posted 1st November 2025
Why you're avoiding clothes you love (and what actually fixes it)
That dress you bought three months ago is still hanging in your wardrobe.
Tags on. Unworn.
Not because it doesn't fit. It fits perfectly. You tried it on in the shop, felt amazing, bought it without hesitation.
But every morning when you go to wear it, you choose something else. Something looser. Something that doesn't cling. Something that makes you feel safer.
You tell yourself it's not the right occasion. The weather isn't quite right. You'll wear it next week.
But here's the truth you already know: you're not avoiding that dress because of your weight.
You're avoiding it because you feel uncomfortable in your own skin.
This is about embodied confidence
Not the fake-it-till-you-make-it kind. Not the "just wear it anyway and pretend you feel great" kind.
The real kind. The kind where you put on clothes and feel genuinely comfortable. At ease. Confident from the inside out.
Right now, you don't feel comfortable because your gut is struggling.
Bloated. Inflamed. Retaining water. Working hard with limited resources.
And it's not because you're eating badly. You're eating well - protein at every meal, hydration dialled in with minerals.
But look at what you're actually eating:
Monday:
Breakfast:Eggs and toast
Lunch:Tuna sandwich
Dinner:Steak and chips
Tuesday:
Breakfast:Eggs and toast
Lunch: Chicken sandwich
Dinner:Beef and potatoes
Three shades of beige. Simple carbs at every meal. Maybe two vegetables all day.
Your gut needs 25-30g of fibre daily. You're getting about 10g.
Your gut needs diversity - different colours feeding different strains of bacteria. You're eating the same foods on repeat.
Your gut microbiome determines how you feel in your clothes
When your gut is inflamed - fed the same foods on repeat, lacking diversity - you retain water, feel bloated, can't get comfortable no matter what you wear.
The puffiness you feel isn't about calories. It's about inflammation.
When your gut is thriving - fed a rainbow of colours, diverse plant compounds, variety - inflammation drops. Digestion improves. That uncomfortable puffiness reduces.
You feel light. At ease. Confident in your own skin.
This isn't about weight loss. This is about reducing inflammation so your body can finally feel comfortable.
What each colour does for your gut
Each colour in vegetables carries different polyphenols - plant compounds that reduce inflammation and feed different beneficial bacteria:
Green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, courgette) feed bacteria that reduce gut inflammation and support detoxification.
Red and orange vegetables(peppers, tomatoes, carrots) provide carotenoids that support gut barrier function and reduce systemic inflammation.
Purple vegetables(red cabbage, aubergine, beetroot) contain anthocyanins that strengthen your gut lining and improve gut-brain communication.
Right now, you're giving your gut the same beige conversation on repeat. It's doing its best with what you're providing. But imagine what happens when you give it variety.
The timeline of transformation
Week one:You start adding one vegetable to each meal. Spinach with eggs. Cucumber with tuna. Broccoli with steak.
Week two:Digestion noticeably improves. That uncomfortable bloating after meals reduces. You feel lighter.
Week four:You put on that dress. Not because you've lost weight. Because you finally feel comfortable. The inflammation has reduced. Your gut is thriving instead of struggling.
Week eight: Someone comments "you look different." You do. You're carrying yourself differently. Moving through space with ease instead of constant awareness of discomfort.
The shift is simpler than you think
Start with one vegetable per meal. Just one.
Then add a second colour. Then a third.
You're not overhauling your diet. You're not cutting foods out. You're adding diversity to what you're already doing well.
Your next step
Make this week's dinner plates have at least 3 colours (and beige doesn't count).
Notice how your body responds. How your clothes feel by the weekend. How that uncomfortable puffiness starts to reduce.
The version of yourself who wears what she wants without thinking twice isn't waiting for weight loss.
She's waiting for her gut to have the diversity it needs to reduce inflammation and let you feel comfortable again.
And if you're ready to understand what YOUR gut specifically needs to support embodied confidence, book a discovery call.
Let's talk about what happens when confidence comes from your biology, not your willpower.
[Book your discovery call here - link]
