Fashion Forward

     I'm back on the weight loss and fitness track after falling off the wagon for a bit.  I'm proud of myself.  I really am.  I'm taking steps toward reaching my health and wellness goals.  I rejoined a gym today, bought a Fit Bit, and have been drinking green smoothies for the past week.  Those changes ought to make a girl feel good about herself.  But one of those healthy choices unwittingly led to a punch in the gut today…
      Since I rejoined the gym, I figured it might be prudent to see what kind of work out wear I could find to make myself look at least presentable while I'm sweating away at the treadmill.  Now ladies, I'm not stupid.  I knew better.  I really did.  But…I decided I might just want to peruse a certain high end workout wear establishment---you know the one.  I walked in.  I tried to be unobtrusive.  I wanted to see what was out there if I ever do get to my goal weight.  Here were my take aways:
1.  Nothing in that store comes in a size larger than 12.  And, let me tell you, it was a rather small looking 12 at that.  You know, I get it.  I do.  Companies are brand conscious.  They want to portray a certain image. (Remember the uproar Abercrombie and Fitch caused a few years ago?).  I guess my fat ass stuffed in their overpriced pieces of spandex doesn't exactly fit the prescribed mold.
2.  It didn't help my self concept to go in there.  I kind of felt like Julia Roberts in that one scene from Pretty Woman.  There she is all decked out in her finest hooker-haute-couture when those bossy bitches suggest that "they don't have anything for her," and she was obviously, "in the wrong place." Now, I'm not saying that anyone unceremoniously tossed me out on the street, but I felt like the sales associates were judging me.  One came over and asked if she could help me.  I told her I realized I probably wasn't in the right place (meaning I wouldn't be able to fit my big toe into any of their clothing).  She informed me that, "Well, this is a workout store."  Really chick--I couldn't tell--but thanks for the info.
      So why is it so hard for us "fuller figured" gals to find decent work out attire?  Here's the thing. Women like me, women who are my size, want to and need to work out.  I'm doing it not just for my health but also my self esteem.  I know no one wants to see me in a wireless sports bra and short shorts, but come on,  it would be nice to find at least a cute outfit to make me feel better about myself instead of having to scrounge through the selection of plus size sweatpants available at Walmart.  Maybe I'll hang up this teaching gig and open my own workout wear store for plus size women.  I'll call it Go Go Grapefruit--The Same Sass With a Bigger Ass.