Losing Weight for Weddings?

We've all gained it back, that's why we're here. You're a fitness instructor and somewhere along the way "gained it back" instead of maintaining.

Well I "purposely' gain back weight since to add muscle you have to gain weight, then I "cut up" once I achieve some. So there's a little difference. My standard weight is about 180lbs. The 165lbs is my "competition" weight where I'm about 7%-9% bodyfat. That's very hard to sustain for even a few months.

Life happens, and people fall off the wagon. I look at my wedding as a motivation...the jump-start I needed to really focus on weight loss and getting healthy, and I am determined to maintain after my wedding day. Sometimes, having a "fun" event to look forward to can help people stay motivated. I know we should all be working to be fit for our health, etc, but having something to do it FOR can be more helpful in the motivation department. Now every time I'm tempted to overeat, I think about how I want to look on my wedding day, instead of just saying "oh, well I've got time to eventually work that off."

Don't get me wrong, I can see that the wedding day is a great motivator, I just get disappointed with clients that I train for events that look amazing come that day then a few weeks or month later, they are back in the same boat from which I started them off in. Good luck.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Trust me, I would like to get back to a consistent, healthy lifestyle. I'm using this wedding as my motivation to get BACK on track and then STAY on track (hence why I would like to lose the weight and then maintain...so I'm not kicking myself again when the next wedding comes up...which would hopefully be my own someday).

I think that for all the weddings I've been about the same weight (my current). The wedding I was at my smallest was when I was training 2 days a week in intermediate MMA jiu-jitzu and then consistently working out and following a low-glycemic index diet (I'm insulin resistant). Best shape of my life. Sadly, my training center stopped running the class I was in and I just don't have the same money to sign up at another training center. I've been trying to find other ways to motivate me, because I LOVED the competitive and strength aspect of jiu-jitzu. I have my regular races coming up that I do annually (a couple 5k's, a 3-4-5 mile 3-race series). I'm also looking to sign up for theme races like the Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder which have obstacles which require strength other than just running (I'm really more built for wrestling than running, haha).

Yes, it may seem superficial to "lose weight for a wedding", but as other people have said, it's a day where a lot of photos are taken. And too many times have I looked back at wedding photos I've been in and thought, 'I wish I tried harder'. I don't want that to happen this time. That's why I'm trying to develop a healthy lifestyle months ahead by logging my calories, going to the gym, and building a community of people to support me. I can't tell you where I've slipped up along the way, but at least I'm motivated to get back on track and STAY with a healthy lifestyle. I'm hoping I won't be like one of your clients who let's themself go after the big event is over; maybe you can keep me accountable to that