So far it's been one month and I have been keeping my one and only New Years resolution and that has automatically kept me on track with my weight, exercise and getting organized. This is my New Year mantra… back away from the yoga pants... all day!

Yoga pants and workout clothes have become a fashion staple for many women, myself included. So many big designers and even celebrities have their own workout lines such as Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Kate Hudson and Heidi Klum just to name a few.

In fact the fashion industry makes them so cute, in a huge assortment of matching colors and styles and price points that they are irresistible. It takes no effort or thought process to pick out a cute outfit. They are like Garanimals for adults, you can instantly mix and match that perfect outfit, with no decisions! And I don’t have to tell you about the comfort!! You could practically sleep in them. So you may ask , why my New Year boycott? It’s actually the ease and comfort that poses the “danger!”

It creates a domino effect. These comfy ready-made outfits allowed me to get out the door in minutes. No hair, no makeup, they are the perfect compliment to some sunscreen (I never leave home without it) and a baseball cap. Perfect for the busy working mom.

But my Nana would have been horrified! She would never leave the house without at least foundation, rouge, lipstick and her hair done up, albeit it was her 60’s hair sprayed helmet-do. I thought that was ridiculous, you’re a slave to other people’s perception? I am an intelligent educated woman I don’t care what people think about the way I look. I am a liberated and I don’t need makeup to go out. But what I have slowly discovered over time is, that maybe Nana was on to something.

At work I often wear baggy scrub; it’s hard to be glamorous as an ER doc if you’re splashed with vomit, poop and blood! I’d be so tired after shifts on my days off it was just easier to run around with unwashed hair and stretchy workout clothes. But it made me feel sloppy, despite the cute coordinated outfit. And the sloppier I felt, the worse I felt about myself. I seemed to get sloppier at home too. The more my home got disorganized the more I felt like eating. And those stretchy, soft and comfy yoga pants where very accommodating for those extra pounds that began to sneak up on me! And the more I ate the less I actually felt like working out which, is both counterintuitive and ironic for a broad running around in workout clothes all the time! It would seem that my “bad hair” was making me feel down.

And there really is some science behind a “bad hair day.” A Yale study found “bad hair days” could affect a person’s self-esteem by increasing their self-doubt and making them more insecure and self-critical to the point that they perceive their own capabilities lower than others!

And that is exactly what happened to me. It was a vicious cycle of not caring what I looked liked and starting to feel worse and worse. Thus my single New Years resolution…no more yoga pants! Even if it does take a little extra effort, I feel better already. I am organizing my house again, eating healthier and getting up earlier to workout, in my yoga pants of course. But that’s it; off they come when I shower and change.

Sure, I know it’s OK to run out with my baseball cap, workout gear and just sunscreen, when I really need to or feel like it. However, I found some liberation in a little lipstick, mascara and a blowout and the point is, that I am doing it for me! I still don’t care what other people think, but I care what I think I look like. I am putting that extra effort into myself, to say yes I am worth it! And it’s been paying off, thanks Nana ;-)