What Happened When I Wore Work-Out Clothes Every Day For A Week

Last week, I decided to embark on a not-so-challenging challenge: I decided to wear work-out clothes every day for a week.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the company I work for, which allowed me to show up in my stretchy pants in the name of science (or journalism... whatever you want to call it).

Secondly, I should tell you I didn't go all out and wear my beat up sneakers and super serious-looking running jacket every day.

In an effort to look and feel a little bit normal, my daily uniform pretty much looked like this: work-out pants, a sports bra and a work-out top with flats and sweater.

Without further ado, this is what my week was like.

Work was comfy. And strange.

See how unprofessional I look? I swear I was working hard, though! 

Let me start by saying this: I work out a lot. So an average day for me usually means bringing a set of work-out clothes with me, changing in the bathroom at the end of the day, heading to a work-out class and walking home with my regular-person clothes in my bag.

Tugging my yoga pants on every morning knowing they were the only pants I would have to wear all day was pretty satisfying. It took an extra step out of my day and made my bag a little lighter.

Plus, because I wasn't actually trying to look good at work (I apologize, coworkers), I got to spend less time thinking about what I was going to wear and more time thinking about fun things, like what to eat for dinner.

I was also more comfortable throughout the day, mostly because I didn't have to deal with the business of adjusting a skirt or dress or balancing on any kind of heeled-shoe.

But I also felt a little weird and kind of sloppy. Some of my coworkers knew about my challenge, but others didn't. Did they think I was too lazy to change? Did they view me as unprofessional? Did I look bad?

Comfy as my outfits were, I was pretty self-conscious.

Working out was easier than ever.

I don't consider myself a lazy person, but there was something huge about not having to change at the end of the day.

The only step between my workday and my hour or so of exercise was a walk.

There was no stuffing my regular bra into my bag or hoping the remaining salad dressing from lunch wouldn't leak out of my Tupperware and onto my very nice dress.

It was awesome.

Not only that, but I was more likely to walk to and from work. My walk to work is about half an hour, and if I take the Subway it only takes 10 minutes. But without fail, while wearing my work-out clothes I chose to walk.

This could have had something to do with the pleasant October weather, but I was also wearing clothes that were easy to walk in. No tight dresses, no heeled anything. I didn't have an excuse not to.

The weirdest part of all: I  found myself randomly taking out my yoga mat and doing downward dogs while at home without even thinking about it.

I guess wearing yoga pants just made me feel like I was at yoga all the time.

Going out was interesting.

I really dressed it up one day. I believe they call this "athleisure."

I'm not a very cool person, so I don't go out of very much. But I did find myself in a bar and a movie theater during the week and a few restaurants over the weekend, and I was mortified. 

Every friend I met up with immediately got a speech about how I was only dressed like this because of work. I would never dress like this under other circumstances. They knew that, right?

All of their responses? "Oh. To be honest, I didn't even notice."

I'm not sure what that says about how I usually dress, but I appreciated their kind words.

I ate better.

As it turns out, wearing work-out clothes all the time kind of messes with your head.

I constantly felt like I was about to go work out, which made me feel like I couldn't eat too much because who wants to be overly-full while on a treadmill?

And on that note, most day my work-out clothes were pretty tight. Especially my pants. Who wants to overeat or drink too much beer in super tight yoga pants? Not me.

Starting today, I will start wearing regular-person clothes again and my week of yoga pants and self-consciousness will be behind me.

I'm glad I tried it, though. Work-out clothes send my brain really confusing messages. And I don't think I hate it.