Post # 1
Member
1753 posts
Buzzing bee
- Wedding: June 2008 - Winery in the Gold Country
This question is part of our blog and boards series, The Buzz, where we poll the hive for great advice and ideas and run a selection of helpful answers on the blog. Read more about the series here, and a couple of our first The Buzz posts: Saving for your first home and Length of dating before getting engaged.
We want to know:
Lots of women feel intense external pressure to lose weight for their weddings.
What pressure did you feel to lose weight (society? family? fiance/e? personal?)
If you decided to lose weight for your wedding, did you keep it off post-wedding?
If you went on a fitness kick, or made a life-long change toward wellness spurred on by your wedding, what’s one fitness/dieting/lifestyle/health tip that you can lend to others trying to make a healthy change in their habits?
Also, if you’re so inclined, feel free to participate in the poll!
Lend your helpful tips and advice to the community, and we’ll feature answers on the blog throughout this month!
Post # 3
Member
281 posts
Helper bee
- Wedding: May 2014 - Muhlhauser Barn
I’ve been working to lose weight for my wedding next year. Down 15 pounds in 3 months, hoping to lose a lt more! Weight Watchers has been working well for me so far, although its not a quick fix by any means. I want to lose weight for the wedding, but I’m even more focused on losing weight/getting healthy so we can start trying to start a family sometime soon after the wedding!
Post # 4
Member
1753 posts
Buzzing bee
- Wedding: June 2008 - Winery in the Gold Country
@amandaleaou: congrats on the 15! HUGE accomplishment! I haven’t done Weight Watchers but honestly the only thing that has ever, and continues to work for me, is calorie counting (and WWs point system is basically a more convenient version of cal counting, from what I understand).
The hardest realization for me has been that diet/food intake is really 90% of the effort, at least for my body. I am happy to work out daily but the scale doesn’t move if I don’t keep a relatively low calorie count (based on my measurements, I have to stay around 1400 to 1500). Not too hard on the weekdays but MAN…those weekends… 🙂
Post # 5
Member
7978 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
I wanted to lose weight for myself but my mom also put quite a bit of pressure on me too. She doesn’t have much of a filter, lol.
I lost 50 lbs for the wedding and have kept it off (actually lost a few more after). It’s been almost a year now.
I started doing 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week, and eating healthier/counting calories. I think the main thing that helped me was to keep realistic goals and not to resistrict myself too much. If you can’t give up pasta for the rest of your life, then don’t do it just to diet. You’re setting yourself up to fail IMO.
Post # 6
Member
1753 posts
Buzzing bee
- Wedding: June 2008 - Winery in the Gold Country
@Westwood: When I tried on my dress, my mom said “you’ll look really good in that when you lose 30 pounds.” It was really devastating. Also not really motivating for me to lose weight at all…it had a weird adverse effect on me where I wanted to just not lose weight at all just to spite her. I’m right there with you in the “moms with no filter” camp! :/
Congrats on the 50!!! Amazing!!
Post # 7
Bee
82 posts
Worker bee
- Wedding: September 2013 - Sodo Park
@Mrs. Penguin: Ugh, what a horrible thing to say!
I’m not losing weight for the wedding – I’m losing weight because I want to. I started changing the way I eat in 2008 and now I’m down 40 lbs!
Post # 8
Member
4685 posts
Honey bee
@Westwood: I have a mom like that too. She would want me to be much thinner than I am comfortablle with being.
I was around my all time heaviest shortly after when we got engaged 2.5 years ago. Since then, I keep losing and gaining 5 or 10 lbs. I’m 10 above where I’d like to be.
Post # 9
Member
560 posts
Busy bee
I’m in the process of losing weight for my wedding. I have a lot to lose but trying to lose it slow and steady. Gladly, I’ll be taking yoga classes for strength training. I’m not a huge fan of lifting dumbells.
I do admit I feel a lot of pressure to lose the weight, especially from my mom. When I went dress shopping, all she said was “will you lose the weight on time?” or “you’ll look better if you lose the weight.” FI loves me no matter what but I want to be healthy so I can live to see our future kids grow up! I want to lose it for myself, not to make mommy dearest happy.
Post # 10
Hostess
23790 posts
Honey Beekeeper
What pressure did you feel to lose weight (society? family? fiance/e? personal?)
I think the pressure I felt was mostly just personal. DH proposed literally a week after I graduated with my doctorate degree, and I had gained (wait for it) 15 pounds in graduate school. I was feeling so gross and so un-sexy, that it was so important to me that I could get back to my pre-grad school weight for our wedding.
If you decided to lose weight for your wedding, did you keep it off post-wedding?
Oh gosh. Well, put it this way. I lost 15 pounds successfully for the wedding, and gained 7 of those pounds back on our HONEYMOON. Hello, resort eating. 
So I kept off half of it, and am now furiously trying to lose the remaining 7 pounds…two years later!
If you went on a fitness kick, or made a life-long change toward wellness spurred on by your wedding, what’s one fitness/dieting/lifestyle/health tip that you can lend to others trying to make a healthy change in their habits?
I eliminated sodas all together, and tried to only drink water, with iced tea as my crutch when I wanted something other than water. I tried to make sure I ate my dinners early, with no heavy starches for dinner. It worked pretty well for me! I also got into Wii fit and made sure I walked at least 2-3 miles a day. Nothing big, but it kept me moving!
Post # 11
Member
4664 posts
Honey bee
I felt pressure to lose a little but IDGAF about the external pressures. I’m working on a sort of radical self acceptance thing. Kind of this:
HOWEVER.
I had purchased a steel-boned corset and I was between sizes so I ordered small and figured the skinnier I am, the more comfortable that little thing will be. So I lost about 8 pounds by dropping my carbs low (below 50 per day) and then kept it off by keeping them under 100-150 per day. That’s really all you need to do… I wasn’t perfect every day but I did pretty well and compensated when I fell off and managed fine.
Now that the wedding is over, I’ll be maintaining about the same way. I like how I look and would rather stay more or less this way as long as I can.
Post # 12
Member
615 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: September 2012 - Mother of the Bride's residence
I sort of felt like I should lose weight for the wedding — I bought my dress when I was pretty light and then gained a bit between then and the wedding thanks to buying it so early. I fit into it without a problem, and I picked a flattering style, so it all worked out, luckily.
I do wish I had spent some time toning my arms rather than worrying about weight.
Post # 13
Member
22 posts
Newbee
@Bebealways: I love your post!
Post # 14
Member
103 posts
Blushing bee
I was trying to lose weight before my first dress fitting; I ended up being successful at just maintaining (I did lose 5, but I fluctauate easily). Now that I’ve had my 2nd fitting I’ve no desire to shell out cash for additional alterations and the last minute stress that might accompany said alterations! I would still like to tone up my arms, but I’m so busy *insert anything here*.
Post # 15
Hostess
3376 posts
Sugar bee
I actually lost a little bit too much weight and my corset back dress almost didn’t fit! OOPS! I don’t know how much I lost, I don’t like scales hha. I just judged by how much better my clothes fit. Honestly I just wanted to tone up and while I didn’t look like a size 2 model on my wedding day, I felt beautiful and in the end that’s all that mattered!
Post # 16
Member
220 posts
Helper bee
I put on a little weight since college, and the wedding has been a good motivation to get me eating right and being active, something I always had an excuse to not do before. I’ve lost a few pounds so far, and I feel SO strong, and I have a lot more energy than when I was eating junk and not working out. Of course, I want to look good in my dress too – it was pictures from the bridal salons that made me realize how much weight I’d gained. I insisted that the consultant order me the size smaller, because I wasn’t going to stay my current size for when the dress came in. Let’s hope that works out!
It’s also been great to do this with my FI, we try new recipes and go on runs together. He’s always been very active, but doesn’t eat well. And I can eat well, but I’m lazy about working out. So we help each other out!
My tip for other brides who are looking to make some changes: for just ONE week, be very, very strict. For me, that was counting calories every day, working out a few times (cardio + strength), eating no fast food, sweets, soda, or alcohol. At the end of 5-7 days, it doesn’t feel so hard anymore. I lose some bloat and water weight, I’m more excited about working out, and I don’t crave the bad foods. After that, you could fall into a not so strict routine, but this a good “jump start” to get things going right.
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