I love Chris Evans radio in the morning. He kept me company every morning during the summer of 1993 when I was stuck to a hospital bed on traction for over 3 months. In those days it was his Big Breakfast TV show. He’s always so upbeat and has a real joie de vivre. 

 

This morning he said something that really resonated with me. 

 

 

Last week I had a post on LinkedIn that hit way more than my usual viewers. It obviously struck a chord with folk. It’s currently had 101,938 views, with 189 likes, loves etc and 92 comments! Bonkers numbers. 

This was a great example of knowing exactly what components I needed in my outfit at that moment, to make me feel good. 

 

I needed "comfydence" - to feel comfortable and confident in my appearance to help me deliver what was required. 

 

My 'empowering' playlist blaring through Alexa, I carefully applied my make up to erase any signs of upset. I felt a bit better and ready to take my role. 

 

The lovely DONNA E SMITH, my valued vice president, was picking me up. She got an earful during the half hour journey 🙄...she made the mistake of asking how I was! Poor woman. I'm super grateful for the cathartic outpouring 🙏 

 

The meeting was a success. Probably not the best m'cing I've ever done but we had 3 great speakers - Andrew Pain MICF MPSA MIoD, Anthony Stears - Keynote Speaker and Sam Rathling who all did a cracking job and provided so much value to the audience. It felt really good to see people in 3D after 18 months on Zoom. There were so many great takeaways from the session. Our next one is 3rd Nov - come join us. 

 

I ended the day feeling much better in myself. I'm glad I pushed through. Today I'm feeling much more pragmatic and back on a more even keel ready to spend the day with my amazing clients. 😊 

 

Have you ever had to dig deep to find your game face? What helps you change your state? 

 

#colourclothesconfidence #bemoreyou #projectfab #professionalwomen #womeninbusiness 

 

If you need help with understanding how to pull together outfits that give you comfydence DM me. It can make a massive difference to how you feel when your wardrobe works for you - especially if you're having a sh!tty day. 

Prior to this tearful day lots of things had been building up and it all just came to a head. It was a vicious circle of things. 

 

My knee has been ‘not right’ since June, the combination of being less mobile than usual, needing crutches, being uncomfortable or in pain for over two months was getting me down. 

 

I’ve put weight back on and despite good intentions I was struggling to find the motivation to live off dust so I could drop a few pounds. 

I felt like I’d let myself down because I’ve put all the weight back on that I lost last year. 

Because I’ve gained weight my ‘shark bite’ shows up more in clothes. (It’s not really a shark bite but it’s as if I've had a chunk bitten out of my side, the fat tissue, my hip padding, is displaced because of all the scars from hip surgery. ) The result is that one hip protrudes much higher than the other. 

I had a wedding to go to at the weekend and I wasn’t happy with how I looked in my outfit because of the weight gain. (It had been postponed twice and we were really looking forward to it.) 

 

The GP helpfully informed me that being overweight wasn’t helping my knee – no shit Sherlock! This was the straw that broke the camel’s back and set off the tears. 

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve tried every diet under the sun over the past 20+ years to get weight off (and keep it off). I’m not a ‘fat and happy’ person, I’m a frustrated fatty. I have learned how to dress so that I’m ok with how I look in the mirror and to make the most of myself. Don’t get me wrong I’d still take that magic pill to drop 4 or 5 stone but after spending years dwelling on my size and being depressed, this acceptance helped me live a happier life. It has also helped me have empathy with others who are not happy with what they see in the mirror (for whatever reason) and run my business successfully. 

Why am I telling you all this? Going back to Chris Evans and what he said this morning, I just wanted to share this story with you to show that I still have the wardrobe wobbles some days. Thankfully I have the tools to help me get over them much quicker these days and can share my Project FAB! framework with you if any of this resonates. 

My knee is finally feeling a bit better this week. I’ve found my resolve for eating dust and hope to be reporting weight loss and better joint health very soon. After all, I’ve got a book launch coming up soon and want to look my most FAB U LOUS best for that. 

 

If you’d like to join my preview list for Project FAB! No More Making Do you can sign up here.