Losing weight to marry my best friend

Congratulations!!! How long until you get married? First, be realistic. If you need to drop 80 lbs it's not going to happen in two months. If you need to drop 20 lbs, you could probably have that happen in a matter of 9-12 weeks. The secret is CICO...every day, you need to burn more calories than you eat. To make that happen, I bought a digital food scale to weigh and log my food (CI), and also a Fitbit to somewhat keep track of my activity and log my calories burned (CO). The fitbit opened my eyes to exactly how very sedentary I had been, and since Christmas my activity level has risen dramatically. By making sure that I created at least a 500 calorie deficit every day, I quickly crushed those pounds, and you can too!! Don't go crazy and put yourself on some silly 1100 calorie a day diet, you'll crash and burn...instead, input your goals into MFP, and decide on a doable REASONABLE goal and time frame. It IS doable, if you're being realistic about what you want to see happen and how long you have to make it happen.

That's loads of time!! You CAN do it! How many lbs are you going to drop? (Not hope, do!)

First off, congrats on the upcoming marriage.

Early in my time in the Army I said something along the lines of "I hope to have x finished soon." My Platoon Sergeant jumped all over me. Taking out the expletives it boiled down to hope won't do anything. Create a plan, execute it, and stick to it while remaining flexible enough to adjust as needed. I've found it to be pretty applicable in a lot of situations outside my time in the service, though sometimes easier said than done.

Anyway, bringing this longer than intended reply to a point, changing how you talk about your goals changes your mindset in how you approach your goals. Saying that you *are* going to lose 60 pounds sets it in your mind that you *will* lose 60 pounds. *Hoping* leaves you in a mental frame of mind that you are at the mercy of the world at large with little control. Take control, make a plan, and get at it.

Here's just a few pointers. Hope it helps.

1) Try to stick to fresh food - stay away from processed meals/foods - fresh veggies, fresh meats

2) Weigh your food. A food scale is around $10-15 at stores like Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

3) Stay away from sugary drinks/soda - drink water (and lots of it).

4) Prepare meals for yourself separately if you have to. My boyfriend has two kids and we have a separate meal from them. They get the mac and cheese or hot dogs sometimes and on those nights we make our own turkey burgers or salads or something else on the healthier side.

5) Track all your calories. Don't go lower than 1200/day if you are looking to lose 2 lb/week (which is healthy).

6) Get moving. It can be as simple as taking walks at first - you don't have to go all out at the gym right away - many people start out by walking.

7) Don't be discouraged by fluctuations in weight - they are natural - as long as you are consuming fewer calories than what you are burning you WILL lose weight - to combat the discouragement from the scale - take measurements and track those. You'll see that although the scale is sometimes a jerk, your body is changing. Plus you'll see it in the way clothes fit too.