Weight Loss before the big day.....advice please!

[DisneyDmbNut]

Thanks!!
i am not a meeting person..I am sure some people do better with people to talk to

The last picture is one of my favorites..we were talking about what other photo shots we wanted

 

[caryndisneydiva]

i think that no matter if you want to lose weight or not, working out before your wedding is almost a must, especially if you're wearing a heavy dress. i didn't and i suffered and it has changed my life forever. i should have taken pictures of the bruises on my torso after i took off my torture gown...

i decided after my wedding that i never wanted to feel that way again and so i set my goals on the wdw 1/2 marathon in jan. i've now amended my goal and will do both the wdw 1/2 in jan and the houston full marathon a week later (i'm crazy). i love running and i cross train with yoga and pilates, which are both super great. especially yoga, i recommend it for taking away wedding planning stress. i should have started this regime of mine a year ago...oh well!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i agree..I did a lot of miles on the treadmill and arm work because I wanted to shape my arms better

 

[mickeymom923]

Hi Betsy. You looked beautiful. I was thinking about where to, how to etc etc diet. I used to go to LA weight Loss but they went out of business. I had major female type surgery in June and my stomach is still very sore. My wedding is 5/22/09 on the Wonder. Originally I wanted the secret deck 7 like you had but I have over 20 people coming so it'll be in Cadillac Lounge. Did you find ww hard? They say people that go to the meeting lose 3x the weight as those who do it online. The past few days I've been on an emotional roller coaster and do not know if it's stress or hormones but no matter what, I need to motivate myself to lose weight and get in shape. I noticed on ww that they have the flex and core program. I don't know what the difference is.

Thanks for sharing your story. It's very encouraging.

Bev

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

To the OP, I could have written EXACTLY what you said. I feel the same way, and its sad because EVERYONE should feel like a BEAUTIFUL BRIDE. The thing I've begun realizing is that some women can feel like a beautiful bride at a size 32 and some women won't feel beautiful at a size 6. Some of it is just in our minds, as well.

I am hoping for a Nov. 09 Disney wedding, but I have been putting off dress shopping until I get to a "certain" weight. I am currently down about 34 lbs. but it has taken since February- SLOW. I exercise twice a week, watch portion sizes and try to cut down on carbs after 4 pm. I am FAR from perfect- I probably cheat once a week, I want to get more serious and I am trying to do so.

I hope you realize you're not alone and that you feel better. Feel free to PM!

Betsy, you look gorgeous. A size 12 is my goal and I am at a 16 now (was an 18, a tight 18, even) so your pictures are inspirational to me.

 

[Kate and Pete]

Thanks everyone for your support! I went to a weight watchers meeting today !

I also joined sparkpeople to start logging calories. Im still trying to figure out if there is a way there to log points, i might just do it under daily journal.

So Im off....... and I think when I hit my 10% I will reevaluate the whole stuffinh myself into a dress thing.....

I was going to suggest SparkPeople - I just found them two days ago! (I'm MEIslandGirl over there, btw!).

If you want a lifestyle change (to keep the weight off) "RUN" to Amazon and order Tosca Reno's Clean Eating books. They're amazing!! I did WW for a few years - I've done points and core. With points I lost 40 llbs. I gained almost ALL of it back the minute I stopped counting points. That's not a way to live! (Plus I figured out how to stay within my points, yet live off of WW cakes and Pringles....gross.)

Clean eating is all about cutting out processed foods - it's easy and you feel so great! Bill Plillips' Body for Life books are also great! You'll find a team for clean eating on SparkPeople if you want to lurk there for a while!

Good luck!!!

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

I'm going through the same thing... I refuse to try on wedding dresses until I lose my weight... I lost about 30-35 pounds about 4 years ago and managed to mostly keep it off until recently... I managed to gain about 15-20 pounds just in the last 4 months and am now back up to my highest weight... my wedding is 9/20/09 (Disney Wonder)... Fiancee' and I started Medifast about 2 1/2 weeks ago... I have lost over 6 pounds so far... about 25-30 more to go and then I can try on wedding dresses... I thought Medifast would be really difficult and I'm surprised at how EASY it really is... and it seems to be working!!

 

[Goldeelox9]

My DF and I joined Weight watchers in April and I have lost 40 pound and he has lost 50! It has taught us how to eat so much better. We are leaving tomorrow for our DCL wedding and I am happy to say we each have a suitcase (or FIVE) filled with clothes 2 sizes smaller then we started with! We have slacked off in the past month running around getting wedding stuff done, BUT once we are home from the cruise and our honeymoon we are going back hard core! We weigh in at the meetings, but don't stay, our instructor is horrible! We want to find a new meeting location after the wedding!

 

[Angela0917]

Weight Watchers is definately the way to go! You can still pretty much eat whatever you want, but in moderation. It's the easiest diet to stick to, the hardest part is keeping track of all your points!

Good Luck!

 

[Birdrav]

ZUMBA !!!!

I have lost 30 pounds since May doing Zumba at my local gym. Its $5 a class and it is the most fun you can have while exercising.

I quit smoking March 07, and gained 48 pounds, Now that I am getting married on the Wonder Nov 09 I want to get that weight off and I am half way there!!

Seriously, Find a Zumba class near you.. It is sooo much fun.

 

[Nicola2010]

WW online is great.

I joined in Aug 2007 after getting engaged and feeling exactly the same way as you did... i was at my heaviest and i was a bridesmaid for my sister in 2006 and i cried at the fittings *** i looked awful (and i was lighter then) so i knew if i didnt do something i would feel miserable when it came to wedding dress fittings and there is no way i want to feel anything less than gorgeous!

So i joined online (i like meetings but online is cheaper) it points my food up for me, offers me recipes, allows me to make good decisions.

So far in just over a year i am approaching the 2 stone lost mark (23lbs so far)... i know it doesnt sound like a lot for the time ive been doing it but i am not getting married until 2010 and i wanted to give myself plenty of time to do it rather than leaving it to the last minute and finding that i wasnt losing weight and then i would have given myself no choice but to be that crying bride in the fitting room.

I am trying to do more exercise... that is my goal at the moment however i have also maintained my new weight each time so i feel that as my body is adapting slowly i am more likely to keep the weight off... i have dropped a dress size and am hoping to drop 2 more sizes within the next 18 months.

Unfortunately there is no magic wand for weight loss... you have to apply yourself to it and you do have to reduce the nice things that everyone loves to eat but if you really want it you will do it!

Good luck!

 

[angelegod]

I told my DF that I wanted to lose weight before I tried on dresses he thinks I am crazy I am 5 feet and 115 pounds

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I gained almost ALL of it back the minute I stopped counting points. That's not a way to live! (Plus I figured out how to stay within my points, yet live off of WW cakes and Pringles....gross.)

i don't totally agree with this. I have been off points since about May..I stopped logging in to weight watchers and counting every day but WW retrained my brain. I now know what portions to eat. I have lost about 5 or 6lbs since July.
Now..I know when I was on WW, there were people on their boards that would skirt the system. They would eat all their flex points every week. I tried to only use those if we went to dinner. I cut out a lot of bread and sweets when I was in my big push to lose. Now that I am in maintenence, I know I can have just alittle bit of sugar or bread, but I try to avoid too much because once I start, I can't stop.

 

[Nicola2010]

I just wanted to say that everyone is different but WW would never advocate you living off of cakes and pringles... actually if you cut out processed food whilst on WW and used the "clean living" approach i am sure that you would stay within your points total.

I dont think it's fair to blame WW solely for you gaining after stopping their plan as like all of us when we are not physically aware of what we are eating, (or keeping track) we tend to eat things that arent good for us or more of a portion that we should be eating. We all do this if we like food and arent naturally skinny... if we stop monitoring (and caring) we gain weight no matter what plan anyone was following.

 

[Kate and Pete]

I just wanted to say that everyone is different but WW would never advocate you living off of cakes and pringles... actually if you cut out processed food whilst on WW and used the "clean living" approach i am sure that you would stay within your points total.

I dont think it's fair to blame WW solely for you gaining after stopping their plan as like all of us when we are not physically aware of what we are eating, (or keeping track) we tend to eat things that arent good for us or more of a portion that we should be eating. We all do this if we like food and arent naturally skinny... if we stop monitoring (and caring) we gain weight no matter what plan anyone was following.

I'm not blaming WW, just stating that as soon as I stopped counting, the weight came back. And for me, I just don't think counting points forever will work. The OP asked for tips, and just like others, I shared what did and didn't work FOR ME!

 

[Belle913]

I just wanted to say that the only safe way to lose any amount of weight is to just burn more calories than you take in each week, there is a website that i use that is totally free! It is called http://sparkpeople.com/ it will even walk you through step by step of how many calories you burn each week and in turn tell you how to figure out the amount of calories you need to intake. Also it will make a meal plan for you if you don't want to figure out how many calories are in each food you eat. Hope it helps! Just let me know if you have any questions!

 

[rumrunnergirl]

I tell ya, when I turned 35 my metabolism died. Then when I was near 40 I had two kids and that did it for my body.

I had been to the gym in 2006 and counting calories with no success. Going to the gym 3x per week and killing myself and nothing to show for it.

I finally found what worked for me - Atkins. Last year I weighed about 212. In January 2008 I was down to 188. By May I was down to 155, so I definitely don't want to gain any weight back! I would like to lose another 10 pounds before my wedding in May 2009.

Lots of people have great success with WW, and Atkins works for me. I quit the gym and got a treadmill off FreeCycle (and after a week at WDW last week on the DDP, I *need* it!)

What I do: keep carbs low, treadmill for 1 hour 3x per week, then 200 crunches, then arm exercises while online - I do not want bat-wings if I can help it, LOL. For the treadmill, I use the incline - 8% or so - and try to do a really fast walk - I get up to 3.9 mph and keep it there as long as possible for the hour. After that I do my crunches, then shower, then do the arm exercises.

Cutting carbs is really not that hard. I love bread, pasta, rice, etc., and thought I couldn't do it, but once the weight started coming off it was really easy to stick with it. I went from a 14/16 to a 10. Yay!