Episode 77Jun 18, 2026· 8:13

In-Between Stage of Fitness: Why I'm Buying Clothes a Size Too Small (Smart or Risky?)

▸ Show notes from the creator

No show notes.

About this episode

Ashley Grant discusses the practical and emotional experience of being mid-weight-loss with a wardrobe that no longer fits — having lost four pant sizes and a full bra cup size. She describes buying clothes intentionally a size too small as motivation, donating old larger clothes rather than keeping them as a safety net, and trying to spend minimally while still in transition. She recounts a past experience with a…

Listener reactions

💡0

🤝0

🔥0

😄0

0 reactions

Share your reaction

Pick how this episode landed — then leave a public review or a private note to the host.

You

Your name will appear with your review

0/300 Visible to everyone

Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've lost a noticeable amount of weight but you're stuck in an awkward middle place — your old clothes are too big and nothing new quite fits right yet, and you don't know whether to spend money on clothes you might outgrow in a few months.

You've tried a restrictive diet before — maybe something extreme — lost weight fast, then gained it all back, and you're now trying to figure out a different way that doesn't feel like punishment.

You keep stepping on the scale even though you know it's messing with your head, and you can't quite let go of it as the thing that tells you whether you're succeeding or failing.

You're tired of fitness content that's really just diet culture in disguise — calorie counts, restriction rules, what you can't eat — and you want something that's actually about moving your body.

You're debating whether to get rid of your bigger clothes or hold onto them just in case — and part of you feels like keeping them is admitting you might fail.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Is wearing clothes that are too tight a healthy motivator or a form of self-punishment?

open question

Ashley says the tight clothes are working for her — 'it's reminding me of what my goal is' — but she openly wonders if it's 'a messed up way to think of things' and defers to a hypothetical therapist to tell her whether she's doing something she shouldn't.

"And maybe that's a messed up way to think of things. I'm not sure. I'm sure some psychology person or, you know, therapist will let me know if I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing in terms of mindset. But for me, it's working for me and I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing."

Should I donate clothes that are too big or keep them in case I gain the weight back?

answered

Ashley's gut reaction is to let them go — donating, selling, or getting rid of them — because keeping them feels like telling the universe she's giving up and might give herself permission to make bad decisions.

"my gut reaction has been don't keep them, let them go. And so most of the stuff that doesn't fit me anymore, I'm either trying to donate or sell or just get rid of because I feel like if I hang on to them. It's telling the universe that I'm basically letting go and I'm giving"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a guide to wardrobe planning during weight loss or a structured discussion of fitness psychology. It's Ashley thinking out loud about the weird, uncomfortable in-between of losing four pant sizes — pants falling down, bras that no longer fit, buying clothes that are intentionally too tight — and whether any of that is smart or a little messed up.

Tensions inside this episode

Moments where Famous Ashley Grant names something — and contradicts it inside the same episode. Both quotes are verbatim from the transcript.

Not a diet culture girly, against restriction

Ashley firmly identifies as someone who doesn't believe in restrictions, yet admits she's deliberately wearing uncomfortably tight clothes to motivate herself — a form of body-based pressure she doesn't interrogate as restriction.

Claim

"you guys before, I'm not a diet culture girly. I will not start dieting or anything like that."

but

Contradiction

"not going to deny that. But I think it's good because it's reminding me of what my goal is. And maybe that's a messed up way to think of"

Scale number doesn't matter anymore

Ashley says she's trying to accept that the scale isn't the number she needs to look at, but in the same breath admits she still stresses about it significantly.

Claim

"more inches. I finally have been trying to succumb, I guess. I'm trying to succumb to the fact that I need to quit looking at the number around the scale. It is something I still stress about significantly."

but

Contradiction

"scale. It is something I still stress about significantly."

Tone & style

Ashley started out believing restrictive dieting was a valid path, lost around 80 pounds on a 500-calorie-a-day program with appetite-suppressing drugs, was told not to exercise, and then gained it all back plus more. That experience pushed her toward a movement-first approach — and now she's mid-journey, navigating the weird in-between of a body that's changed but isn't finished changing, still stressed about the scale, still figuring out the wardrobe.

Personal experience and self-questioning opinion. Ashley repeatedly flags her own uncertainty — 'I don't know if that was the right play' and 'maybe that's a messed up way to think of things.' Nothing here is advice.

toneCandid & self-questioning

focusAshley thinking aloud about the practical and psychological messiness of being four pant sizes down but not yet where she wants to be — clothes that don't fit, a scale she can't stop checking, and tight new pants she bought on purpose.

stylepersonal_confession

energymedium_low

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturehonest, unsettled, self-aware, slightly vulnerable

Notable quotes

"goal. And so I kind of feel like if I were to give myself permission to keep the old stuff that doesn't fit anymore, that is too big, that I might give myself permission to eat junk food or, I don't know, make bad decisions. I don't"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"I did the restrictive diet and I did the pills and I did the shots. And yeah, I lost weight. I'm not going to deny that. I've said it before. I lost, I think it was, what was it? 80 pounds, something like that. But the problem was I gained it all back really, really quickly. And then I gained more because going down to 500 calories a day, it's simply not sustainable. And I mean,"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"should have. And sure, it's uncomfortable. I'm not going to deny that. But I think it's good because it's reminding me of what my goal is. And maybe that's a messed up way to think of things. I'm not sure. I'm sure some psychology"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"always been that North Star of what you're supposed to look at in terms of whether or not you're actually succeeding on your weight loss journey. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that that's not the true number I need to be looking"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 5 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. The In-Between Wardrobe ProblemAshley describes losing four pant sizes and a full bra cup size, leaving her with clothes that are either too big or too tight, and explains her decision to buy new clothes that are intentionally a little too small as motivation to keep losing.2:042. Donating Old Clothes and Not Looking BackAshley shares her instinct to donate or sell clothes that no longer fit, explaining that keeping them would feel like telling the universe she's giving up and might give her permission to make bad decisions.3:253. Why This Podcast Will Never Be About DietingAshley explains her firm stance against diet culture and calorie restriction content, including turning down guests who want to talk about diets, and reaffirms that the show is about moving more, not eating less.5:014. Her Past Experience with Restrictive DietingAshley recounts losing around 80 pounds on a 500-calorie-a-day program with drugs that suppressed hunger, being told not to exercise, and then gaining all the weight back plus more — explaining why she won't go back to that approach.7:015. Scale Obsession and Where She's At NowAshley admits she still stresses significantly about the number on the scale even though people keep telling her to stop looking at it, and reflects on the discomfort of wearing intentionally tight clothes as a reminder of her goal.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

websitefamousashleygrant.com/fitness

Ashley's personal website where she invites listeners to share their weight loss journeys and send voice notes.

Key themes

The in-between wardrobe problem

Ashley is caught between clothes that are too big and clothes that are too tight after losing four pant sizes and a full bra cup size, and is trying to spend as little as possible on new clothes while still being 'fully clothed for all events and workouts.'

Buying clothes a size too small as motivation

Ashley intentionally bought clothes that are slightly too tight so the discomfort reminds her of her goal and motivates her to keep working out, while acknowledging she's not sure if that's the right call.

Donating old clothes so there's no going back

Ashley's instinct is to donate or sell everything that no longer fits, because keeping the bigger clothes would feel like 'telling the universe I'm giving up' and might give her permission to make bad decisions.

Anti-diet stance as a podcast value

Ashley reaffirms that the show will never cover calorie restriction or dieting, including turning down guests who want to talk about diets, framing the whole podcast around moving more rather than eating less.

Her past experience on a 500-calorie program

Ashley recounts losing around 80 pounds on a program that had her eating 500 calories a day with hunger-suppressing drugs and no exercise allowed, then gaining all the weight back plus more because it wasn't sustainable.

Scale obsession she's trying to let go of

Ashley admits she still stresses significantly about the number on the scale even though people keep telling her to stop looking at it, and is trying to accept that it's not the right measure of progress anymore.

Movement naturally shifting eating habits

Ashley observes that because she's been moving so much, she's naturally gravitating toward healthier eating without restricting herself, which she sees as the better path this time.

Being financially careful during a body transition

Ashley is trying to spend as little as possible on new clothes because she expects to keep losing weight and doesn't want to buy things that will soon not fit either.