My Wedding Weight Loss Journey

Along with making decorations for my wedding and spending hours online finding things for my big day, I’ve been focusing on myself (another reason I have been a bit MIA).

When Fella and I got engaged last summer, I was in the middle of one of my many health/fitness kicks. You know the ones: eat nothing but salads and fresh fruits, drink water, and exercise for all of a week or two, then suddenly stop. I have been through many of these cycles, but since I had my wedding to keep me motivated, I decided I was actually going to make a change.

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I signed up for a year long membership to a gym less than 2 miles from our new home. It’s open 24 hours and has every piece of equipment you could imagine and then some. I started off going about twice a week until I figured out a routine that suited me: spend 30 minutes with weights and resistance training and end with 30 minutes of cardio. I would switch it up every once in a while if I was particularly ‘feeling’ a certain exercise over the other. It got to the point I was hitting the gym 5-6 times a week!

I’ve focused most of my strength/resistance training on my arms and upper back since those are the typical problem areas for brides on their wedding day, and I definitely see a difference. Let’s just say I no longer look like a can fly away nor do I have the makin’s of back cleavage. TMI…?

Along the way, life happened: I sprained my ankle doing the Remembrance Run for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting, then I got poison ivy really bad, then I got some sort of respiratory infection. I feel like it’s been one hurdle after another, but I’m doing what I can because I’m committed.

As for dieting, Fella and I started meal prepping our lunches for the week. We’ve been doing stuffed bell peppers with taco seasoned ground turkey, rice, corn, and topping it off with a bit of sour cream and cheese. They’re very tasty and we can whip up all 10 meals in a matter of 20 minutes over the weekend.

Along with meal prepping, I’ve been focusing our dinners more on meat and veggies. We eat a lot of salmon and crock pot-cooked chicken with different seasonings and veggies. And when we go out to dinner, I try and find something similar. Although I will never in my life give up bread, I have refrained from eating as much as I would like. Same for desserts. I have a huge sweet tooth, but I keep a bag of gourmet chocolates in the pantry for those crazy sugar cravings which has helped.

I have to say the biggest change for me since starting this journey has been my commitment to intermittent fasting. If you don’t know what it is, there’s a ton of studies on the health benefits online, but the gist: you refrain from eating for 16 hours and only eat during an 8 hour window.

I used to be a firm believer that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. It supplies your body with the energy it needs to get through the day (or at least ’till lunch), but that’s not really the case. Again, if you want more info, just Google it.

I stopped eating breakfast around the beginning of March and my weight loss noticeably spiked. Sure, the first few days were rough, but once your body gets used to it, it’s so easy! And the best part is since I don’t consume 200-300 calories (or more) during breakfast, I can eat that much more during dinner (or dessert!).

On the weekends I take a break from hardcore dieting. I eat my Saturday morning waffle (at noon), I eat french fries when we go out, and I don’t feel bad scarfing down my full English breakfast Fella makes every Sunday, but in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about the progress I’ve made and know I don’t want to undo all my hard work, which helps me enjoy my foods in moderation.

All of this to say… I’ve lost 15 lbs. since starting my wedding weight loss journey! My goal when I started was 20 lbs. and with just less than 2 months to go, I’m sure I will crush it!!