Get out of your comfort zone

Camera_BagintheUK

You don't have to look far to see comments from people along the lines of "I'd like to do this if I felt better about myself and had the courage"

I was on holiday last week and spent one day on a hot beach, under a parasol, reading and sleeping (formerly my idea of hell, and I'd do anything to avoid it because I felt fat, old, ugly, hot, and thought I'd just look an idiot). I was anxious when we went, and wondered how to keep myself under wraps and not let anyone see me. I don't have a pretty swimming cozzie, so just wore my badly fitting,, unflattering, boring slazenger one that I wear to the swimming pool.

But as I was looking around I could see all these other women who looked - well - like me! Or rather, since losing 2 stone I could see that I didn't look any different to them. And they were wearing bikinis, tankinis, and pretty swimming costumes. They had bulges, folds, and stretch marks, some were tanned but some were pasty looking. Lots of them had saggy boobs and heavy thighs, and fluid tummies that you could roll up. But they all looked comfortable and cool and happy - even the very old lady who had on a yellow cozzie that was slashed right down the front to her pelvic bone!

And I started to wonder why I believe I can't have a pretty swimming cozzie and flaunt it on a beach like they do. It was a relaxing day! And I'd have been a lot cooler in something flimsier. What's so different about me? What's preventing me from buying a beach costume and strutting my curves on a beach like them?

So I'm determined now to go and find myself a frivolous more skimpy, more colourful, maybe even sexy swimming cozzie that's no use at all for swimming in, and go to more beaches! I would never have dreamed I would even consider this, just a year ago!

So what about you all - what dangerous scary thing are you determined to do now? Or what woke you up to seeing a place outside your comfort zone that you could now go to?

Pearsquared

Seeing my back in the mirror has actually given me a big boost of confidence when it comes to swimsuits. I've struggled with the normal back fat, but also back acne. With the weight loss, both have cleared up significantly, and this has made me more comfortable with buying swimsuits that have very low backs as opposed to the ones that are not very flattering but quite modest. I had a brown one-piece that I wore for the longest time, but now I can't wear it because the bottom looks like I'm wearing a diaper. When I get a new swimsuit, I'm going to try something more daring. I'm thinking a monokini will be flattering enough while still covering enough.

Lisamay380

While I'm not ready to actually wear it yet, I bought a new black bikini from Victoria's Secret (I've been wearing a one-piece for the past few years). This is keeping me very motivated to lose my weight. My husband saw it on me, and he thinks I should wear it NOW (he's VERY supportive of me, no matter how much I weigh). I am excited to wear it in public, AFTER I lose 27 more pounds. I know I can do it...I had lost 30 pounds a few years ago, but unfortunately gained most of it back. This black bikini is one of my motivators.


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Camera_BagintheUK

Anybody else thinking "I'm going to give that a go!" Something you'd written off for eternity, till you started losing weight?

sarahrbraun

You don't have to look far to see comments from people along the lines of "I'd like to do this if I felt better about myself and had the courage"

I was on holiday last week and spent one day on a hot beach, under a parasol, reading and sleeping (formerly my idea of hell, and I'd do anything to avoid it because I felt fat, old, ugly, hot, and thought I'd just look an idiot). I was anxious when we went, and wondered how to keep myself under wraps and not let anyone see me. I don't have a pretty swimming cozzie, so just wore my badly fitting,, unflattering, boring slazenger one that I wear to the swimming pool.

But as I was looking around I could see all these other women who looked - well - like me! Or rather, since losing 2 stone I could see that I didn't look any different to them. And they were wearing bikinis, tankinis, and pretty swimming costumes. They had bulges, folds, and stretch marks, some were tanned but some were pasty looking. Lots of them had saggy boobs and heavy thighs, and fluid tummies that you could roll up. But they all looked comfortable and cool and happy - even the very old lady who had on a yellow cozzie that was slashed right down the front to her pelvic bone!

And I started to wonder why I believe I can't have a pretty swimming cozzie and flaunt it on a beach like they do. It was a relaxing day! And I'd have been a lot cooler in something flimsier. What's so different about me? What's preventing me from buying a beach costume and strutting my curves on a beach like them?

So I'm determined now to go and find myself a frivolous more skimpy, more colourful, maybe even sexy swimming cozzie that's no use at all for swimming in, and go to more beaches! I would never have dreamed I would even consider this, just a year ago!

So what about you all - what dangerous scary thing are you determined to do now? Or what woke you up to seeing a place outside your comfort zone that you could now go to?

Over the last 18 months or so I have made a purposeful effort to go outside my comfort zone. When my exercise capri's got too big, I bought shorts. I found tanks more comfortable than t-shirts. When my swimsuit ( with a skirt!) got too big, I replaced it with a tankini. I bought my first pair of yoga pants and really liked how I looked in them.

I made the choice to hire a trainer and he pushed me out of my comfort zone exercise-wise.

I told a (male) friend of mine, one of my biggest issues is a "fat girl can't...." mentality. Fat girls can't wear certain things, do certain activities, etc. I needed to stop seeing myself as the fat girl, and using that to hide behind. Now this "fat girl" wears a tankini, regular shorts/tanks, and does some kick *kitten* workouts.