Tuesday, May 18, 2010

It Doesn't Take Much to Inspire

Over this past weekend, I attended the Heart of Dixie Readers' Luncheon, where authors get to meet and mingle with a couple hundred romance readers in Huntsville, Alabama. This was my third year at the event, and it's always fun. But as with all travel, especially to events where there is a set menu, it's difficult to stay on target with the fitness and eating properly. During the event, the president of the Heart of Dixie chapter got up on stage to speak, looking very professional and stylish in her white blouse, killer black heels and black pencil skirt. I made the comment to a friend that I couldn't remember when I'd last been able to wear a pencil skirt. My shape just doesn't play nice with straight skirts. But I imagined someday getting to the point where I could fit into one again and not look like I'd stuffed a watermelon in it with me.

After the event was over, the same friend and I headed over to a nearby shopping area for dinner and to see the new Robin Hood movie. We had about an hour between dinner and the movie, so she and I started window shopping and ended up at one of my favorite stores, Coldwater Creek. She found some tops she liked, and while she was trying them on, I perused the store. I liked several things, but not anything enough to make me break out the credit card -- at least not until I got to this one outfit of white top, soft brown leather vest and...you guessed it, a denim pencil skirt. Still with time to kill, I decided to try in on. What the heck, right? I deliberately pulled a size 14 off the rack, hoping I'd feel good if I could get into it. Miracle of miracles, I did. And I had a bit of room left. Feeling a little excited, I asked the salesperson to bring me a size 12, just knowing that there was no way I'd get into it. But I did! I could zip it and didn't feel like my blood circulation was being cut off. I'm not going to say it's overly attractive at the moment, but I bought the size 12. By the RWA National Conference arrives in July, I want it to look a lot better than it does now. But having that skirt to try on occasionally will be enough inspiration to get me through the next two months.

I know that sizing is different depending on who makes a clothing product because I still can't get into my size 12 jeans, but it was still a very nice boost on this sometimes frustrating, yo-yo, occasionally falling off the wagon journey.

Have you had any moments of inspiration that kept you working toward your goal recently? Do you have pieces of clothing that are smaller than can fit you properly now that inspire you to keep at your fitness and health goals so you can wear it in the future?

8 comments:

Michelle Butler on May 18, 2010 at 12:16 AM said...

Congratulations, Trish, on the denim pencil skirt!! I can't wait to see it at national this summer. :)

I've probably gone one ad naseum about how much clothing inspires me at every step of this journey.

I do also find passing certain fitness levels inspiring. I love being able to push myself harder or do more at the gym than I could just months before. It makes me appreciate and feel good about my progress.

Unknown on May 18, 2010 at 6:57 AM said...

Trish, as I was losing weight I would always by my clothes just a little too small and work towards fitting into them. It was a great motivator.

Trish Milburn on May 18, 2010 at 7:53 AM said...

Michelle, funny you should mention the pushing yourself harder too. I've been gradually increasing (and I do mean grad-u-al-ly) how much I run on the treadmill. I hit the two-minute mark the other day. That is a huge accomplishment for me because I have to be careful not to activate an asthmatic reaction to too-intense exercise. I don't think I'll ever be a big runner, partly because I don't really enjoy it (much prefer walking and hiking), but it was kind of cool to be able to run for longer than the length of my driveway.

Trish Milburn on May 18, 2010 at 7:54 AM said...

Anne, I think you're right about the too-small clothes being a motivator. I think it's taking something that could cause negative feelings (I can't fit into these clothes!) and turning it into a positive motivator (I will fit into these clothes!).

Sally Kilpatrick on May 18, 2010 at 8:04 AM said...

Trish, congrats on the skirt! Nothing beats reaching for that smaller size! Well, except for then fitting into it.

I'm trying to get back on track--still. I was stopped in my tracks by a case of food poisoning which didn't even help me lose weight. Now, how sad is that?

When I figure something else out, I'll let you know. I've tried setting smaller and shorter goals on the Wii--if I make this week's goal then I'll have made progress.

Good luck, and I can't wait to see your skirt at Nationals, either. What's our goal? Do we have a number? I'm hoping for about 8-10 pounds by Nationals.

Trish Milburn on May 18, 2010 at 8:10 AM said...

Sally, ugh on the food poisoning. I've never had it, but hubby has and it was awful.

My hope is to be down at least 20 pounds, maybe 25 by National (that's from National last year to this year).

Rachel Graves on May 18, 2010 at 10:29 AM said...

Hey Trish!
Funny you should mention this... just last night I got my 'skinny' jeans down from the shelf they've lived on for far too long. They're actually a pair of my husband's old jeans (he of the 31 inch waist) that I stole when we were dating. Last night I was amazed to find that not only could I get them on, but I could zip them up and button them! I'm not saying I could walk like a normal human being, or even stand comfortably, but they. were. on. :) I'm looking forward to the day when I can really wear them again!

Trish Milburn on May 18, 2010 at 9:07 PM said...

Rachel, that's awesome about the skinny jeans! Huge congrats on that milestone.

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