Wedding in two months- HELP!!!

TavistockToad · December 2017

NicoleMckenzie2017 wrote: »

Yes- thanks for the concern guys! I already got it altered with a corset so it can be tightened up to two sizes smaller than it already is. So the dress alteration is not a problem

So aim for a more realistic rate of loss and you're good to go.

dragon_girl26 · December 2017

cmh308 wrote: »

NicoleMckenzie2017 wrote: »

Thanks all for the responses- please no need to get into arguments on this post. I appreciate everyone's input and ideas- what works for them and what doesn't. I definitely am open to any and all opinions and suggestions! and thank you @Rickster1967 .. I know we are MFP friends on here and I appreciate you.

I definitely have seen some suggestions on here that I will look into and try! Keep em coming though.

And also, to all those who say I look great and don't need to lose weight, y'all are sweet. However I know how to dress my body and I know my angles when taking a picture(; lol as sad as that may sound. Right now I am at 5 foot 8 inches and sitting at 175 pounds, which is still considered overweight for my height. I started at 190 two months ago, so I know more loss is possible. I definitely am not trying to starve or deprive my body of nutrients- but it is crunch time and I know there are techniques and ways to tone the arms or tone the tummy in better ways than I know. So thank you everyone for reading this post and feel free to keep commenting. I am open to everything! It's great to bounce ideas off of one another. That's why we're all here, right?

Those techniques are called continuing to lose body fat in a sustainable manner until the muscle is able to show. There's no "spot toning" that will help if those areas are still covered in fat.

^^this

Unfortunately, "toning" or "spot reduction " as they're often described are not really a thing. Genetics determines where and when the fat will come off. The only thing you can do is keep losing. Also, as you approach a healthy weight for your height, the weight loss slows down because your calorie deficit margin shrinks.

Set your loss rate to .5 per week, and do what you can. At the end of the day, no one is going to care what you weigh when you walk down the aisle, nor is anyone going to remember. They're going to be too busy being happy for you and admiring your beautiful dress.

Congratulations, by the way!

kimny72 · December 2017

Any woman I know who has actually been a bride in a planned wedding (with a reception and lots of guests and fanfare) have said that attempting to diet during the last month or so is an exercise in torture that no woman should put herself through. Managing to stick to a moderate exercise plan is fine as it can work as stress relief, but trying to eat at anything more than a slight deficit is asking too much. A friend successfully lost 15 lbs in the two months before her wedding, and the stress on her body (because losing weight does stress your body) combined with the stress of the approaching wedding and then the alcohol and dancing at the reception caused her to pass out before her very expensive dinner.

In general most of the people in these types of threads encouraging "going for it" to brides-to-be are usually men, or women who haven't planned a big wedding. While I haven't planned a big wedding myself, I have witnessed the stress many brides go through in that last couple of months and how it can affect their energy level and attention span for their big day. I say focus on a reasonable exercise schedule, try not to overeat (or maybe a 0.5 lb deficit), and have a wonderful wedding :drinker:

WhereIsPJSoles · December 2017

I saw a really big difference in my body in 2.5 months by introducing strength training (I did pretty much what the trainer at my gym showed me to do for an upper body day and a lower body day alternating them), limiting cardio to 30 mins per session (I think this preserves my energy for the strength training portion of my workout I didn’t do before), and following the calorie deficit MFP gave me to lose 0.5 lb/week.

DebLaBounty · December 2017

Have you joined a gym? Can you take a weight lifting class or consult with a personal trainer? Sounds like you've been very successful with weight loss. I guess at this point if it were me I'd aim to lose a pound a week. But I've never set a time deadline for my weight loss goals...

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

Thanks Deb! I have had a lot of luck with losing quickly. I do belong to a gym and usually try to go 2-3 times a week but I will definitely be upping that to 4-5 times per week.

darrenbeckworth · December 2017

Can I just say that it is not only brides that are trying to lose weight for their weddings? Mine is coming up in October and I am very focused on sliming down in the interim. I was 315lbs back in 2015 and now I am 200. I took some time off in the middle. I am hoping to be in the 165ish range by October, but we'll see.

I hope your journey continues to go well and you are happy with whatever weight you are on your big day.

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

That's awesome @darrenbeckworth you can do it! That's a great loss. It's great that you got a head start as well. Nine months is a long time to make a drastic change too- good luck to you!

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

veganbaum · December 2017

Just as a reference, I am 5'8" as well. In January 2017 I was 175. Two months later I was 168. Now I'm in the low 140s (Maybe. Weight naturally fluctuates; I was 144 for some time, a brief drop to 142, weighed 144.5 day after Christmas. I think I have decided not to weigh again until end of next week after I've been back to regular tracking for about a week). 10 months later, twenty pounds lighter. Slow going is better for preserving muscle mass and developing sustainable habits to help with maintenance.

It's not realistic to be so close to a healthy weight range and expect your weight loss to continue as it did at the beginning. Also, the closer you get to a healthy weight range, the smaller your deficit should be. One of the reasons for that is to preserve muscle mass. Your body can only burn so much fat a day, then it turns to burning muscle. As has already has been mentioned, you also can't spot reduce.

Since I assume you'd like to look as good as you realistically can on your wedding day, it doesn't seem like it would be a good idea to try to lose rapidly at the risk of losing muscle. Additionally, placing extra stress on the body can increase cortisol levels, which leads to water retention, which leads to a higher scale reading (not fat weight).

I'd suggest a goal of .5lb/week, or even maintenance and just exercise regularly to create a small deficit and deal with stress.

Ssg25 · December 2017

Yoga is awesome for toning

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

Awesome. Thanks for everyone's input. Still reading everyone's comments if anyone else wants to chime in

Orphia · December 2017

To add to the concerns about starving yourself, my main concern is wondering that with such a severe deficit, are you learning strategies for maintaining a healthy weight after the wedding?

We hear from thousands of brides trying to lose weight fast before the big day, and then we hear from thousands of women who packed on the pounds after the big day.

Notice any connection?

Learning to eat sustainably forever is the goal, not ##lbs before ## date.

spiffychick85 · December 2017

First off you look awesome and I love your style of dress...it reminds me of my own wedding dress

Secondly...Strength training has really changed the look of my body...I can't say weight because the number on the scale has gone up 2lbs(probably water) but I now see definition in my legs and arms and obliques just from strength training without changing my deficit...and I'm a weakling...like I lift 15ish lb weights so for me that has made a big difference and my clothes fit looser

Congratulations on your upcoming day!

rheddmobile · December 2017

NicoleMckenzie2017 wrote: »

Thanks all for the responses- please no need to get into arguments on this post. I appreciate everyone's input and ideas- what works for them and what doesn't. I definitely am open to any and all opinions and suggestions! and thank you @Rickster1967 .. I know we are MFP friends on here and I appreciate you.

I definitely have seen some suggestions on here that I will look into and try! Keep em coming though.

And also, to all those who say I look great and don't need to lose weight, y'all are sweet. However I know how to dress my body and I know my angles when taking a picture(; lol as sad as that may sound. Right now I am at 5 foot 8 inches and sitting at 175 pounds, which is still considered overweight for my height. I started at 190 two months ago, so I know more loss is possible. I definitely am not trying to starve or deprive my body of nutrients- but it is crunch time and I know there are techniques and ways to tone the arms or tone the tummy in better ways than I know. So thank you everyone for reading this post and feel free to keep commenting. I am open to everything! It's great to bounce ideas off of one another. That's why we're all here, right?

I'm 5'8" too and currently 159 - whatever the naysayers have to say about it, I could lose more than a pound a week when I was 175, which is your current weight, and I didn't starve myself, either. 175 is not that small - it's in the overweight category - and one percent a week, the recommended maximum loss, puts your rate at 1.5 lbs/week, which I could lose pretty comfortably at that point while eating between 1700-1900 gross calories a day and working out at least half an hour daily. Now, I did work out intensely, usually more like an hour a day, strength days alternating with running with one day rest. But it's not like I slaved away for hours. I didn't get run down, I feel great. And I'm 49, you can probably lose faster than I can. You have ten weeks, you can lose ten pounds.

My recommendation is to keep doing what you're doing since it is working for you. You can't spot reduce, but you can improve your ab muscles, which will hold your stomach in better. I love my ab roller, it greatly improved my posture and core strength. And get lots of sleep. Seriously. Sleep improves your hunger hormones and gives your body time to repair the muscles you work.

People are going to feed you things at parties in your honor. Eat them and enjoy them, and don't worry about your weight too much. Stay away from snacks when you're tired and emotional. And try to take time to be happy! You want to look great in your pictures years from now, but you also want to look at them and remember that time with fondness.

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

Thank you so much @spiffychick85 !!

We must have good taste. I will definitely try some lifting. I'm not much for lifting just because I am a cardio girl. (I use to run track faithfully in high school and actually enjoyed it) haha- so I will give some weights a try.

@rheddmobile thanks for taking the time to type all that out! That's definitely encouraging to hear a similar situation with results. I think a lot of people think that 175 is a healthy weight for someone of my height and I don't have much to lose, but it is still indeed in the overweight bmi section. I eat between 1200-1300 calories a day very comfortably without being hungry by the end of the day. I will take your advice and run with it for sure. I appreciate the feedback!

NicoleMckenzie2017 · December 2017

spzjlb · December 2017

First, congratulations on your engagement and upcoming wedding.

In 2018, I’ll celebrate with my DH our 25th wedding anniversary, so my opinion is based on personal wedding/weight loss experience and decades of observation.

Of course, your wedding day is special. But it is ONE DAY. Try not to get sucked into the hype of the “day”. Your MARRIAGE is the important thing - and this is over your entire lifetime. So, with that vision in mind, re-read the comment from @Orphia about all the brides who kill themselves for the wedding day then pack on the pounds afterwards. Think long term, well after your wedding day.

That said, having fun during your wedding planning is important. Eat at a modest deficit if that helps you to be mindful. Certainly, this approach will allow some forgiveness if you over-indulge on occasion.

In contrast, if you focus on a big (difficult) calorie deficit, I - like many others here - fear that you’ll be too hard on yourself if you slip. Importantly, a major calorie restriction might make you feel bitter, anxious or otherwise negative as your wedding approaches. Not fun for you, your groom or those close to you.

You’re already active and don’t skimp here. Being fit and in great shape will ensure that you feel confident and sexy on your big day. Don’t skip your workouts. I agree with a few others that strength training is very gratifying.

So, don’t forget that you want to look and feel your best for life - not just for one day.

Wedding in two months- HELP!!!

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