HELP!!! Getting married and overweight! Need to Lose 45 lbs before July 4th!

[DarthRosie23]

I'm recently engaged, getting married in July, and am so conscious about my body. I want to be able to enjoy my honeymoon and wedding without feeling self conscience about my body and health. I need drastic help! I haven't pursued anything of this nature but am so desperate I am going to try.

[darkangel28]

By all means change your diet and eat healthily in order to lose weight before the big day but I wouldn't recommend any extreme dieting etc.

You will look amazing on your wedding day whether you lose all 45lb or not. It is one of the best days of your life and don't forget your partner is marrying you because they love you.

My advice, slow, steady weight loss is the way to go (you will be more likely to keep it off). However remember that your wedding dress/suit will need to fit so don't buy it too far in advance and make sure you have a few fittings closer to the day.

Well done for taking the first steps towards weight loss and good luck!

[GoogleMe]

Congratulations! How exciting.

Yup, get a really nice flattering dress with good supportive underwear - probably not one of those 'just got out of the shower with a towel wrapped round me' jobs.

It is technically just about do-able to lose that sort of weight in a sensible healthy steady way by then (is that how much you need to lose to get into the healthy BMI range?). However my feeling is it takes the kind of focus that you'll need to be devoting to wedding preparations (would be happy to be proved wrong - I'm aiming to lose half that in the same period of time). I am sure though that it is worth doing something with your wedding in mind, as well as to give yourself the best chance of being around and healthy for your partner long term (more sustainable reason for weight loss) - building some exercise into your life is a great stressbuster anyway and will tone you up, and there may be adjustments you can make that will save you money too. We all have different reasons for being overweight. The NHS 12 week plan could be a good fit to get you on your way.

[Booster8joanna]

Hi there

First of all remember your finance loves you for yourself and the way your are at the moment,the trouble is you don't so it's definitely time for you to make a change,6 years ago I was nearly four stone heavier than I am now,my self esteem was very low and I was very unhappy and avoided mirrors,I just made a conscious effort to do something about it,this forum is amazing!,you will get so much support and advice and it will really help you get on track,do it for health reasons rather than for vanity and do it sensibly otherwise you will fail as your body will just crave food all the time,I started this plan 8 weeks ago and so far I have lost 1 stone 4 pounds and I have found it a lot easier than going to any slimming club and best of all it's free,we have a weekly weigh in on here which also helps,I've had one week where I gained weight but I just got straight back on the plan rather than blowing it,try Hartleys sugar free jelly to help with hunger pangs,it's been a wonder for me and really helped,also option sachets at nighttime if you have a sweet tooth,a little exercise to start off with everyday until you get your fitness levels up,put on your headphones and go for a power walk,you'll feel good afterwards,hope all goes well for you and if you stick to this plan you will walk down the aisle feeling amazing no matter how much or little you lose,if you need a buddy on here I'm always available,we all help each other,good luck! Xx

[Hidden]

Hi DarthRosie23,

STOP! Don't rush into a fast weight loss regime for one event, not even your own wedding. Get yourself some good and free advice from the NHS live well lose weight web pages and start changing your eating habits now. You're looking at about 1 to 2 lbs a week weight loss on average for a healthy and safe weight loss regime. So, you may not get down quite as much as you wish.

Plus the stress of the impending wedding could impact upon hormones that might slow down your fat burning and not slow down your fat storage enough as much as it might do at another time. Most people's weight loss regimes have some blips and spurts for one reason or another.

But just remember, you're almost certainly overweight because you're eating too much and/or too much of the wrong stuff. And being overweight is how your body adapts to that situation. Reduce the food intake, in particular the number of calories - not the overall quality of nutrition - and up the exercise / activity and your body usually goes and adapts to that by shedding your excess weight. But human bodies take (and need) a bit of time to adjust to such changes, so don't try to hurry it too much.

Of course, as always, if you have any underlying medical conditions, do check out with your GP or practice nurse how your weight loss regime might impact upon that, or indeed vice versa.

But whether you make the ambitious weight loss target or not, surely it's a good time to make some eating habit and exercise/activity habit changes for the better?

In the final analysis, your body fat is effectively an organ that secretes hormones and other chemicals and thereby has a complex impact upon your body. So, dealing with your excess fat can have a serious impact on your health risks. So starting your married life by aiming for a healthier, slimmer you sounds a pretty sensible idea.

If you don't quite get to your goal on time, don't worry too much, but keep up the weight loss efforts and, more importantly, the changes in your habits that will ensure you stay at a safer, healthier, lighter and slimmer body weight.

Good luck with it and congratulations.

[Shaznay999]

You've got plenty of time between now and then to lose some weight sensibly. I've just started a regime of moving more and eating less, and I am seeing rewards. Might not be losing big amounts on the scales, but people are starting to comment that I have lost weight as I am toning up. I walk (on average) 3 miles each morning with my dogs, and have joined Curves (ladies only) - 30 minutes from walking in the door and my circuit is over and done with! Plus, I'm drinking lots of water to keep myself full and hydrated and it's doing wonders for my skin. Best of luck and enjoy your special day. X

[asics]

Once you have followed lots of the advice below and found a healthy plan to lose the weight, I wanted to add something about the motivation.

I lost weight for my wedding and kept the weight off for almost 7 years. I did it sensibly and actually with Weight Watchers at that point. My motivation throughout was simple. The Wedding Photos. I felt that was one day we would never (hopefully!) do again, nor would we do the honeymoon again. Of course my partner loved me as I was, of course we would still have a great day BUT I had always hated photos of myself. Every holiday snap etc I would loath, looking at my double chin, wobbly tum and arms etc. I hated photos other people took as I had no control over them (I couldn't lock them away!) So I kept thinking literally, 'Think of the photos'. I wanted this to be one set of photos that I didn't want to hide, that I didn't mind who saw them or who took what photos. Whenever i was tempted to go off my plan I simply thought 'Think of the photos'.

I am so glad that I invested that effort in me and achieved my goal. I love every photo! Vain? Definitely! Shallow? Of course. However I also got to a healthy weight and improved my health and blood pressure as a result and motivation was key!

If you followed the NHS plan until the beginning of July and lost a healthy average of 1lb to 2lbs per week you could lose 17lbs. - 34lbs by July.

But whatever plan you follow, you will need to stick at it. Think photos!

Good luck! Will be thinking of you on your journey.

[Blanket]

Hi. I'm getting married too, at the end of June. My motivation is wedding related, although not quite as directly as yours perhaps. I see my weight gain as related to some really difficult years in my life and I see my marriage as a brand new start to some of that stuff. I therefore want to get back to the body I had before (which I thought was fat but wasn't!) so I feel like I'm starting a fresh in the married chapter of my life. I've no idea if I'll reach my goal and rightly or wrongly I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to get there as I know that come skinniness or obesity I will be marrying the guy that I absolutely adore and who adores me. OK, attractive wedding photos would be lovely but I know that my weight loss goal and my wedding are a little separate and that means I can enjoy the journey of both without any pitfalls in one affecting the progress of the other.

Congratulations on your recent engagement. I hope you find a plan that works for you and you are happy with your weight/self on your wedding day - your groom will be ;o)

I found MyFitnessPal has been really helpful as t helps you realise what you're eating and that exercise can be helpful to the amount of calories you can consume. I've realised it's REALLY easy to overeat (for the calorie intake I need to stick to to lose weight) but going for a jog or a walk can 'buy' you back a few calories so it feels really motivating to get moving. In a few weeks I have lost half a inch off my thighs and about an inch off my hips - this is all down to doing the couch to 5k (c25K) NHS plan. This has been my exercise and I have found it fun and challenging which has kept my interest more than just an unplanned walk would do. Maybe try some other small goals like the C25K to help keep you motivated along the way?

Good luck with it all and please post again, everyone on here is really supportive!

[behappynow]

Thats great to hear your getting married...I would lose weight slow and steady...take it easy...have a good week..