Dress for Success

**pluckyduck** · #1 09-08-2001, 08:45 AM

So, how do you guys "dress for success" in your quest for health and fitness? I know that getting my new sneakers and wearing them every single day for nearly every single hour brought my stepping way up. (I told everybody at work that I'm wearing the sneakers for my back, which is true just not the whole truth, and they can just expect to see me at the Christmas party in my velvet dress and sneakers.)

I also know that buying a few pieces of workout clothes made me feel active....even though Don got a good laugh over the idea of my wearing spandex shorts. (I didn't wear them out in public!)

I wanna buy more too.

I'm contemplating a nice little trip out for maybe another pair of sneakers or more Kathy Ireland workout clothes from Kmart.

What can I say, I'm simple. The clothes I wear send a message to my brain that that's who I am.....

Anybody else as simple as I?

Andrea
simple yet, um, complicated

**taurusmoon** · #2 09-08-2001, 08:53 AM

I have 3, count 'em 3, pairs of sneakers. And, I'm not counting the old ones I have hanging around here.

I have 2 pairs designated for serious walking only. I alternate them from day to day to allow time for the cushioning to spring back. I have a pair of removable motion control insoles that I move between the 2 pairs.

The third pair is my everyday pair for when I'm not purposefully walking. And, they are of equal quality to my "serious" sneaks.

When I was thinner (much thinner) I used to reward myself with workout clothes whenever I would reach a goal I had set for myself. A new "outfit" would keep me interested enough to set a new goal for myself. These days, when lycra is not going anywhere near my body, I wear loose fitting, comfy cotton workout pants and a t-shirt. My goal is to get into all the spandex I have packed away in my attic.

Sara

**pluckyduck** · #3 09-08-2001, 09:04 AM

Oh! Speaking of dressing for success, I should throw out a big tip about winterizing your walk. Last winter Don had to walk for his cardiac health and we were very worried about keeping him warm (his blood thinners make him naturally much colder than you and I to begin with).

Anyway, I bought him 3 pair of silk long johns from Eddie Bauer and they really did the trick. The silk is very warming and so light weight he could easily layer on top of that. It's washable and according to my DH, feels very nice against the skin.

Yes, I'm going shopping for my own silk long johns.....it'll be winter before we know it!

Andrea

**taurusmoon** · #4 09-08-2001, 09:08 AM

Coolmax is another good fabric for winter layering. Whatever you choose, make sure that it's a wicking fabric that will draw perspiration away from your skin so that you don't get chilled.

Sara

cyndilouwhoo · #5 09-08-2001, 09:38 AM

My LL Bean Longjohns are excellent as well--they really keep you warm and dry. I bought them for skiing (and on some cold nights I wear them as PJ's--aren't I a romantic fool?

), but they will probably work quite well during my winter walking.

As for what made me feel like one of those physically fit folk I see on the ESPN morning exercise shows?

I have an entire drawer full of leotards and unitards and leggings and sports bras and slouch sox. I used to wear all of them when I went to the gym--and boy did I feel motivated when I put them on.

Personally I think I looked really swell.

If I didn't think there was a chance my neighbors would see me and think I'd gone around the bend (I think they already think it anyway, but this would surely take away all doubt) I'd wear the leggings.

Cyndi

Who'd like to proudly report (in an offtopic aside) that she just yesterday bought a spiffy pair of SIZE 6 black jeans. And a size 6 velvet cocktail dress to wear around the house. Why she bought the dress she doesn't know--she never goes anywhere--but it was on sale--and it was a six--and she actually thought it looked great on her. Maybe she can wear it on her winter walks around the neighborhood?

**taurusmoon** · #6 09-08-2001, 09:44 AM

Cyndi,

That is not off topic at all. Size 6 is certainly a success! You go girl!

Sara
Who's bought many an evening gown solely because it was a size 6 and dirt cheap. Some day they might even be in style again. Maybe one day they'll fit again. And, if I'm at all lucky maybe the two will coincide.

**lynnzop**[$] · #7 09-08-2001, 10:12 AM

Size 6!!!! Cyndi, you loosah! Melting away to nothing!

I was so excited when I fit into a pair of size 9 jeans earlier this week. My wedding dress is a 6, my goal is to get back into it without having to hold my breath.

Back to the exercise gear...right now I wear the most comfy (formerly tight and now way too loose) gym shorts I have and a tank top to walk in.

I have a crappy pair of discount store tennies that masquerade as "walking shoes"...but I am seriously considering plunking down (what I consider) large amounts of cash for a decent pair of walkers. I tried on a pair of Nikes last week that felt like heaven on my feet!

Since I walk on gravel roads most of the time, my biggest issue is STABILITY...I don't want to go sliding on my rear!

Lynn
(Who couldn't walk yesterday because it was pouring rain all darn day and night

)

**pluckyduck** · #8 09-08-2001, 11:03 AM

Okay, Lynn, you are clearly a stepper.

Get yourself a decent pair of sneakers (or you are going to hurt yourself!) and a pedometer (I'll go dig up the pedometer thread to bump it up to the top) and come join us in the EA Steppers club. We're having a blast!

Andrea
off to dig up the pedometer thread....

quasar · #9 09-08-2001, 11:08 AM

This is an interesting thread.

I guess I'm wierd because I don't really care what I look like when I'm specifically trying to exercise. The best thing I ever did was find a few of those lycra running bras. I may look like a beached whale in them, but they are the most comfortable thing ever! I sweat a lot just going through everyday life. I sweat like a pig when I actually exert myself. These things absorb it all without getting all clingy and gross.

Unfortunately most larger people disagree with my philosophy and they stopped making them in my size after a short experiment so I can't find anymore. I only have two

Now that work doesn't have a dress code (I hated the dress code at my last job and found creative ways around it), I've been wearing tank tops and shorts to work just about every day since April or May or whenever it warmed up this year. It's very comfortable no matter what I end up doing, although on longer walks does start to get a bit clingy.

In the winter I will wear a tank top or loose short sleeve shirt as my bottom layer, with a sweatshirt and a coat on top as needed.

jenninca · #10 09-08-2001, 12:55 PM

I live for spandex bike shorts. No, really. They are my pajamas every night and they get worn every day under my dress or skirt. (With fifth graders, you just can't be too careful.) I have half a dozen pairs ranging from the plain (navy blue) to the outrageous (fruit pattern). The outrageous don't ever get seen, but the normal ones get worn when I go to the exercise room. For the top half, I've got a few sports bras (HATE those things) and a mountain of old t-shirts. I'm not going to worry about winter until it gets here--if it ever gets here.

For walking, I have two pairs of shoes. One is an ancient pair I bought for being in the state fair choir in 1993. The other is a new (this year) pair that my mother swears is actually running shoes. So I don't have the best shoes. My school's dress code prohibits tennis shoes without a valid excuse, so my feet have been suffering in flats every day, except when I risk being chastised and wear my sloppy old sandals. They're the only things that don't leave me too sore to walk when I get home.

Cindy
who needs to go shoe shopping but hates shoe shopping with a passion

murasaki · #11 09-08-2001, 10:01 PM

I love buying work out clothes. I have several sets of spandex shorts/tights with matching sports bras. I usually wear at least a tank top over the sports bra here; when I lived on Okinawa, where the climate is more humid and the dress code more casual in general, I'd go without the tank top. I especially like the tank tops with the big arm holes (the ones guys wear to lift weights in).

My layering item of choice in the winter are Cuddleduds: the inside feels soft like flannel, the outside is covered with a thing layer of nylon. They insulate well and feel good next to my skin. I need to invest in a few more sets before New England winter arrives.

--naomi