.

Raise your hand if you’ve bought a dress that was a size (or two) too small. Yeah, me too. And you know what happened? Every couple of weeks I would try on the dress to see if it fit yet, and it typically didn’t. That would generally send me down an emotional eating spiral, and that definitely didn’t help the situation.

The days leading up to the event, I eliminated all foods I loved, and prayed that it was enough to get me into the dress for the event. But why did I do that to myself? Why does anyone do that to themselves? Buying clothes that don’t properly fit you never makes you feel better in the moment and you only create more moments of unhappiness when you remember that you have to get into the clothing that doesn’t fit.

And how many times was that article of clothing actual motivation to get into a smaller sized body? It might have been motivation in the store, but when happens when you realize that now you have to change your eating habits to fit into the dress? Are you going to be happy then?

The thing is, buying the smaller dress won’t make you feel better now, or when you look at it in your closet.

Some of my brides are tempted to buy smaller sized dresses. I advise them not to. We can work on shaping their body and then the dress can be taken in, but the tailor can’t add fabric back to the dress if they buy a dress that’s too small.

So whether it’s a dress for an event, pants for work, a swimsuit, or your wedding dress, buy the clothes that fit you now. Explore different styles and buy the clothes that make you feel good now, and in the interim work on your mindset around body image and becoming physically stronger (not necessarily smaller).