Tag Archives: sensibility

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Tuesday Update: One Size Fits Most (of Me).

It’s Tuesday! I bet you thought I’d skip an update again? Yeah, I thought I would, too. But only because the kids are on vacation and my days are off-schedule!

I’m still working on one of my important goals, and probably will be forever. Replacing a bad habit with a good one, and in this case, I’m working on fitness and health. Today was not a good day in that department and I’m disappointed, but I know I’ll feel much better in the morning. I already told the kids we’re going to the gym tomorrow so I can get back on track, so now they’ll hold me to it. And by back on track, I mean take a step back. I’m on week 6 of a couch-to-5K-like program on the iPad, and it’s kicking my behind. I can’t keep it up, so I’m going back a week. Or two. Back to when I thought I couldn’t handle it but knew I only had 2 minutes left. This week, I thought I couldn’t handle it and I had almost 20 minutes left. I knew I had to call it a day.

A bad day for fitness, but still a good day for health and calories. I have control over what I eat and don’t want to cave in even when I’m feeling down. Come to think of it, “caving in” didn’t even occur to me. There was no temptation, no need for resistance. Yay, me! But I still can’t shake the treadmill failure this morning. I can’t wait to go to bed so I can just forget it and move on!

Now for some shop talk. I need new fitness clothes but am trying to put it off for as long as possible. I haven’t lost that much weight, but it’s enough to make my stuff look baggy and I can’t stand it. I’m one of those weirdos who, despite being overweight, prefer body-hugging styles. Extra fabric just makes me look (and feel) even bigger. All of my fitness pants are from when I was pregnant, so they are all quite baggy. I have fitness leggings that I never thought I’d wear in public, but right now, they’re the best fitness pants I have. I’d feel better if I had a slightly less skin-tight pair of yoga-type pants. In the mirror, baggy clothing makes me want to cry; fitted clothing motivates me! (Probably motivates anyone who sees me, too. Not a pretty sight!)

I will have to buy something soon, because I don’t want to have a breakdown in the middle of Zumba. One pair of pants and one top. That’s it! Keep me accountable!

Oh, and that made me think of the ubiquitous size “one size fits most.” Yes, when I’ve reached my goal I will be able to fit into items that are labeled as such. But for now, those items fit most. Of me. As in, maybe 2/3 of my thigh.

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Goals are Changing, One Month In.

I just realized that it’s been a whole month since I decided to stop shopping. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it was going to be. It’s remarkable how all it takes is a single thought in reaction to the impulse. I never thought to not act on the shopping impulse before.

Should I go to Macy’s today? No. Maybe I can run into TJ Maxx really quickly… No. My eighth pair of sandals broke, I should go to DSW. No (my 7 other pairs are just fine).

I have to admit that I’m struggling with the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It’s a different kind of sale, because they list Fall items for a sale price now, and the price will increase again after the sale. And I’m in the market for some Fall pieces. I am holding off because I need to see tangible evidence that our total spending has reduced. Unfortunately, our two-week vacation made up for my lack of personal spending.

In addition to taming the impulse, I’ve realized that my goals have changed. A few weeks ago when I first decided to stop spending, I had a specific goal in mind: a designer handbag. If I stopped spending hundreds of frivolous dollars each month, I could get a luxury bag or wallet that would last forever. My husband agreed with my plan, which of course opened the floodgates: maybe I wanted a small collection of bags. Why stop at a wallet? I started a wishlist of the designer items I wanted. For each bag, it would only take a couple of months of non-spending.

And then I would spend it. On an item that I don’t need.

Some time over the past couple of weeks I realized that I wasn’t thinking about those designer bags anymore. They’re no longer a priority, and no longer my goal. I don’t even enjoy the online purse forum anymore.

It’s been over a week since I started using financial software to track our spending, and I unconsciously developed a new goal: see how little I can spend. Me! The non-frugal, non-saver, spendaholic. I didn’t think I’d get to this point, ever!

It’s pretty cool.