Sunday, January 9, 2011

I Could Travel Just By Folding A Map


So,I figure I should provide a "heads up" for this post. While most of this blog is devoted to what I wear and why, it's really predominantly about what I'm feeling and what I'm up to. This whole week, the topic of body image has been hovering over my head and impacting my life. As many of you know, I've been on weight watchers for over a year now and have lost almost 35 pounds. Right before Christmas, when they switched "points" to "points plus," I lost almost 5 pounds after not losing for a couple of months. Then, the holidays hit. I told myself that I was going to eat, because I was with my family, having a good time, and I didn't want to worry. I gained almost all of the weight back in the matter of a week, and was afraid that it would never come off.

I don't know why exactly, maybe the new year or something, but I decided to throw myself into exercise to lose more weight. I picked the most intense work out I could find, Jillian Michaels' Thirty Day Shred, and vowed to do it everyday no matter what. Would you believe me if I said that the first day was the easiest? With every day I worked out I pushed my body harder and harder, and kept feeling worse and worse. But in my head, I just needed to lose that weight. With the help my incredibly caring boyfriend, I realized that this was too much. I realized that being healthy and feeling good are the things I need to be concerned about. I certainly wasn't feeling healthy on day four when I almost fainted, and I wasn't feeling good on day five when I almost threw up. I know that I need to be less concerned with a number and more concerned with how my body is feeling. My body didn't feel different when I gained a few pounds back. It was just that nagging number that was upsetting me. I just need to focus on how far I come, and how happy I am and want to be. This is easier said than done. The new year has got me thinking about a lot of things. A lot of goals, changes, dreams. But they're all fueled by the common thread of happiness, and that's the key that I need to remember.

I decided to pair this dress with this post because it's one of those dresses that I got, loved, but shoved into the back of my closet. I told myself I wouldn't wear it until I lost x amount of pounds. This is my meager attempt at saying "screw you" to the number on the scale. I love this dress, and there's no reason for me to wait to wear it.

Dress: Modcloth
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Ruche
Hat: Modcloth
Necklace: Gift





Until Tomorrow,
Nicole

27 comments:

  1. I love how raw and real you are in your posts- that you share such personal details of your life is so refreshing. I am blown away by how much weight you've lost! 35 pounds is such a great accomplishment and I don't think I could be as strong as you are. You look WONDERFUL and that dress IS so gorgeous. I love the print! The yellow with it just makes it that much better:)

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  2. Firstly you look fabulous.
    I've tried all sorts of things to loose weight, but when I finally realised I should just eating healthily and do general exercise (not over exercising) I felt the happiest. I stopped getting on those scales everyday and went by how I felt. I go more on how my clothes fit and I feel rather than the number on the scales. I know that's easier said than done, this was just my personal journey.

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  3. That is such a beautiful dress!
    The way your body is feeling is so much more important than a number! Hope you feel better soon. :)

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  4. You are adorable and colorful. The print on your dress is simply adorable. :D <3

    & I wish you luck, I know that you can do it. Don't worry, we all mess up. Holidays, oh holidays..

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  5. You look GREAT in that dress!
    I'm so glad to hear you're feeling more confident...body image is a tough thing to deal with, but you really do look fantastic in all of these posts. :D

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  6. Thanks for posting this Nicole, I can really relate. I've been trying to loose the freshman 15 I gained two years ago upon entering college and sometimes its so frustrating for it not to come off. I think you are beautiful and you totally rocked this dress!

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  7. first of all, that dress is absolutely beautiful and you look STUNNING. it's always a struggle for us (women) to feel good about our bodies, but i think the single most important thing one of my friends told me after she suffered with anorexia for too long was that you have to ignore the scale. i seriously agree. when my boyfriend and i stayed in a hotel room with a scale over new years eve, and i literally fluctuated by five pounds JUST THAT NIGHT (he fluctuated by almost ten!) you should definitely pay attention only to how you feel. that's all that matters. you're a beautiful girl with a big heart--i'm glad to hear you're setting the scale aside! ps i love everything you did with this outfit :)

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  8. Well I am really happy for you that you are going to focus on your well being other then a number on a scale. That dress seriously looks REALLY good on you, it fits you quite perfect.

    I feel like if I knew you in real life, we would need to high five right now.

    xoxo mama wolf.

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  9. Really beautiful dress , georgeous outfit.

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  10. Nicole, you look so great! Love that dress, it's such a unique print and it suits you well. Not being so concerned about the number and being more concerned with how you're feeling, is something women struggle for years to deal with and overcome, and it's great that you have a conscious understanding about it and that you accept yourself exactly as you are :)

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  11. YES!!!!!!
    it took me FOREVER to realize that is NOT the number on the scale or the number on your pant size..it is if you feel good in your own skin and are healthy & happy.
    i use to not eat all day and feel miserable..
    i have no idea why i would do that to my body. it is ridiculous!!

    i LOVE this outfit. all the color are so vibrant and you look beautiful!
    the yellow vest was the perfect touch!!!
    xoox

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  12. thanks for sharing, nicole - i'm so glad that you came to your realization! things will go well, and you can do it because you've done it before!

    just so you know, this may be my favorite outfit of yours yet! the vibrant colors are brilliant. you look beautiful.

    x, elanor

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  13. i love the dress. it looks great on you. in fact, i think it makes you look super thin!
    and i totally know how you feel. i've been 'counting' and i lost 20lbs last year and when i got on the scale today it told me i gained back 10 of those. and i was really upset. i just want to feel good, and lately i haven't been.

    you're beautiful regardless! so remember that!

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  14. I love the pattern of this dress! Especially paired with the colored tights to match.

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  15. you look fabulous and I understand the constant struggle with body issues, i mean, who doesn't have issues with their bodies? I don't know anyone really.
    Plus I find you really brave that you can talk so openly about it in a 'fashion blog'. Is it just me or it seems that talking about weight is not much of an issue in established famous bloggers, and not surprisingly, most of them are all skinny but i guess we can't know if that's deliberate or pure genetic. Aaanyway, you're on the right track if you keep in mind happiness. Love your style! :)

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  16. Favorite dress ever! I love the yellow cardigan vest, its such a great pop of colors. I completely agree with your weight, I found myself too worried about weight when I went up a few pant sizes but I recently lost a lot and I'm back to my normal weight. But I feel better then I ever have, and I think that's whats most important. Numbers are so silly, its about how you feel inside that makes you really beautiful. Thanks for sharing and for your honesty!

    xo

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  17. my favorite outfit post! :) you look so gorgeous in this dress, you rock it so well. love the colors, and those wedges are hot. yup, being healthy and loving yourself is more important than what number shows up on the scale, i should remember that myself-- you're too inspiring nicole!

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  18. Nicole, I just found your blog and am so glad I did. I love how candidly you write about your outfits as well as how you feel about them. I can't tell you how much I admire you for being such a hard worker to achieve your goals. I think you look fabulous in the dress!!

    xo,
    katrina

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  19. Nicole--you are the so beautiful just the way you are! I'm so glad you realized that it's more important to be healthy and feel good rather than being a certain number. You are so inspirational with your 35 lb weight loss already and then with your daring outfits, you truly are one of my favorite bloggers! Don't ever lose sight of these things dear <3

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  20. you are adorable and I am so happy for the weight loss :) you are beautiful no matter how you look :) seriously.

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  21. Wow...agreed with everything you said in this post...I love your confidence and self assurance!...and girl you are working that outfit...the dress and vest are my favorites!!

    cute blog---NOW FOLLOWING!

    holeinjeanpocket.blogspot.com

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  22. you look beautiful, screw what the scale is telling you. you should be very proud of yourself that you lost 35 pounds - that's amazing!

    i do the 30 day shred, and i took a couple of days off in the beginning between workouts when my legs were killing me. as you keep going with the program, your muscles will get stronger and the workouts will feel like nothing.

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  23. This dress is amazing!!! And it looks great on you! It deserves to be worn now. Not later.
    Thank you for your honesty in this post. I am just beginnging to really TRY to lose extra weight I gained 5 years ago. Getting motivated is the hardest part and it sounds like you've been doing great!

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  24. I'm super late commenting here, I'm so sorry! But I just want to say I'm really impressed by you. When I started exercising with WW I pushed myself way too hard the first few days, and it was just awful -- I couldn't even walk I was in so much pain. I think it's easy to get caught up in a sort of, "Let's get this done!!" mindset, instead of doing things in a gradual, healthy way. I totally relate. But the thing I love about WW is that it encourages eating what you love, as long as you stick to moderation and remember that everything is gradual when you do it healthily.

    And p.s. that dress is flipping HOT on you! It totally shows off your lovely figure, wear it more often!!

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  25. The dress is unique and looks great on you!! cute outfit.

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Thank you so, so much for taking some time to comment on my blog!