By: Sandi Henderson, From SandisBandedLiving Blog

After a whirlwind trip to Washington DC to work with some of my amazing colleagues with the Obesity Action Coalition asking our legislators to sign on to a letter requesting that obesity treatment be included in the essential benefits package.

Most of you are aware that I had my lap band surgery 7 years ago, How Weight Loss Surgery Saved My Life, lost 250 pounds and am maintaining my weight loss.  The huge quality of life gains that I have made just seem to keep coming.  After a whirlwind trip to Washington DC to work with some of my amazing colleagues with the Obesity Action Coalition asking our legislators to sign on to a letter requesting that obesity treatment be included in the essential benefits package, I found myself walking around a beautiful outdoor mall in sunny southern California.  This walk was by design.  I had been told about these great exercise clothes sold only in limited places or online.  I had looked at clothing online but had no idea if it would fit me and be as comfortable as I was told it would be.  There I was, walking into a store that sold exercise clothing exclusively, a store that catered to athletes, and for the most part to “uber-athletes” (my definition of a fitness fanatic who participates in a triathlon on Sunday, takes Monday off and runs 10k on Tuesday.) It was a bit scary, and definitely somewhat overwhelming.

I walked through the door and saw racks and racks of cute tops, jackets, pants, shirts, bags to carry it all in and various other little things to make the entire exercise experience a little better.  Where do I start?  What is it I was doing in here?  Can't I just run out the door and go back to my local discount store and buy whatever is on sale that fits?  Yup, I could do that, but I had promised myself that I would try on these clothes and if they fit I would reward myself with one new exercise outfit.  It has been almost 2 years since I bought anything new for exercise so I figured I had earned it...or some such other excuse giving myself permission to spend a ridiculous amount of money on what was clearly a want and not a need.  A young lady, who could not have been over 22 or bigger than a size 4 asked if she could help me.  Hmmm, I thought to myself, yes she could help me figure out why I was in the store.  Would this stuff actually fit my body?  Would it be as great as I was told?  OK, here we go, let's jump right in.  I asked to see pants and a top in a size 12, thinking that the pants will probably not fit my legs, affectionately named the tree trunks by my brothers when I was a teenager.  I also asked for a jacket that I loved, that I had actually tried on and knew I had to have even if I couldn't wear it when Gloria and I were together and headed to the gym since she bought it first.  It had stripes in just the right places and the length was perfect, pockets where you needed them and looked great on.

Into the dressing room, off with the street clothes and into the gear...Uh, oh, size 12's were too big.  How could that be?  How could I possible require a size ten in stretch pants designed to fit like second skin and have enough fabric left that you didn't see through it?  Whatever the reason (and I do believe it is that they make the pants roomy and with the 4 way stretch fabric and all..) the size 10's fit...everywhere without any strain on the seams... Two different styles so now I had a choice to make.  This was fun!  Buying pants, jeans, slacks is always a trying experience for me.  What fits properly everywhere else is usually huge in the waist, way too long and looks awful.  When I find a brand and a style that works that I can afford, I frequently buy more than one pair.  So finding 2 styles that fit and were really comfortable - I mean REALLY, REALLY comfortable was a minor miracle.  I decided which one I liked best, and only bought one pair because I had failed to have my credit line increased to cover the cost of a second pair.  Then I decided that I did not like any of the tops - they did not fit well, nor do anything to make me feel any better than the $9.95 ones I found at the discount stores...But the jacket - I already told you that I loved the jacket and no matter how hard I tried to be good, I just splurged and bought it. 

I was able to walk into this store for “uber-athletes” and buy a really nice outfit without feeling like anyone was looking at me like i didn't belong in the store.

So now I have a pair of pants to work out in and a jacket to wear to the gym, or for walking on the beach, or just going to the coffee shop or whatever.  So what's so great about that?  This was a really big NSV for me.  I was able to walk into this store for "uber-athletes" and buy a really nice outfit without feeling like anyone was looking at me like I didn't belong in the store and was probably shopping for a gift for someone else.  Just to prove it, here's a picture of me outside the store with my purchase in hand.

Share this Article

Facebook  Twitter