About three years ago I invested in a classic French Connection little black dress. About one year ago I made the decision to keep said dress in the already overly-filled wardrobe even though no amount of industrial strength stomach-sucking-in pants would have made it fit. I’d put on an incredible amount of ‘comfort zone’ weight (two stone of it to be precise) since meeting the boyfriend.

Over the years I have actually kept or purchased a number of these ‘motivational’ items just because I knew I wanted things to change. A pair of Levi skinny jeans, a lovely silk red Jasper Conran shirt dress, and a stunning tartan Dolce and Gabbana jacket (a charity shop purchase and bought prior to the Elton John boycott debacle)  make up just a few of the ‘It’ll fit me one day’ collection timeless classics.

Over the past couple of weeks, weight loss has been particularly slow. I’ve continued with my 2 fasting days a week but I’ve plateaued, I’ve gained a couple pounds, lost one or two, then gained again. At this point, self-motivation got a little tough until I re-discovered the skinny dress. Going out to dinner with my best friend wearing my little black dress was the best feeling I’d had all week. Of course, cocktails were necessary to mark the momentous occasion (oh and we found a cat in the pub. Hence the picture).

This along with a number of comments from people have renewed my confidence and made me realise it’s better to focus on the little everyday triumphs than obsessing with the number on the scales.

So, fellow 5:2ers, if you don’t have any motivational items of clothing in your wardrobe, I’d highly recommend investing in something in your target dress size. I’m looking forward to throwing out a pile of frumpy clothes that don’t suit or fit me anymore and investing in a few new outfits once I’ve reached my target weight. I’m not quite at the ideal just yet, but these little wardrobe-related milestones make all the hard work worthwhile, and keep my moving forward.