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Motivation and Measuring Weight Loss Progress: The Progress Dress
I’m almost tickled to tell this story. Partly because it’s lightweight embarrassing, but what the hey – it can’t hurt, right? Right? In 2007, I ...
by Erika Nicole Kendall
June 9, 2009
I’m almost tickled to tell this story. Partly because it’s lightweight embarrassing, but what the hey – it can’t hurt, right?
Right?
In 2007, I ordered a dress-I-had-no-business-buying-and-never-would-wear-in-public from Fredericks of Hollywood. Well, I purchased three of ‘em but this one… this one was different. I knew it would be my “Awww, snap!” dress.
That is, until.. I couldn’t even get this mug over my head.
I mean, it wouldn’t even touch my shoulders – I was so wide up top that I couldn’t get my arms in it to try to slide the dress down. I was pissed! How dare this dress not conform to the awesomeness that is… me!? How dare this dress offend my delicate sensibilities! I even got a little gangsta with it – how you gon’ just… do me like this!
July 3, 2009 - with the illest 'fro ev-er. Notice that I'm actually holding the dress in the back.
I didn’t throw the dress away, though. I didn’t even have the sense to return it. Returning the dress would’ve been a blow to my ego – admitting that I couldn’t fit something, admitting that I was too large for something (an extra large, at that – as if to say, “The dress is an extra large, I’m extra large.. this should work. Right? Right?”), or that my size was getting in the way of something. I quietly tucked the dress in the back of my closet, occasionally seeing the sleeve poking out and glaring longingly at the front of the dress, fantasizing about rocking it red-carpet style.
I left the dress in the closet for two years.
In 2009, long after I had seriously started gaining traction on my journey, I started feeling a little ballsy. I started going through my closet, reclaiming the bajillion pieces of clothing I’d collected – mindlessly buying the size I thought I was, only to come home and find out how sorely mistaken I was – and trying them on… one by one. After several skirts (one skirt – seriously – was so seriously TOO small for me, it would’ve taken an extra six inches of fabric to make those clasps meet) and pairs of pants… I finally got to the dress.
July 3, 2009 - Still Rough-n-tuff wit' my afro puff!
It didn’t fall on like I hoped it would – in fact, there was some pulling and tugging goin’ on. But… I got it on. And thus.. the challenge began.
All I wanted was to be able to rock this dress like the girl in the picture. I wanted to look sexy – to feel sexy. I wanted to stop taking pictures of only a part of me in the dress. I wanted to no longer hide me – and hiding the fact that I was hiding me – like there was some logical reason I shouldn’t be seen. True, my own personal sense of self-worth wasn’t linked to any perception of beauty but I also wasn’t going to let my own perception of my beauty begin to affect my sense of self-worth… hence why the dress hid in the back of the closet in the first place.
The dress hung in my bathroom, right on the closet door. It served as my polite reminder. “You’ve got a long way to go, baby… so never give up!” And every two weeks, I tried on that dress and pulled, tugged, and squealed at my progress.
And one day, that dress fell on so fast, it almost fell off. It was then that I’d realized a few things: 1) that just because they make it in your size, it certainly doesn’t mean you’ll look like the girl in the photos when you rock it. Mind you, that’d never applied to me before, because I was always extra careful with my clothing.. trying to not be the “sloppy big girl.” 2) just because you can fit it without wrinkles and rolls, doesn’t mean you look like the girl in the advertisement. It doesn’t even mean you look good in it. It means… you can fit in it without wrinkles and rolls.
August 8, 2009
Lastly, 3) although I’d reached my goal of being able to wear the dress – and that was an awesome goal to accomplish – I needed to be realistic with myself about what I wanted out of my body and what my “wants” would really bring me. Sure, I could fit into an XL dress with no problems, but did I want to rock an XL, or a medium? Did I want to look good in a tight dress (which you can do with a good corset), or did I want to look hot naked?
Hey, I’m just keeping it real.
So… I’m an advocate of the progress dress. A dress that you can use to show yourself how far you’ve come, and how far you’d like to go. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that there’d be months where I’d lost pounds by the tens, and couldn’t see where the pounds went when naked, but it’d be that much clearer when I threw on the dress. Shoot, if it weren’t for the dress, I wouldn’t have known I’d lost all my boobs!
August 8, 2009
My progress dress helped me to actually see what the changes to my body meant for my wardrobe possibilities. I mean, be honest – we look at ourselves naked every day. Especially for those of us who might criticize ourselves [unnecessarily] every day, it may be hard to see our progress because we expect to wake up one morning and see [insert "problem" area] gone away. Having one dress to turn to every couple of weeks makes a great deal of difference in appreciating our progress.
Eventually, I out-shrunk the dress (wow, it even feels strange to say that), and donated it – along with the rest of my wardrobe – to charity. It’s certified hoochiewear, as you can see, so I can only help but to wonder what the charity thought of receiving that. I have a new progress dress now, but since my perception of my body has caught up with the actual progress of my body, it serves a new purpose for me.
So… I said all that to say… what’s your progress dress look like? 
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47 Responses to “Motivation and Measuring Weight Loss Progress: The Progress Dress”
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I have this lipstick red, certifiably fabulous 1940-ish clingy, falling off the shoulder, jersey number…
…think Ellen Barkin in Ocean’s 13. MILF-sexy. Trust, I’m staying in my grown woman lane. Well, I ordered it from a fabu plus size online boutique. And I ordered “my size”. Except, the dress runs small. And I’d gotten bigger *blushing*
I ordered it 6 months ago, and said I’d get into it by my 44th b-day. I’m eyeing my calendar, it’s < 2 weeks away, and…I have work to do to make SURE it's too big by my 45th. Hmph @ myself, but thanks for some inspiration
Now, that sounds like a sexy dress!
So we’ve got 54 weeks, huh? What are you starting with today?
It’s a slinky paisley patterned minidress by B&Lu. It’s a 1x and I figured it’d just be a bit snug at the time I ordered it (a year ago) but I was NOT ready for the fact that I could barely get it past the boobs! I hoped that I’d be able to wear it a year later – I’ve slimmed down since then but just not enough for it to look wearable. *sigh* I’m hoping in a couple of months to get to the point of wearability- and I really can’t wait to out-shrink it! Thanks for posting your story!
Now, that sounds cute!
So what are we doing today to get on the path of out-shrinking that cute paisley dress?
Thanks for commenting!
I love this blog! It is so inspirational. My progress item is actually a pair of jeans. My husband and I have been married for 6 years. I wore these jeans alot while we were dating and he loved the way I looked in them. Let’s just say that I have acquired more jeans that he likes, but they are not THOSE jeans. I am trying to get back into those size 30 jeans and fill them out “just right”.
Thanks for the post!
I hear ya! Awww @ the hubby’s favorite pair, lol.
Just like I asked everyone else – what are you doing today to get in those jeans tomorrow? Hmm?
Ha! Well…its a slow roll and consistency is my problem area. BUT today I did an ITrain Elliptical workout for 30 minutes and an additional 10 minutes on the treadmill and then did some stretching. I plan to do one of the Yoga segments this site tonight.
He (hubby) is deployed and we have set a goal together. Basically lose 20 lbs by the time he returns in July. So far he is down 12…I am down 5. Thanks to your site I have the motivation to keep pushing!
I love it! Motivating each other! I see you, Amber!
Oh, and God bless our troops! My father is a war vet… they’re the best.
I love your website, thank you for sharing your story. I not only have jeans, to back into but other clothes too! I have set a goal to do cardio at least 5-6 days and then I got sick with this flu and that knock me back down to no gym and no workouts. So bum out about it, but I have a goal and it must be met! I have one silk suit, that I look at and I try it on and it’s way too tight(hips), then I put it back. I want to wear this suit so bad, it will be real soon.
You’re trying to get in that suit? You’d better want it pretty bad, Lady!
I haven’t purchased my “progress” dress yet, but since reading this blog entry, I’m going to purchase some “progress” jeans this weekend.
When I lost 53 pounds 7 years ago (only to gain it all back plus some!), I was able to fit into a pair of size 30 Lucky Brand Jeans. That was my goal and even though I didn’t stay there very long, that is where I am trying to get back to. Whenever I go in a local store that carries those jeans I always go to that section, take a pair of the jeans off the hanger and get depressed!
I think since reading this entry, that’s the visual that I need to see everyday to keep me motivated.
Yep! So grab a pair, and hang ‘em up somewhere where they can mock you. Repeatedly. That’s what I do with my new progress dress, LOL. Trust me – it WORKS. LOL!
I dont have one
I feel like such a loser now
Don’t! Ain’t no thing to hit up a quick, cheap store and grab something cute!
Please believe I’ll be on great glam this weekend picking out a new progress dress! LOL
So I have this slick black cat suit that I want to wear when I reach my goal…needless to say I have a loooong way to go and I can’t seem to stay motivated!! But everytime I look at that cat suit in its size “Medium” I realize that I have to make a change. The feeling I get when I can step into that dress will be wonderful!
I’m just now reading this post. I am now at a point where I am getting focused and really want to not just lose the weight, but to also make a lifr style change so that the weight will stay off.
A few months ago a girlfriend and I was out shopping and she talked me into buying this dress: it has a high waist and is black at the top with a grey bubble bottom with ruffles outlining the bottom.
I kept telling my friend that I WOULD NOT be able to get in it, size 14, but she was insisting that I would. I won:). It has been since sitting in my closet at the back. after reading this posting, I took it out, put it on to take pictures and hung it on the back side of my bathroom door.
I can’t wait to continue this process.
Thank you so much:)
I am going to use a pair of slacks I wear to work and when my hips can’t hold them up I will bag them up. I am going to collect all the clothes that don’t fit and simply get rid of them so I don’t have to look back anymore. If it falls off my shoulders and hips, I have no need for it anymore. I have a pair of capri jeans I am going to try on tonight and hang then on the back of my bathroom door. Yep, my friend suggested this too!
Im a Junior and i weight exactly 210 pounds. I really would like to lose weight and get back down to a size where i feel comfortable at , a size where i dont have to pull and tugg on my cloths before stepping into the halls of my high school. I’ve been a heavy set girl since six grade. I’ve ripped out pictures recently from magazines trying to find some type of motivation but needless to say those didnt help very much. Everytime i tried to start a journal to help me keep track of my feelings and progress i fail. I never continue for the simple fact that i get busy from life itself. i try to talk to my mom aboout it but i find its no help. And the eating ….. i (try)not to eat that much but when the food is really good i cant help it. Shopping by itself is not easy.:( My goal is to lose 20 pounds by my bday which is four months away. I dont know where to start. Im hoping that this website would give me a guide or even help guide me through my weight loss struggle . some how at least .
)
Hey Michelle,
You should consider grabbing a girlfriend and going for walks. Or maybe even walking to and from school. I bought cute workout clothes and believe it or not, when i go running i like it because i feel fab.
I think its all about a support system. My friends and I dont workout together, but we track our progress together. its always helpful when you arent the only one that has to eat the foods that arent so fun. HMU on FB, you can be apart of our network. My name is Jenae Jones.
I am so glad I found your site. I have a very cute red dress which I purchased two years ago and it didn’t fit right then. I bought it when I was going to Ghana. I am returning to Ghana in December and would love to really be able to wear that dress! I am going to pull it out and make it happen. I have about 8 weeks before I leave . Thanks for you honesty and opening your life to us : Blessings.
I’m just now starting so I don’t have a “progress” dress!! I’m bad at setting goals, so maybe something like this well help!!
Thanks I needed something to get me to the gym today>>>this helped. Sometime my progress doesn’t show on the scale but it will when I try on my goal swimsuit!!!
This is my first time at your blog and it is very informative.
Isn’t it interesting how an individual’s face changes after she has lost weight, you look like a different person.
AWESOME! Where has this site been while I’ve been battling this weight! Stumbled across it and now can’t get enough!
Great Site!!
My progress dress is my wedding gown. It’s been ordered. 3 sizes smaller than what I am right now. Yeah.
I wonder what this dress must look like on you now… lol This is a form of weight loss porn you know, but there is nothing wrong with that. I want that for myself and everyday – well most days- I do a little more to get there. I’ve lost 4 lbs thus far this week. Let’s see how tomorrow looks.
OMG!! I love your site!! This brought tears to my eyes but was encouraging on so many levels! I lost 25 lbs last summer to turn around and gain 20 of them back. **tear** I don’t currently have a progress dress…it’s a whole summer wardrobe! I am more than inspired now to get into clothes smaller than last summer’s wardrobe. I’ve been reading your site for a while and now I am REALLY going to try clean eating. Thanks so much for sharing your journey!! You probably don’t know the magnitude of what this site has done for encouraging myself as well as many others.
You’ve earned COUTURE, Erika; you are too special for hoochiewear.
I have this sage green dress with polka dots that I bought in 2001. It’s a flattering A line with little bit of swing out at the end. I typically feel like a girl but whenever I wore this dress, I instantly felt like a grown up to be reckoned with. It begs to be worn with a pearl necklace and a chignon to complete the effect. I last was able to wear this dress in 2007 or 2008. And then I quit smoking. And then I started eating. And then the lack of nothing bought the pounds.
Today, thanks to sites like yours and my motivation to want and go after better for me, I am declaring I will wear that dress again! Today at 1pm I will at my Combo Control class (targeting muscle groups with dumbell repetition ending with Pilates based mat workout)!
You ar a inspiration to me acame across your blog by accident on facebook and you have been my inspiration the pass month . Thank you I realize I have to do something about me no one esle can make me but me. yes I have that special dress
I don’t have a dress, but I do have a swimsuit. Because I have bad knees and I’m older, right now the only exercises I can comfortable do is mild walking, some light handweights and water aerobics. I love the water aerobics and attend class at least 4 x’s a week. Soon after I started I bought a more athletic suit. I wanted a speedo but I’m too big for even the largest size they carry. So anyway, I bought a no name tankini from Roaman’s. One day I’m in class jumping & running around the pool and my bottoms are falling off. Seriously I’m stopping every 10 steps trying not to have a wardrobe malfunction. So I go home and I’m talking to my sis and I realize the bottoms are too big! (The top is as well, but I can prob wear it a bit longer thanks to the cut.) So I ordered a new pair of bottoms. This week I noticed the new bottoms are getting a bit loose. I now wear my 1 piece for the more active instructors and save the 2 piece for the more yoga-y instructors. My goal is to be able to buy a speedo suit for class.
I just had my daughter 11 weeks (my first child) so I’m losing the baby weight. I still have 9 pounds to lose. Sometimes, I don’t lose weight but lose inches. My progress work pants helps me keep things in perspective and realize that I HAVE made progress. Yesterday, I was able to close and fit comfortably into one of my bigger pairs of pants. Yay! No muffin top when I return to work. I can’t fit into all of my clothes, but I’m starting to fit into some. (I refuse to buy clothes in a bigger size since I don’t want to permanently want to be this size.)
Baby steps…
nothing makes me feel the way that a great pair of jeans do. I used to strut to class in these jeans, to the club in these jeans, to the late night chicken spot in THESE jeans! Oooh weeee, I knew I was bad, it wasn’t even up for discussion… My college days and figure are 10yrs and 60lbs behind me, but what really twists the knife in my gut is seeing my mother rock these very jeans. Oh the torture. My mother is a beautiful woman, but her thighs don’t fill them out properly and she has no idea that there is a very specific walk that goes with those jeans. I want to reclaim them, walk that walk and talk that talk… So, today, I am going to be more in tune with my body – I am only going to eat until I’m satisfied, not stuffed.
Mine is a black, slinky diane von furstenburg…i have had that dress so long that when I found it in my closet a month ago, I was wondering where the heck it came from. I bought it when I regained 20 of the thrity four pounds I’d lost. Now that I have gained 30 more pounds…lets just say I have some work to do. I plan to be in that dress by New Years – thats a perfectly doable 10 pounds a month/ 2.5 pounds a week. Or so I hope.
I bought a simple, fitted dress from H&M months ago on sale. It fit but it certainly highlighted tummy which is an area I try to cover up. Now it’s my progress dress. I’m down 20 lbs and my dress shows me what I’ve accomplished thus far.
I’m lmao over here. You sound just like me. I don’t have just one progress dress, I have several progress dresses, jeans and shirts. I brought this cute flowery babydoll dress with a corset top from Victoria’s Secret in August and a was able to wear it for my birthday in February. I have alot of clothes still with tags on them because they don’t fit. Some I brought too small because they were too unique to leave in the store. And others fit me at the time of purchasing but weight gain prevented me from wearing them. I keep all of these clothes so that I can see my progress as I ,once again, start my weight-loss journey. I can’t wait til the time comes and I must donate them to charity because they’re too big!
this article reminds me of my “goal jeans” these white NY & Company midrise straightleg jeans size 8 (99% cotton 1% spandex) that i brought 2 years ago, my goal is to lose enough weight to be able to wear these jeans
right now i am 206 lbs. (i’m very short, only 5 feet 2 inches tall) so my BMI puts me in the obese category
i want to lose weight, i need to lose weight (for health reasons) & according to the BMI chart i am supposed to weigh 125
i think 125 is kind of tiny for me but i give myself 12 months to lose weight
i wud love 2 send u sum pictures of me, my before & after pictures, 1 of me wearing my white size 8 goal jeans
this site is great
I just tried on my progress dress this morning so this post really resonated with me. I haven’t been losing pounds as quickly as I’d like but I’ve been dropping sizes like it’s nobody’s business since I hit the weights at least three times a week. My progress dress is a classic Jones New York little black dress that I can now wear for the holidays a month ahead of schedule! Time for a new dress. Maybe I’ll check out Frederick’s
. Keep doing what you do!
Wow. I have one of these! The exact same thing almost – well, a different style of dress, but a dress that didn’t fit when I bought it online, that’s been hidden in the closet for a couple of years, because ‘someday’ it would fit. When I first got it I couldn’t even get it over my head.
I just pulled it out and tried it on, and it fits over my head! AND – over my chest!! I can’t get it beyond my hips yet, but I am loving this idea, and my dress is now hanging from the closet door ready to be tried on once or twice a month to check my progress.
Thanks!
If I had returned all those items I couldn’t fit into, do you know how much money I could have saved?! Lord have mercy. Then, yesterday, I read another of your blogs about people’s feet shrinking and I thought about all my lovely shoes. I gotta get my mind right.
There is definitely something to be said when something you couldn’t fit into becomes “too big” for you. I’m currently a size 20/22. I have a pair of size 14 jeans that I eventually want to fit into but I’d like to be smaller than that.
I loved this article. I actually got in a goal suit this month: a size 4 Giorgio Armani that I got for $50 at a consignment shop.
My goal dress is a size 0 white eyelet sundress that I think makes me look innocently sexy. I can actually get in it and zip it up now, but I want to look comfortable in it by March.
Loved the article! My progress dress is a lovely short, black backless dress that I purchased for a function in college. The dress is absolutely gorgeous…and I always managed to turn a few heads when wearing it (in a good way, lol). Fast-forward a few years and I can’t even zip the dress up…it is sooo sad. However, I’ve been poling and I just purchased the Insanity workout dvds. My b-day is this summer and I’m hoping (and praying) to get back into it by then.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I have a few items I use to gauge my progress. I can’t wait until my size 22 jeans are actually too big to wear. I’m rocking 20′s now but I’m probably a 21. I have a size 18 I’m waiting to get into because that will mean that I’ve lost at least another 40 lbs and several inches. My next goal is a size 16 jeans my sister gave me when she lost weight. The kicker is a blue fitted jersey dress with ruching on the bottom half. I can fit it now, but not comfortably. It’s a stretchy dress so even if I was a size 14 it would fit but at a 14 with the help of spanx, I’d be FIERCE! I’m giving myself til the end of the year to wear it well! Thanks for the motivation!
My dress is actually pretty simple – a gift from my aunt. She’d purchased it from a thrift store. Beautiful, elegant yet simple. It’s a Pheobe Couture – strap dress in my favorite shade of what I call “Bad Girl Pink.” It was a large. I was so excited about putting that dress on and going out THAT night. Well, needless to say I had a “Oh wow, this won’t go over my shoulders” moment as well. I told myself that by this time next year (my 35th birthday) I will rock that dress!
My progress dress is gym clothes. I wish I’d thought of a dress, but I didn’t – my progress shots are taken in gym clothes every couple of weeks, and I post them on my blog.
Here they are: My progress photos.
I’ve only been doing the weight loss / gym thing since the start of the year, but I’ve lost twenty pounds and lots of inches, and the difference in just three months is kind of scary. Having a photo log, as you say, is really encouraging
I’m looking forward to seeing how I look a year – or five years – from now!
This chick is flying!
The most recent “triumph” was a pair of jeans…Levi’s boot cut, size 12. I wore them for the first time in years (7-8?) tonight to a soccer game with my son. I’m down 30 pounds since last October; 20 pounds since February. I have a box of smaller sized clothing that stays under my bed and every couple of weeks I try them on to measure my progress. When I feel like I’m not getting anywhere on the scale, it’s gratifying to realize that a pair of pants will button one week and fit the next.