Anyway, it was a very odd feeling being marketed to in this way, now that I gave up plus-sizes quite a while back.  A huge smile came across my face knowing that I could quickly toss it in the recycle box and not even have a care to browse the contents!

It’s odd though… speaking of clothing.  As a 41 year old woman, I feel silly looking at clothing from Old Navy or something like that, because I think they’re targeting a younger crowd.  But, I don’t want to dress like an old granny either.  I’m not ready for ‘old lady clothes’ for sure!  I think I missed my opportunity to wear hip and trendy when I was in my late teens, twenties and thirties.  I was always too fat for stylish clothes.

Now that I can fit into them, I have to pick and choose carefully.  Any women age 40-50 out there care to tell me their favorite places to shop for clothes?

Anyway, 1464 calories were consumed today, but no formal exercise — just more of the playing outside with the kiddos.

• plateau
• boredom
• plus-size
• rut

I haven’t used them because I haven’t felt them! Many people I come across are bored with their exercise routine or feel frustrated that they (think they) are eating right and exercising enough but still aren’t losing weight. Or, they’ve fallen into a rut or became stuck at a plateau.

Fortunately, despite a recent “bump” from which I quickly recovered, I have had steady weight loss for about three months — four in April, six in May, four in June and three so far in July! It is only averaging about one pound per week, but I am not complaining. I’m still ahead of target for losing all 100 pounds before the end of the year and I’m not bored with the process. Sure, I wish the journey took less time, and if I had been willing to beef up cardio even more, I could be doing this at a faster pace. But, I’m hoping that by losing it one pound (or occasionally two) per week will help enable me to keep it off, as have suggested many weight loss experts in articles I’ve read.

Weight loss is a journey that is much easier to take if the traveler is optimistic by nature. I’ve got that going for me!

That period of time I spent below the 200 mark was short-lived, but never fear, I will soon return!

Today I went through the exercise of going through my “shorts” drawer. We’re finally getting some weather in Wisconsin that is worthy of wearing shorts. I am happy to report that I was able to cast away eight pair of shorts that I plan on never fitting into again. In fact, I’m donating them to Goodwill to rid myself of the reliance on bigger clothes. I am also fitting into more shorts that had been handed down to me in years past that I was too ashamed to admit did not fit. And they look pretty good on me now — no bulging seams or stretched pleats. There was even a size 14 (it had to be a big 14, because I am still in 18’s mostly) that fit me!

I also did the same thing with my closet last week. I have two huge bags full of clothes in the 2X and 3X sizes that I am also donating.

Anyway, I began to reflect on the type of wardrobe I have always had and the clothing choices I continue to make. My choices are mostly due to my weight, but I guess in part due to finances as well. Much of my current wardrobe is comprised of knit pants and baggy shirts. The pants can actually be worn for a large weight fluctuation, still being functional where I am plus or minus about 30 pounds. Since there are no zippers, no snaps, no buttons, the elastic waist simply expands or constricts to accommodate whatever size I happen to be at the time. Granted, the more belly I happen to have, the shorter the pant legs seem to be, but they have “worked” for me.

I also have a few pair of jeans that are not as flexible when it comes to fluctuating weight. Denim obviously is not as forgiving when you put weight on, but it also isn’t as comfortable if you have lost weight. I have a pair of Just My Size black jeans that used to be difficult to zip when I started this current weight loss journey. Now they are hard to keep up. In losing just 26 pounds they are already hard to wear except for when I am lounging around at home. Like weightlossninja, I have a pair of jeans that I wore in college that I look forward to wearing. They are only two sizes smaller than my current size, so hopefully my wait is not too far off. They’re not really even a nice pair of jeans, but knowing that I’m fitting in them will be very rewarding.

When I reach my goal weight of 168, I am going to buy lots of new clothes, and they are going to be fashionable. They are not going to be tight across the gut and baggy as hell in the legs. They will show off toned arms and a defined collarbone and neckline. They are not going to be purchased from a second hand shop or from the plus-size department. And, those that know me well probably won’t believe I am saying this, but I am even planning on buying a coordinating handbag, shoes and jewelry to go with it!

I remember a few years back and the last time I lost a good chunk of weight — I attended a family reunion and one of my uncles said “Hey skinny” when I first arrived. Although I certainly wasn’t skinny, I was lighter than any other time since he had met me and his comment made me feel great. That was rewarding in itself.

But, just like it is fun to dream about what we’d do if we won the lottery, I discussed with my husband some of the things I might do or get to reward myself for 100 pounds of weight loss. The first thing he said, jokingly I think, was that I would develop a “strut”. Ha ha!

Obviously, a new wardrobe would be in order. I could finally say goodbye to all of the knit pants and elastic waists. It’s fun to think about buying clothes off the racks in the misses section rather than the plus-size department!

But, perhaps I’d also like to reward myself with one or more of the following improvements to my body that I didn’t think were all that “necessary” if I was going to remain fat:

Maybe I could even justify a trip to some beach resort! After losing 100 pounds, I’ll bet I would look a whole lot better in a bikini!