Today I'd like to give props to Columbia Sportswear. They are pretty much the only mainstream sportswear company out there to be producing plus sizes, other than trusty ol' Lands End, LL Bean and Eddie Bauer. (Honorable mention, of course, to Junonia as they are dedicated to plus-size activewear.)
I'm giving Columbia a special shout-out particularly because they make more mainstream looking stuff for plus sized ski and snowboard bunnies, and for the gals who take hiking and travel-packing more seriously. A few posts back I mentioned having purchased Columbia snowboard clothing for this coming season. It's cut generously but still has a nice semi-fitted feminine line and is NOT baggy, thank you very much. The quality is also outstanding for the price. Today I purchased a few things, mostly from their Outlet, although what I really wanted was the Sweet Slope Hoodie (in Black Cherry). Ah, another day, Hoodie... I'm hoping you and I shall meet via coupon in the immediate future.
Now that I think about it, I also have to give shouts to Lands End for their swimwear options for plus sizes. I've been wanting a more serious bathing suit to wear to water aerobics (which I've never tried, ack) because at present all I have are two fun, fashionable and upper-thigh-bulge-covering bathing suits. (Thanks to Torrid and It Figures at Macy's for those!) Lands End has several options in a range of styles, colors and prices. Also: they have both long and short sleeve rash guards, which you can't find anywhere else.
If you're wondering, this sportswear/activewear hunt comes after a week-long vacation on Catalina Island in which Honey Bunny and I were quite active. Trust me, I never thought I'd enjoy an active trip, and we certainly had no plans to make it thus... it all just kinda evolved naturally and day by day. I had a lot of mostly cute clothes for the trip and knew I was going into a hot, dusty and salt water environment. I just didn't consider the exact limitations of said clothes once we were in the kayak, on the trail, and in the water.
Having grown up fat and endured all kinds of "teasing" about being large in skimpy beach clothing, I've always opted to cover myself as much as possible but it comes with a big price tag. Good lord it takes forever to completely dry a swimdress when it's still on your body, even in the sun! Let's not forget those days when you're feeling extra self-conscious and opt to wear the t-shirt and/or cutoff shorts over your suit. And how about that bath sheet-sized beach towel, the one that actually makes it all the way around your hips and will tie there, so you can wear it to the restrooms or snack bar? You might as well use a dolly to lug that water-logged shit back to your hotel room after hanging out at the beach all day. Speaking of getting back to the hotel room: you also need a change of clothes unless your hotel is close (not the case on Catalina, at least for the good beach in Avalon or, well, anywhere you're staying in Two Harbors) or you're able to get completely dry first. I can't tell you how many times I've failed to bring a change of clothes and picked my back to the hotel with legs bowed because the combination of wetness and sand and the resulting additional chafing against the thighs sucks ass.
A few of the more interesting trails/paths we could have taken - at least on the west side of the island - would require both walking and swimming. Given that we were in Southern California during its crazy heat wave, that option was feeling very attractive... and yet, we don't possess the clothing (me) or the skills (HB) to be amphibious. I stopped while hiking at one point to peer over a small bluff down to the ocean and thought, is there an ideal outfitting for a combined land/water hike, and if so do fat women have access to it? I'm guessing a regular size person could cruise into any REI and walk out with high performance clothes and shoes for just such an occasion. Us fat ladies have to be a bit more clever and cobble it together via various online vendors.
Believe me, I don't know if I could ever make myself step foot out of a hotel room, much less my own house, dressed fully in spandex. Unfortunately I'm thinking that's what it's gonna take for a comfortable amphibious adventure in the heat. As of today, I'm digging the C9 capri-length running tights (with groovy blue swish or basic black), which cover legs enough not to chafe in the usual areas but still allow for some cooling via the length and fabric. If I got the blue tights, I'd likely choose the matching tank, or if I stuck with basic black I'd kick up the sauciness a notch with the Solar Pink Optipop version. (I'm thinking a tank would be crucial here due to reduced surface area needing to dry, and because it's cooler in the heat.) Because I'm prone to burning and rashing like a mo-fo in the sun, and - lucky me and my fair skin - also seem to be slightly allergic to sunscreen, I'd put a rash guard over top of the tank. To top... er, bottom off the ensemble, I'd choose the Outpost Hybrid shoes. I know there are a lot of good water sandal options out there but mama needs a good walking shoe that can go in water, not the other way around.
An amphibious adventure is just part of why I'm thinking this through. Honestly, the likelihood of another trip to Catalina before next summer is low. Certainly there are many other places where I could scrabble around but I do live in Northern California where both ocean and river water is crazy cold even on a warm day. I'm thinking this through for other exercise options, even just for personal training. My current closet of exercise clothing is ridiculous at best. I have one pair of capri length "real" exercise pants and a pair of bermuda shorts that I made by cutting the legs off sweatpants. My tops are all t-shirts that got tossed out of my regular wardrobe for one reason or another. They often double as pajama tops. Uh, yeah.
This is a dichotomy if there ever was one, but I'm insanely picky about my exercise wear. If something doesn't fit, feel and look exactly right, I can't buy it... hence the reason I've not gotten anything new in the past three years and why I persist in wearing unhemmed cutoff sweat pants and old stained t-shirts. So, I'm on the hunt for nicer and more performance-oriented activewear and hoping some of the above options will work out. I'll let you know if I end up leaving the house in spandex and how many shots of tequila it took to do so.
* A note on sizing for activewear: many of the options presented in this post only go up to a size 3x which I think is a damn shame. From personal experience, I do feel that both Columbia's and Land's End's size 3x is quite generous in its cut and this is reflected in many of the reviewer comments on individual products. Thankfully Junonia goes much higher than 3x and can cover just about any plus-size woman who needs activewear. (I personally don't love Junonia's cut as it is too generous and I like more fitted items, but still, I'm so glad they exist!)
08 October 2010
16 September 2010
Yay! A first in the fashion world
First-Ever Plus-Size Fashion Show Hits NYC Fashion Week!
http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2010/09/16/first-ever-plus-size-show-hits-fashion-week/
Congrats and thanks to OneStopPlus for making it happen!
http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2010/09/16/first-ever-plus-size-show-hits-fashion-week/
Congrats and thanks to OneStopPlus for making it happen!
21 August 2010
Bay Area Zaftig Chick Social Club
For any of you who live in the Bay Area and want to join me in my new Meetup social club, click here:
Bay Area Zaftig Chick Social Club
Accepting new members, and anyone is welcome as long as you are a zaftig chick or a friend/fan of one!
Bay Area Zaftig Chick Social Club
Accepting new members, and anyone is welcome as long as you are a zaftig chick or a friend/fan of one!
20 August 2010
Enjoyable vs. joyless
I've been thinking a lot lately about things that are enjoyable and things that aren't. This is in part due to my two-week staycation in late July, where I pressed the pause button on work and really tried to just enjoy l-i-v-i-n. The most vivid result of blogging about my vacation was seeing how much of it revolved around food and how food selection and eating has the power to make me feel great or to make me feel like shit.
Take, for instance, a dinner I had last weekend at Dosa with a couple of female friends I'd made online but hadn't yet met in person. It was Awkward, capital A, as "blind dates" can often be. I was dining with these women as an effort to make new friends where I live, people to possibly hang out with. What the experience taught me is that joyful eating is a fairly intimate act for me. Dosa is currently one of my faves and eating there, until now, has been awesome. If I'm with close friends or with Honey Bunny, I can let it all hang out. I can close my eyes while I hum about how yummy that bite was. I can give my true preferences for dishes I'd like to share (or not share, as the case may be). I can eat the whole thing if I want to. On my blind date, I didn't feel as though I could do any of that because the level of intimacy wasn't there. Along with the awkwardness of the conversation etc, I may as well have been chewing on curry-flavored cardboard. It was joyless. I'd been looking so forward to eating there, too.
In stark contrast, at least in retrospect, was how I viewed food intake while on vacation. I ate casually and not on a set schedule or with a set menu like I do when I'm going to work. I had the time to ask myself, What sounds good today? Because I was dutifully trying to stay busy by going out in the world and doing fun things, I actually thought about food less. As I began each day I had time and space to actually think through what I wanted, and obtain it, and enjoy it, and then move on. The issue of food was taken off the table (no pun intended!) in this way.
I'm a girl who loves good food. I don't think that will ever change, even if I lose weight someday. In fact, I'll go so far as to say, I don't want it to change. In my version of the world, food should be enjoyable and satisfying. (At least to those of us who enjoy food; I know there are some folks who just don't and never have, and that's fine, too). And, I surmise that by giving into indulgences as they came up, it actually made me much less likely to need indulgences every single day, or to mindlessly eat.
In the end, I felt terrific. I'll cop to the fact that I formally worked out just once in those two weeks of vacation (with an additional smattering of brisk walks with Honey Bunny) but by the end of it I actually felt like I lost weight. I don't care if I even did lose weight or not; my state of mind was the important thing. I didn't trip out on the indulgences I did go for.
Since returning to work, I feel like it's all sliding downhil again. I work hard to eat a really nice and balanced breakfast before work, but that's about all I can say for healthy eating. I've managed to mostly stay away from the Snack Closet of Doom (that which contains Halloween size chocolate and candy for our work events, among other snacks), which is good. I've tried to think about getting a nice and balanced lunch but the reality of work is that there is often not time or space to do so. I also have a horrible habit of eating at my computer, where I am all day long as it is, so that I can Facebook and read blogs unabashedly. It would probably serve me well to get away and be in the moment with my lunch.
One good habit I implemented upon my return to work is a fruit plate next to my computer. Every Monday I bring, or go get, five pieces of fresh, tasty looking fruit for my fruit plate, which is there to satisfy afternoon sweet-tooth cravings. It's no chocolate, that's for sure, but right now the stone fruit is super good and I'm always surprised at how yummy it can be. My rule is that I eat a piece of fruit first and if I'm still dying for chocolate, I'm allowed to get ONE piece of dark chocolate from the Snack Closet. I know that sounds restrictive but I had to find a way to stay out of that closet. It's a mindless eating nightmare waiting to happen.
Something else that came up for examination during my vacation was my relationship with Yoga Trainer. Summer is always his busiest time for travel and so he's gone a lot and I end up falling off the exercise wagon partially as a result of that. I had a conversation with my sporty friend The Mirthmaker about Yoga Trainer and how I've been feeling less and less satisfied with his services. I'd not told her many particulars about YT over the past two and a half years that I've been working with him, but I really went there during this conversation. Remember the intervention? I told her about that and she gasped, put her hand over her mouth and then asked me how the hell I could have ever returned. Likewise when I told her about the time I was choking for breath while having a total emotional meltdown during a hardcore walk with him and he pointedly asked me, "Do you want to die like your sister did?" The Mirthmaker is, herself, a fan of boot camp style exercise and so it took me by surprise that she was surprised. My feeling about these - and other, perhaps more minor - instances with YT is that it was probably something I "needed" to hear in order to motivate me. But did it? Obviously not.
It's a long story and I'm not going to go there (yet) on this blog about my issues with outspoken people (read it on the other blog if so inclined), but needless to say Yoga Trainer is someone I deem "outspoken". I've also admitted to myself that he is pretty darn egotistical and has little to no interest in hearing or working with my side of the story, what I think will motivate me, what I think is best for myself. Talk about joyless. Hey, I think that YT is a fundamentally good person, I've learned some great stuff from him in terms of staying in a positive headspace and deep breathing, and there have been plenty of times I've enjoyed myself during our sessions when he's taken a more nurturing approach. We've reached the tipping point is all. He is gone again for another month to travel, and upon his return I've told Honey Bunny that I'm willing to train together with YT once a week max, or maybe not at all, but otherwise I'll be finding a new and female trainer to work with. Let's hope it sticks this time, eh? My real hope, though, is that it will be enjoyable and fulfilling no matter what the outcome.
Speaking of training and losing weight, I've been meaning to post a review or at least mention the TV show Huge. Admittedly I was very tentative about watching. Being on ABC Family meant it could go down a judgemental road real quick. But, I'm pleasantly surprised and it's actually become one of my favorite shows of the season. I feel like it does a good job of making the characters multi-dimensional, that no one person is bad or good, right or wrong. Everyone has feelings and motivations, both fat and thin. I think Nikki Blonsky is doing a great job as main character Will, a girl so incensed by her parents sending her to fat camp, and by society's pressure to be thin and girly, that she's vowed to gain weight while there. I'm also loving Raven Goodwin as Becca, the character I most personally identify with. The show is based on the book by Sasha Paley, which I have yet to read but really looking forward to it. Check out the show if you can!
Take, for instance, a dinner I had last weekend at Dosa with a couple of female friends I'd made online but hadn't yet met in person. It was Awkward, capital A, as "blind dates" can often be. I was dining with these women as an effort to make new friends where I live, people to possibly hang out with. What the experience taught me is that joyful eating is a fairly intimate act for me. Dosa is currently one of my faves and eating there, until now, has been awesome. If I'm with close friends or with Honey Bunny, I can let it all hang out. I can close my eyes while I hum about how yummy that bite was. I can give my true preferences for dishes I'd like to share (or not share, as the case may be). I can eat the whole thing if I want to. On my blind date, I didn't feel as though I could do any of that because the level of intimacy wasn't there. Along with the awkwardness of the conversation etc, I may as well have been chewing on curry-flavored cardboard. It was joyless. I'd been looking so forward to eating there, too.
In stark contrast, at least in retrospect, was how I viewed food intake while on vacation. I ate casually and not on a set schedule or with a set menu like I do when I'm going to work. I had the time to ask myself, What sounds good today? Because I was dutifully trying to stay busy by going out in the world and doing fun things, I actually thought about food less. As I began each day I had time and space to actually think through what I wanted, and obtain it, and enjoy it, and then move on. The issue of food was taken off the table (no pun intended!) in this way.
I'm a girl who loves good food. I don't think that will ever change, even if I lose weight someday. In fact, I'll go so far as to say, I don't want it to change. In my version of the world, food should be enjoyable and satisfying. (At least to those of us who enjoy food; I know there are some folks who just don't and never have, and that's fine, too). And, I surmise that by giving into indulgences as they came up, it actually made me much less likely to need indulgences every single day, or to mindlessly eat.
In the end, I felt terrific. I'll cop to the fact that I formally worked out just once in those two weeks of vacation (with an additional smattering of brisk walks with Honey Bunny) but by the end of it I actually felt like I lost weight. I don't care if I even did lose weight or not; my state of mind was the important thing. I didn't trip out on the indulgences I did go for.
Since returning to work, I feel like it's all sliding downhil again. I work hard to eat a really nice and balanced breakfast before work, but that's about all I can say for healthy eating. I've managed to mostly stay away from the Snack Closet of Doom (that which contains Halloween size chocolate and candy for our work events, among other snacks), which is good. I've tried to think about getting a nice and balanced lunch but the reality of work is that there is often not time or space to do so. I also have a horrible habit of eating at my computer, where I am all day long as it is, so that I can Facebook and read blogs unabashedly. It would probably serve me well to get away and be in the moment with my lunch.
One good habit I implemented upon my return to work is a fruit plate next to my computer. Every Monday I bring, or go get, five pieces of fresh, tasty looking fruit for my fruit plate, which is there to satisfy afternoon sweet-tooth cravings. It's no chocolate, that's for sure, but right now the stone fruit is super good and I'm always surprised at how yummy it can be. My rule is that I eat a piece of fruit first and if I'm still dying for chocolate, I'm allowed to get ONE piece of dark chocolate from the Snack Closet. I know that sounds restrictive but I had to find a way to stay out of that closet. It's a mindless eating nightmare waiting to happen.
Something else that came up for examination during my vacation was my relationship with Yoga Trainer. Summer is always his busiest time for travel and so he's gone a lot and I end up falling off the exercise wagon partially as a result of that. I had a conversation with my sporty friend The Mirthmaker about Yoga Trainer and how I've been feeling less and less satisfied with his services. I'd not told her many particulars about YT over the past two and a half years that I've been working with him, but I really went there during this conversation. Remember the intervention? I told her about that and she gasped, put her hand over her mouth and then asked me how the hell I could have ever returned. Likewise when I told her about the time I was choking for breath while having a total emotional meltdown during a hardcore walk with him and he pointedly asked me, "Do you want to die like your sister did?" The Mirthmaker is, herself, a fan of boot camp style exercise and so it took me by surprise that she was surprised. My feeling about these - and other, perhaps more minor - instances with YT is that it was probably something I "needed" to hear in order to motivate me. But did it? Obviously not.
It's a long story and I'm not going to go there (yet) on this blog about my issues with outspoken people (read it on the other blog if so inclined), but needless to say Yoga Trainer is someone I deem "outspoken". I've also admitted to myself that he is pretty darn egotistical and has little to no interest in hearing or working with my side of the story, what I think will motivate me, what I think is best for myself. Talk about joyless. Hey, I think that YT is a fundamentally good person, I've learned some great stuff from him in terms of staying in a positive headspace and deep breathing, and there have been plenty of times I've enjoyed myself during our sessions when he's taken a more nurturing approach. We've reached the tipping point is all. He is gone again for another month to travel, and upon his return I've told Honey Bunny that I'm willing to train together with YT once a week max, or maybe not at all, but otherwise I'll be finding a new and female trainer to work with. Let's hope it sticks this time, eh? My real hope, though, is that it will be enjoyable and fulfilling no matter what the outcome.
Speaking of training and losing weight, I've been meaning to post a review or at least mention the TV show Huge. Admittedly I was very tentative about watching. Being on ABC Family meant it could go down a judgemental road real quick. But, I'm pleasantly surprised and it's actually become one of my favorite shows of the season. I feel like it does a good job of making the characters multi-dimensional, that no one person is bad or good, right or wrong. Everyone has feelings and motivations, both fat and thin. I think Nikki Blonsky is doing a great job as main character Will, a girl so incensed by her parents sending her to fat camp, and by society's pressure to be thin and girly, that she's vowed to gain weight while there. I'm also loving Raven Goodwin as Becca, the character I most personally identify with. The show is based on the book by Sasha Paley, which I have yet to read but really looking forward to it. Check out the show if you can!
25 June 2010
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Scale
I'm a "Pott-head" and have been jacked up about checking out the "Harry Potter and the Wizarding World" attraction at Universal Orlando since the second I got wind of it. My sister (and sister Pott-head) and I even tentatively planned to go check it out this December, when the weather sucks in coastal California and rules in Florida.
Well... looks like I probably won't fit on one of the rides.
Correction: I probably won't fit on the most super awesome ride of the whole place.
Ugh!!
Of course, having seen my eldest sister ejected from a ride at Disneyland for being too fat - this was when I was a teenager - I'm keenly aware of the size and weight limitations that can come with theme park rides. Honey Bunny and I went to Disneyland for part of our honeymoon and I spent the days leading up to our visit fretting away, wringing hands, rending garments and all. I remember being in queue for Space Mountain and telling Honey Bunny, "If I can't fit, I'll jump out and you should just go without me!" I didn't want him to miss the fun of a ride he'd never been on before, even if I was crying my eyes out in embarassment in the nearest bathroom. It didn't turn out that way, thankfully... I fit in all but one of the rides at both Disneyland and California Adventure. (It was the orange-themed wave swinger that seems to no longer exist at CA, in case you were wondering.)
Not fitting in the seats at Universal Orlando has definitely crossed my mind, but I still found the news about Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey's size limitations a bit shocking. More shocking still is some of the response from fans. Pott-heads are so desperate to get on this ride that they're willing to mount personal weight loss goals! Check out one Banks Lee.
I have to admit that when I started reading his blog I was fully against the notion of losing weight for the sole reason of fitting on a theme park ride. Where are all my brothers and sisters calling out the Universal sizeists here??
Banks Lee is an affable character, though, and quickly won me over. His motivation is pure and simple... and therein lies the (hor)crux of a big issue for me.
Motivation. It's something I can't easily identify and never think to use as a true aid for myself. I've talked previously about wanting (and needing) to lose weight (and having really conflicted feelings about it). I've tried to set a goal and stick to it, to no avail. Whatever temporary motivation I use to start working towards the goal eventually leaves me, and thus leaves me feeling purposeless. Needing to shift one's motivation over time to suit on-going and changing needs is natural, actually, but doesn't come naturally to me. I have to applaud Banks for setting a measurable and attainable goal of losing enough weight to get on the ride. He has a sense of purpose with a cool reward waiting for him at the finish line.
It had me wondering if I should keep the penciled-in date of December with my sis, and also work towards losing some weight to get on what's sure to be a really kick-ass ride (and hell, make the plane ride from CA to FL more endurable). Honestly I wanted to have a knee-jerk reaction to that thought but I couldn't think of a good enough reason to be so reactionary...
Well... looks like I probably won't fit on one of the rides.
Correction: I probably won't fit on the most super awesome ride of the whole place.
Ugh!!
Of course, having seen my eldest sister ejected from a ride at Disneyland for being too fat - this was when I was a teenager - I'm keenly aware of the size and weight limitations that can come with theme park rides. Honey Bunny and I went to Disneyland for part of our honeymoon and I spent the days leading up to our visit fretting away, wringing hands, rending garments and all. I remember being in queue for Space Mountain and telling Honey Bunny, "If I can't fit, I'll jump out and you should just go without me!" I didn't want him to miss the fun of a ride he'd never been on before, even if I was crying my eyes out in embarassment in the nearest bathroom. It didn't turn out that way, thankfully... I fit in all but one of the rides at both Disneyland and California Adventure. (It was the orange-themed wave swinger that seems to no longer exist at CA, in case you were wondering.)
Not fitting in the seats at Universal Orlando has definitely crossed my mind, but I still found the news about Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey's size limitations a bit shocking. More shocking still is some of the response from fans. Pott-heads are so desperate to get on this ride that they're willing to mount personal weight loss goals! Check out one Banks Lee.
I have to admit that when I started reading his blog I was fully against the notion of losing weight for the sole reason of fitting on a theme park ride. Where are all my brothers and sisters calling out the Universal sizeists here??
Banks Lee is an affable character, though, and quickly won me over. His motivation is pure and simple... and therein lies the (hor)crux of a big issue for me.
Motivation. It's something I can't easily identify and never think to use as a true aid for myself. I've talked previously about wanting (and needing) to lose weight (and having really conflicted feelings about it). I've tried to set a goal and stick to it, to no avail. Whatever temporary motivation I use to start working towards the goal eventually leaves me, and thus leaves me feeling purposeless. Needing to shift one's motivation over time to suit on-going and changing needs is natural, actually, but doesn't come naturally to me. I have to applaud Banks for setting a measurable and attainable goal of losing enough weight to get on the ride. He has a sense of purpose with a cool reward waiting for him at the finish line.
It had me wondering if I should keep the penciled-in date of December with my sis, and also work towards losing some weight to get on what's sure to be a really kick-ass ride (and hell, make the plane ride from CA to FL more endurable). Honestly I wanted to have a knee-jerk reaction to that thought but I couldn't think of a good enough reason to be so reactionary...
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