Wedding Weight Loss

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megdurso89
megdurso89 Posts: 4 Member
edited May 2018 in Motivation and Support
Hello all!
I'm looking to lose 45 pounds before my wedding June 22, 2019, but the majority of the weight loss needs to be from now until October when I go wedding dress shopping.

It's such a struggle to keep eating healthy with all of the wedding stress... as well as the constant pressure put on myself (don't eat that, you don't want to look fat in your wedding dress, it's only one day in your life.) I have a muscular body type (I will never be skinny), so while the weight loss is nice, I mostly want to lose inches as well.

My fiance doesn't care what I look like, just wants me to feel better about myself, but as a bride to be, I am putting so much pressure on myself. Food is a huge comfort for me (and I'm sure most people.) I've been working out consistently which helps, combination of spin classes and weights, but still want to continue losing inches and weight.

Anyone else going through this and has any suggestions on how to best deal with the stress?

Thanks!

Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    Log all of your food on MFP honestly and consistently, trying to stay within the calorie goal for you.

    Working out is amazing but I have found nothing better than tracking calories for actual loss of both pounds and inches. It's not lightning fast nor does it need to be. Honestly I found it amazing how well it worked when I just stuck to the calorie goal and consistently lost (now maintaining).

    However (and opinions will differ greatly here) unless you have at least 100 to lose, I feel like 45 lb is a pretty aggressive goal by October 2018. That is about 10 lb per month. And if you plan to continue these efforts beyond Fall and into next spring you never know how much your body and measurements will change, it could be very drastic. Even if you hit your weight loss goals by say, January, and are maintaining from Jan-June of next year, your shape could change quite a lot...maybe not a big problem for dress alterations, but I think it bears consideration.

  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    Go wedding dress shopping by yourself right now. When you see yourself in the dresses.. it may very well be all the motivation you need. That will get you focused.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    I know I posted a bunch above, but I reread your post just now and wanted to add that the great thing about this particular method (tracking food with MyFitnessPal) is that you can, if you choose to, still eat everything you ate before, just in smaller portions and/or less often.

    This might not apply directly, but I know for me I was always trying to focus on eating 100% healthy and perfectly and that wasn't sustainable for me so I would fall off the wagon pretty fast. With this way of mixing the "bad" with the good, I can keep doing it forever. It's so much easier to start getting nerdy in the numbers of your calories and macros and work out meals that hit all the targets, than to just swear off cookies for life.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
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    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    Log all of your food on MFP honestly and consistently, trying to stay within the calorie goal for you.

    Working out is amazing but I have found nothing better than tracking calories for actual loss of both pounds and inches. It's not lightning fast nor does it need to be. Honestly I found it amazing how well it worked when I just stuck to the calorie goal and consistently lost (now maintaining).

    However (and opinions will differ greatly here) unless you have at least 100 to lose, I feel like 45 lb is a pretty aggressive goal by October 2018. That is about 10 lb per month. And if you plan to continue these efforts beyond Fall and into next spring you never know how much your body and measurements will change, it could be very drastic. Even if you hit your weight loss goals by say, January, and are maintaining from Jan-June of next year, your shape could change quite a lot...maybe not a big problem for dress alterations, but I think it bears consideration.
    Agree 100% - exercise is great but don't fall into the trap of eating exercise cals, then getting into the habit of eating more even when not exercising (note to self more than anything!)
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
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    Hey there!

    I’m in the same boat with you, just maybe a little bit further along with the internal weight loss motivation debate. My wedding date is August 31st, 2019, and I’m going dress shopping probably this August. Here are some issues ad questions I have found helpful to consider:

    Like others have said, 45lbs in 4-5 months is a pretty aggressive goal, and will take a lot of stress and effort to lose and then maintain. You said it yourself, food is a comfort for you, so would you be happier with losing that weight with blood, sweat and tears, being stressed out and miserable and then spending the next 8 months stressed about not gaining any so you still fit into that dress etc. The other option, which I have decided to choose, is to go slow and steady, lose what I lose (I’m aiming for 10-15lbs during the summer) without stressing about it, enjoying good food and drinks and being engaged, and then continuing the same path all the way into married life. Seriously, my maintaining goal is, in addition to now losing weight before dress shopping and the wedding, to still fit into my wedding dress on my 5-year-anniversary, and to recognize myself in my wedding photos. Have you thought about what happens after your dress shopping and wedding?

    If you can stay sane, happy and enjoy your life during losing 45lbs before October then great, go for it, I’m super happy for you. You said it yourself, it’s only one day in your life. You also said you are putting constant pressure on yourself. Is the pressure of one day worth the stress and possibly not enjoying your engagement year and wedding planning worth it to you?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    elisa123gal wrote: »
    Go wedding dress shopping by yourself right now. When you see yourself in the dresses.. it may very well be all the motivation you need. That will get you focused.

    Second this advice, well almost.

    Go shopping, You may find that you are perfectly happy with how you look in the dress and you can go back to working on other goals.
  • megdurso89
    megdurso89 Posts: 4 Member
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    Wow, thanks all! These are all great suggestions! I should have been more clear in my original post, my goal weight loss is 25 pounds before October, and then an additional 20 in the 8 months before my wedding. Through my research, you shouldn't lose more than 20 pounds after you buy your dress, so that's my goal.
  • agduffy4
    agduffy4 Posts: 30 Member
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    Hi, Meg! How is your weight loss journey going? I hope wedding planning isn't too stressful right now! Remember to enjoy the journey :)

    I figured I would post and offer my support and see if you wanted to support/motivate each other. I recently got engaged (June 30) and will be getting married January 5th. It's a short engagement so I feel like it is all happening so fast!

    I had already started a weight loss journey before getting engaged (I have lost ~17 lbs). I started at ~182 lbs in March. The 180s is the heaviest I have ever been. I feel most confident when I weigh in the upper 140s but typically fluctuate within the 150s when I am simply enjoying a balanced, active lifestyle. My initial goal was 160 lbs by the end of the year and my ultimate goal is somewhere around 145 lbs. I didn't put a deadline to this goal weight because I wanted to make the lifestyle change, achieve results slowly, and keep the weight off for good. However, now that I have already gotten down to 163 lbs, reaching my ultimate goal by the end of the year seems more achievable so I really want to push for that!...and a wedding day makes for good motivation :).

    I already ordered my dress. The bridal consultant convinced me to order a size 12 even though I easily fit into a 10, so alterations will be required. My first alteration appointment will be sometime in November when my dress gets in, so 155 lbs by November would be ideal! That's just 3 months to lose 8 lbs, so I think I can do it! If I continue to work towards my goal of 145 lbs, I don't think an extra 5-10 lbs will drastically change my measurements to where my dress wouldn't fit come January. And then of course I will have a second, last minute alteration appointment 10 days- a week before my wedding day.

    Anyway, I hope things are going well for you and you keep us updated!
  • Diastole
    Diastole Posts: 15 Member
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    Hello, first of all: congratulations!

    I`m getting married this October (eek!) and I`m also a body type that packs on muscle. I found out after doing Insanity and ended up with massive, Olympic weight lifter sized thighs at 92lbs! My jeans were stupidly tight there but loose at the waist. After I quit the program & quit my manual labour job (which made me squat so much that it kept up my huge thighs. I`m serious, they never wobble when you smack `em) and started LIGHT exercise that only use my body weight, only now have my thighs slimmed down with a tentative thigh gap showing through (not for everyone but just illustrating the extent of the change) but I`m actually 10lbs heavier!

    So my advice would be to go easy on the heavy weights and try using body weight only routines for a few months (maybe lower calories to compensate for less muscle use) and see if that gets you where you want to be. The cardio will still help you stave off muscle loss since you`ll still be using them to move.

    Not everyone loses weight and gains muscle in the same way so try to mix up your work outs.

    Good luck!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited August 2018
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    I wanted to lose 10 lbs for my wedding last year (coming up on one year Aug 26) but I just decided I had enough to worry about. Although I know 10 lbs is a lot different from 45. You will look beautiful no matter what and your future husband loves you the way you are, which is the whole point of the wedding, so don't feel pressure to get to a certain weight.
  • emmarosewolf
    emmarosewolf Posts: 2 Member
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    Keep your head up!!! I am getting married in October my goal when I started this was to get down 80lbs by my wedding... I haven’t hit my goal but I am down 25 pounds and I am super excited about that. I had my first major fitting yesterday and was freaking out since I am not close to my goal but when my dress had to be taken in an inch on each side I was over the moon. My advice is keep going on this journey... there will be ups and downs but just know your dress can ALWAYS be taken in!!!! Set a goal for October but don’t beat yourself up if you dont hit. When my fiancé and said wow we need and want to lose weight and get healthy we made a promise that it wasn’t just for the wedding but we are making changes for our new lives!!!!! You have totally got this!!!!!

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