Getting in Shape

Did it work?

Hi everyone, 

I've been looking over this board and am in desperate need of encouragement. I have 2 days shy of 4 weeks until my engagement pictures and 6 days shy of a year until the wedding. I want to lose 10-15 before the engagement shoot (unrealistic, yeah I know...) and another 10-15 before the wedding. I know basically everyone says they want to lose weight, but has anyone actually done it? If so, how did you keep that motivation going? I mean pizza and peanut m&ms call my name on a daily basis. Please someone tell me that they were successful.

Side note: I am on MFP and just started a 5k training program using map my run to track my progress. I also do crossfit and adhere to about a 70% paleo/primal diet.

Re: Did it work?

  • I lost about 15 pounds for my wedding.  What motivated me?  When my dress came in and I tried it on and I still had about 6 inches before my zipper reached the top.  I didn't freak but I did start busting my butt at the gym and I also cut back on my portions big time (I am an over eater by nature).  I also cut out all soda from my diet and drank a lot of water.

    As for your engagement shoot, you could possibly lose 2-4 pounds.  At this point you need to forget about the 10-15 pounds for the e-shoot because that just won't happen.  So shoot for a small goal of 3 pounds.  You will be surprised how motivated you will get when you start seeing that number go down and your clothes start becoming looser and looser.

    For your wedding, 10-15 in a year is definitely doable.  With the working out you already do dropping the weight should be, I shouldn't say easy, but not super hard.  But you need to eat well since diet is half the battle when it comes to losing weight.  I do think having a cheat day once a week is a great idea.  You shouldn't restrict yourself so much that you are miserable because then you will most likely go on a binge.  So watch your portions, drink your water, eat your veggies and don't deny yourself a slice of cake...just make sure it is only one slice not 3 :)

    Now if only I could take my own advice since I want to lose the weight I have gained since my wedding.

  • I didn't really have much weight to lose, but I also follow a mostly primal/Paleo diet. Finding good recipes helped me stick to my diet. Check out PaleOmg, Health Bent, NomNomPaleo, and Mark's Daily Apple. Also, even if you are following primal/Paleo diet, you still need to monitor your carbs because things like sweet potatoes and fruit can still add up. 

    I know some people say not to, but I also weigh myself a few times a week. I find it keeps unwanted pounds from sneaking up on me.

  • jenijoykjenijoyk member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited October 2014
    I did it. I've been the same weight (around 140-145) for about the last 10 years. I'd randomly get on some kick (going to the gym, joining a book camp, not eating carbs) but it never really worked. The most I'd lose would be like 4-5 pounds and then I'd gain it back eventually. Last October my girlfriends I signed up to go on a ridiculous theme cruise and decided we wanted to try and lose weight. I signed up for WeightWatchers and a 10k, and started running twice a week. I just kept going up and down for a couple months (lose five, gain it back) and I thought WW was THE WORST and there was no way I could survive off my points allocation. Then I don't know what happened. I figured out the WW system and instead of eating tiny bits of the stuff I really like, I started eating all the stuff that has really low WW points. Between February and now I've lost a little over 20 pounds. A few months ago I got rid of my WW account because I don't need to bother counting anymore. It sounds dumb (Do WeightWatchers! Like Middle Aged Suburban Women Everywhere!) but it really, really, worked for me.
  • jenijoykjenijoyk member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited October 2014
    Also, I didn't really do it purposefully, it just happened through going through the WW program, but the changes to my diet could pretty much be summed up as: (1) giving up hummus (sniff! but that delicious stuff has so much fat! FI and I used to go through a tub of it a week, at least, with pita chips); (2) going from eating pizza once a week to once a month or less; (3) going from eating fast food or burgers once a week to once a month or less; (4) not going to the office vending machine any more (I would go every day!!) for a bag of chips in the afternoon; (5) going from having Starbucks lattes 5 times a week to once or twice a month; and (6) eating a crap ton of grilled fish, grilled veggies, and salads at home during the week and only eating out with FI on the weekend (we used to go out to eat multiple times a week). Bonus to all this: I spend waaaaayyyyy less money on food now!
  • As for the e-shoot, 10-15 lbs is definitely a stretch. The best thing you can do is start your regimen and see what happens. I've been eating healthy, on my fitness pal, and working out for a week and a half and I've lost 3 lbs already, albeit probably mostly water weight but still! Also, drink lots of water and reduce your salt intake to reduce water retention & bloating. 

    As for the daily temptations, don't keep the stuff  that tempts you in the house. Keep healthy food easily accessible (already portioned out in baggies in the fridge) and bring 2-3 snacks with you for your day along with a big bottle of water. Also, buy something sweet (for me its outshine lime bars and individual dark chocolate squares that are low in sugar), so when you do crave something, you can indulge and won't break your entire new regimen. To be honest though, once you start eating healthy and working out, you don't crave that bad stuff as much because you don't want to ruin all your hard work.
  • I'm a firm believer that weight loss is at least 75% how much you eat (not even WHAT you eat).

    When I am "dieting" I count calories and actually measure/weigh out portions.  If I want pizza I eat pizza but I don't go over my calories for the day unless it is a cheat meal (not cheat day).  You learn pretty quickly to make smarter choices because a huge piece of cake at lunch isn't going to keep you from getting hungry at dinner time.

    I've lost 30 pounds without any exercise except an occasional walk down the street.  Excercise has a lot of health benefits, including helping to lose weight, but without counting calories it is really easy to say "I burned enough calories to have this extra dessert." when in fact you over estimated the calories burned and underestimated the amount of calories in the cake.


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  • AprilH81 said:
    I'm a firm believer that weight loss is at least 75% how much you eat (not even WHAT you eat).

    When I am "dieting" I count calories and actually measure/weigh out portions.  If I want pizza I eat pizza but I don't go over my calories for the day unless it is a cheat meal (not cheat day).  You learn pretty quickly to make smarter choices because a huge piece of cake at lunch isn't going to keep you from getting hungry at dinner time.

    I've lost 30 pounds without any exercise except an occasional walk down the street.  Excercise has a lot of health benefits, including helping to lose weight, but without counting calories it is really easy to say "I burned enough calories to have this extra dessert." when in fact you over estimated the calories burned and underestimated the amount of calories in the cake.


    So, so agree with this!
  • kat1114 said:
    I didn't really have much weight to lose, but I also follow a mostly primal/Paleo diet. Finding good recipes helped me stick to my diet. Check out PaleOmg, Health Bent, NomNomPaleo, and Mark's Daily Apple. Also, even if you are following primal/Paleo diet, you still need to monitor your carbs because things like sweet potatoes and fruit can still add up. 

    I know some people say not to, but I also weigh myself a few times a week. I find it keeps unwanted pounds from sneaking up on me.

    Those are some of my faves! NomNomPaleo has an orange chicken recipe that I made like 4x last week...  I also bought a tub of ginger snaps last night so I quit trying to eat peanut M&Ms and instead have like 4 gingersnaps with 50 cals total instead. 

    Thank you all for your advice! My thyroid doesn't work properly so I plateau really easily. It's incredibly frustrating. I was just having a bad day yesterday and trying to throw myself a pity party. I love hearing y'all's success stories! Those are really awesome! I feel much better about everything knowing that people have done it successfully. 
  • Totally agree that weight loss is about 70% of what you eat and 30% exercise.  I've always been super active, but we did a Groupon for a 12 week body transformation (it wasn't actually for the wedding, but we got married about 9 months after we finished the program).  I ended up losing just over 20lbs, which I didn't even think I had to lose.  It took about 3 months (all 12 weeks), and the workouts were easier/less than what I normally did.  I've kept my new weight consistent for almost 4 years now.  

    15lbs in a year is totally doable.  You can do it!!

  • I agree with everything PPs have said...

    I've lost 20 lbs, I plan to lose another 10-15. That being said, I have cheat days where I decide I need to just eat a pizza. A whole pizza. or Chocolate. Or wine. So I started dieting 18 months before the wedding so I could do what I want some days.

    I would just suggest realistic goals. If you tell yourself you want to lose 30 lbs, you need to go to the gym, you need to stick to your calorie limit, and you need to reevaluate the importance of junk.

    I honestly feel that to lose weight, I need to be 100% committed and the best way to get that is results. As soon as I lost my first 5lbs I thought "HEY THIS WORKS" which was enough to keep me going.


  • The biggest motivator for me has been the simple fact that my wedding day is THE day I want to look my all-time best. There is no other day I can think of for the rest of my life that I will be looked at and photographed as much as my wedding day. 

    It has also really, really helped that my FI is just as motivated, if not more. His brother was just married a few years ago and didn't really get in shape before the wedding. Now, post-wedding, he has lost about 30 pounds and looks better than ever. He is extremely regretful he didn't lose weight before his wedding, which has motivated both my FI and I to get in shape now. It's great to have a workout and diet buddy... get your FI on board with you and you guys will make a great team! Good luck!
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