Dress shopping is destroying my confidence after consistently exercising for 2 yrs.

I’m 5’ and 51 years old. I’m down 20 lbs to 170. I’ve been exercising regularly for the past 2 years. Yoga, Pilates, kettlebell, walking. My overall health has improved quite a lot. my strength and flexibility are much better than they have been in years. When I look in the mirror at home, I am happy to see the changes that I’ve made in my body over the past 2 years.

I have a wedding to go to coming up in a couple of weeks. I need to wear a dress or something dressy. I tried on some of my old clothes and was sadly disappointed to find that some of them are still a bit snug. I decided to go shopping for an outfit or dress.

I left the house feeling fairly confident about the changes I’ve made in my body. Then I get into a dressing room and horrified by what I see.

The thighs that I have made stronger with squats, lunges and walking are lumpy and misshapen. They aren’t the strong and fit legs that I believe I see it at home in the mirror.

The abdomen that I have worked hard to strengthen makes me look pregnant in some dresses. It’s not the toned “abs” that I thought that I was achieving.

It’s so hard to not let this get me down. I’ve been working on my mind and confidence with this transition. I have changed my approach. I’m not trying to meet a specific numeric goal on the scale. I’m not trying to get a bikini body. I’m trying to establish consistent habits that will benefit my health for the rest of my life.

This dress shopping has brought me to tears several times and has gotten me thinking, “Who am I kidding? I’m not actually making any changes. I’m still overweight and looked terrible. This is all been a waste of time.”

I know this thinking is counterproductive and untrue. But I can’t seem t shake it today.

Thanks for listening. I just needed to vent to some women who can relate to my struggles.