When clothes make you feel "fat"

Same person. Same day. A body in motion. 

Your weight and appearance do not define you. How you look is not the most interesting thing about you. 

For almost all athletes, at some point in the athletic career, body image is a struggle. When it comes to appearance-related content on social media, this constant comparison to unrealistic images of people presenting the best version of themselves can negatively impact your relationship with your body. Unrealistic expectations of how your body should look may turn into unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors and disordered eating.

Although athletes have the same risk factors for body image issues as non-athletes, athletes are constantly conflicted with two body images - one in sport and one outside of sport. The body that is fit for performance may not meet society's "thin" ideal. 

For athletes, there are two wardrobes. Clothes that are designed for functionality and performanace and clothes for outside of sport - work, leisure, formal, etc. Depending on which body you are dressing (sport vs. daily life), if you struggle with poor body image, there's a good chance that you feel there is one right way to look in those clothes. This may lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth. As a result of not matching the "ideal" image, many athletes take drastic measures to "fix" features that fall short of the accepted standard. 

How many times has your day been ruined after trying on clothes in your closest that didn't fit you? How do you feel when you receive clothing (as a present) from a friend, partner or loved one but need to return for a bigger size?

If you can relate, I want to remind/tell you that YOU wear your clothes. Do not let your clothes dictate how you feel about yourself. You do not have to conform to a certain body type. You do not have to start "fixing" your body on January 1st. Bodies naturally fluctuate throughout life. 

From now until the end of the year, I encourage you to clean out your closest of clothes that no longer serve you well. Next, buy clothes that fit your body and make you feel good. And even if you are on a path of improved health, you still deserve to feel confident at your current size, shape or weight. 

Stop clinging on to a past version of yourself. Don't punish yourself by withholding a new wardrobe with hopes of meeting a specific clothing size. 

When you let go of what was, you can make space for what can be. 
You deserve to be comfortable and confident in your clothes. 

Be proud of your every-day-body and your incredible body in motion. 

How to dress when cycling in cold weather

I love the heat and humidity but there's something about winter riding that soothes my soul and sharpens my mind. It's as if the cooler it gets outside, the more excited I get to go outside for a bike ride. I was not always this way - it took me several years to learn how to dress appropriately for cold weather riding but as the saying goes "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."

Where we live in Greenville, SC. the weather can be unpredictable. Luckily, we are never too cold for too long and it rarely snows. While this is a great thing for year-round outdoor cycling, it does make it tricky for what to wear. 

As an example, in the past two weeks, we have enjoyed a variety of weather for a variety of outdoor rides. 

Warmish 2-hour afternoon gravel ride. Private skills session with our athlete Diane. 

9:30am, 3hr group ride. Started off foggy, stayed cloudy, got warm and then cooler again. 

Very cold 3.5 hour mountain bike ride. 

Sunny sky, cold 4 hour road bike ride. 

Our Greenville cycling community is all about year-round outside riding. There are so many group rides, events and other activities to encourage people to ride outside no matter the weather. With no formal group ride planned this past weekend, my friend Carley took me (and two others) on her favorite route. I was really excited for this route as it included a few roads that I had never explored before. I love that after 8 years, we are still discovering new safe roads for cycling. The views were incredible and the time went by so quickly. Since I had my Garmin bike computer set on the route, I had no idea how long we had been riding. When I got home, I was surprised to see that we rode for 4.5 hours and 73 miles. Although it was in the upper 30's when we started our ride at 9:30am, the sunny sky helped us stay warm, even though it stayed in the 40's throughout our ride. Although this wasn't a "hilly" route, we did manage to accumulate ~6200 feet of elevation over 4.5 hours. 

With this being my first cold outdoor road bike ride this year, I naturally overdressed for this ride as I wasn't sure what to wear. But before I left for the ride, I decided to make a quick change and I ended up dressing perfectly for this ride. 

-Base layer
-Long sleeve cycling jersey
-Cycling shorts 
-Leg warmers 
-Shoe covers
-Long sleeve gloves 
-Ear covers

Depending on the air temp, wind chill, ride speed, intensity, duration and location (ex. protected wooded area like mountain biking vs. exposed gravel or road biking), there's a lot to consider when it comes to dressing appropriate for cold weather riding. 

A put together a video of showcasing some of the clothing that I have invested into for the winter cycling season. Because I ride outside year round, my wardrobe for outdoor winter riding is much larger than what I need/use for warm weather riding. But it's worth it. It would be a shame to spend the entire winter riding indoors. My bikes (and me) love to be outside. 

 

Interested in a Trimarni Kit - time to place your custom order!

I was so excited to mail out the first ever custom order of the Trimarni Tri/Run tops and bottoms last month after many weeks of waiting for them to arrive!

 

As mentioned in my November blog article when first announcing the first-ever Trimarni kit, the passion behind creating this kit was to give people an awesome-looking outfit as they proudly used, moved and challenged their bodies in an active and healthy lifestyle. No sponsors listed, no overwhelming colors or designs. Pink or black - take your pick.

 

Karel designed the Trimarni Kit based on our number 1 goal which was to create an outfit to promote my business...a business that is dedicated to help others live a more balanced healthy and active lifestyle. I am not here for a popularity contest but instead, to help change lives. We wanted a a kit that has a meaning behind it and will be used for a purpose......to be worn by active and healthy bodies, who love crossing finishing lines or challenging their bodies with exercise.

 

You can read more about the graphic on my website but we wanted to create a custom graphic that would encourage athletes to dream big. With the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii as the event that gets active individuals interested in competitive sports and motivates athletes to never stop giving up on dreams, a Hawaiian flower with a tribal look was the perfect graphic for our jersey. 

 

I am always excited to hear about how others choose to use their healthy body and of course, seeing those bodies in action is priceless!

 

Ryan R at Ocala HITS Olympic distance tri

Stefanie S. at Ocala HITS Olympic distance tri

My sport psychologist Gloria

Gloria's hubby Ken

Taffy at Ocala HITS Olympic distance tri

ME!

Karel!

 

 

 

So, in addition to the tri/run top and bottoms, we have added a cycling jersey and cycling shorts!!! You asked for it - you shall receive!

 

 

 

 

If you are interested, check out the Trimarni SHOP for the full page of run/tri tops, cycling shorts and run/tri shorts.

 

Any questions - send me an email - trimarnicoaching@gmail.com

 

SHOP HERE: Trimarni SHOP 

 

Disclaimer - This kit is designed to be worn during activity. Please use responsibly - wear while moving your body......not while laying around watching TV, on the computer (unless you are blogging/tweeting/emailing/facebooking about an awesome workout/race) or while complaining that you aren't good enough to be active. Love your body and use it. And look good doing it!

Custom Trimarni Triathlon/Running kit

 

In 2007, I made a life changing decision. Going back to school for another degree was a decision that was hard to make after being in school for college and graduate school from 2000-2006. It was a decision that many "experts", "gurus" and "professionals" overlook as it is a big time and money commitment and it does put life on hold for a while....longer than I planned.

But, like many things in life, never did I realize a challenging journey that required so much patience and hard work, would change my life. I blogged about being nervous about my first day of school as I was earning pre-reqs for my dietetic verification statement. For around 3 years I blogged about all the ups and downs in my dietetic journey as it was no easy road to go back to school to earn my RD credentials. Although I knew that the MS and RD behind my name would help me further my career as a writer and speaker, never did I realize how it would change the way I live my life. With experience and knowledge that can not be found on the Internet, I firmly believe that if you want something in life, you can not take the easy way out and just "google it". To go after your dreams, you have to accept hard work and taking the right path. There is no best path but rather the one that is recommended by the true professionals who are also your mentors and want the best for you.

 

With an educational background in nutrition and exercise physiology and a passion for sport nutrition and understanding a body in motion, having my own business is a dream in the making. Almost a year ago (with the help of others), I learned the ins and outs of having your own business and I took a risk and created my own website to provide nutrition services to fitness enthusiasts and athletes as well as opening my coaching services to more athletes. Blogging, facebooking, tweeting are helpful for my business as social media helps connect me to the world but above all, my passion lies in connecting with others from around the world and helping inspiring individuals reach personal performance, health, fitness, body composition and life goals. I absolutely love communicating with my athletes and fitness enthusiasts from emailing to skype and to analyzing training logs. I enjoy the process of helping individuals change habits to live a better, healthier and more productive lifestyle. I love changing lifestyles because I know how great it feels to live a quality, balanced life.

Dream Big
With the help of Karel (as the brains to the inner-workings of my business) I have been able to focus on what I love to do and to always dream-big for what's next with Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition. For the past few months, we have talked about having our own Custom Triathlon/Running Kit. An outfit to promote my business but more importantly, a kit that has a deeper meaning and will be used for a purpose......to be worn by active and healthy bodies, who love crossing finishing lines.

 

As we  brainstormed for a few days as to the graphics that would be perfect for all types athletes and fitness enthusiasts, we wanted to create a custom graphic that would encourage athletes to dream big. With the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii as the event that gets active individuals interested in competitive sports and motivates athletes to never stop giving up on dreams, a Hawaiian flower with a tribal look was the perfect graphic for our jersey. 

 

For myself, I know what I want in training/racing gear so we choose a quality company who makes clothing in the USA. Canari. As a firm believer in communication w/ my athletes and fitness enthusiasts, we were really pleased with the great communication with Canari in helping us pick the right "look" and colors of our jersey. Karel was really involved in every step of designing our jersey and bottoms and it was his creative mind that allowed this dream to come true.

About the kit

We choose cycling shorts w/ a triathlon (thin) chamois that provides just enough compression to keep you comfortable while training and racing. A carbon look on the paneling of the shorts and sides of the jersey will not only make the jersey stand-out among your competition but will make you feel fast. There are pockets on the back of the jersey to hold your nutrition during training/racing and the front of the jersey has a zipper for easy, quick cooling as you are racing.

I realize that many people enjoy different products and this is a difficult part in applying for "sponsorships". I love being an ambassador for brands that I use and love and as you know, if I like something you will see me using it all the time.  Understanding that we should all endorse and support companies (and especially small businesses) that provide quality products to enhance our lifestyle, I decided I would not put any logo's on the jersey so that no matter who purchases the jersey, you can still be a loyal customer of your favorite brands.

Incredibly thankful to all the Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition fans/followers out there, it is on Small Business Saturday that I can't thank you all enough for inspiring me as I try to inspire, motivate and educate others to live a more balanced and healthful lifestyle.

So, without hesitation...for the first time ever.......

Coming soon for 2013.....

The Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Custom Triathlon or Running Kit

 

 

 

How to place a pre-order:

If you or a friend are interested in either the pink or black kit (or single items), send me an email Trimarnicoaching@gmail.com with your color preferences and if you'd like the full kit or single items.

Pricing depends on pre-orders so the more pre-orders we receive, the more the price will drop. Canari provides quality gear at an affordable price but you are not locked-in if you send me an email and then decide to not order the clothing after you are given the quote on prices.

The clothing itself is not different for the different colors and the pink and black kits are not exclusive to women and men, respectively. Understanding that there are guys who like pink and women who like black, I wanted to give everyone two different options based on your style. I'm a firm believer that if you look good on race day in your outfit, then you will race fast. :)

Pre-orders will stay open until December 7th (allow 6-8 weeks for production/shipping) so if you are interested, I look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to pass the clothing pre-order invite along to your active friends and training buddies. The clothing is not  limited to Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition athletes but instead, to any person who desires a balanced, healthy and active lifestyle and chooses to dream big.

Thank you for your support!

-Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC
-Marni and Karel