40lbs loss in time for my wedding in April

You will have fittings up until a week or so before your wedding. If you are consistently losing weight leading up to the shopping trip in December, then you can order it in a size smaller and know that it should fit when it comes in 2 months later. Then at that point you'll have 2-3 fittings at least so you can keep on losing. I had my dress taken in several times.

You should recommit to the gym. Start off slow - if you can muster cardio do cardio for 30 minutes every other day. Add in weights so you can have awesome looking arms in your pictures - three sets of biceps and triceps. Don't forget squats either!

I found that buying a food scale for portion sizes really opened my eyes. You have no idea how small 2 oz of spaghetti is until you put it on the scale (and then cry as you realize the portion that looks normal is like, three servings).

Also, in regard to dresses - some manufacturers can take up to 6 months to get your dress in. I got mine from Alfred Angelo and it took way less time than that (like only two months), but you never know - don't wait until the last minute to start looking.

Lastly, it is much easier for a seamstress to take a dress in than it is to let it out. More expensive designers leave more seam allowance than do cheaper designers, but even then there is not a lot of fabric there if it needs to be let out. Don't order one too small if you are not willing to commit to working out, dieting and making sure you reach your goal.

Don't underestimate your calorie intake! That's a huge thing. I was doing that, but thought I was eating good. I recently started eating less calories, and tracking better and the weight has started to come off.

Hi Everyone,

I'm around 5'5 and weight 182lbs. I really want to drop another 42lbs in time for my wedding in April. This means my short term goal is to lose around 25-30lbs by December in time to find an appropriate wedding dress. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me? I'm already calorie counting and have been for a while, but the weight just won't budge. I even tried hypnosis! The gym didn't help much either though I admit I didn't maintain my efforts with that. If it helps, I have a wii fit at home, ankle/wrist weights, zaggora's and some mini dumbells. Welcoming any advice

40lbs by April is doable.

If you've been calorie counting "for a while" (I'll go off of March '13) and the weight hasn't moved, you're probably off on your intake. I would advise against the wrist and ankle weights, and mini dumbells aren't going to help much either.

It sounds to me like you need to get your diet in order....calories in vs. calories out.

It would probably be helpful to make that diary public as well.

There's a lot of reasons why you haven't seen results, for one, how long have you actually been at this?

Make sure you are counting ALL of you calories accurately. Invest in a food scale if you aren't already using one, this has helped me immensely!

If I were you I'd start the 30 Day Shred, it helped me make a habit of working out because it was easy to fit into my schedule and didn't kill me. I lost about 10 pounds in the first month and a half of doing it.

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if you're counting and not losing, you're counting something wrong.

weighing your food accurately?

set an appropriate goal? Since you're looking at 40 lbs, the "2lb per week" isn't gonna fit.

It's possible but not in any kind of safe/sustainable way. With 40 lbs to lose you will not be losing 2 lbs/ week. It will be more like 1 lb / week until 20 (if your lucky) and the last 20 will be .5 / week. Unless you plan to starve yourself you should revisit your goals.

By December I'd say you will realistically drop 15 lbs (assuming you are bang on with everything) that will put you at 25 lbs to go. By which time it is not realistic to continue losing 1 lb / week. That leaves you about 20 weeks until April. Realistically I wouldn't expect to lose more than about 7 lbs. You might hit 25 lbs lost by April assuming you have no plateaus and have your calories exactly right.