Wedding Blog

As the time draws closer to my trip to Thailand, my first fitting, and not to mention the actual wedding date, I realize that I need to start buffing up and losing some weight fast! My ultimate goal is to lose about 30lbs by my 1st fitting - which thankfully will not be until mid summer. However I do need to shed some pounds by the time I head off to Bangkok in April, especially because I will be taking pictures on the beach there as well as getting my Thai costumes tailored there. I’ve been procrastinating about this, but I really don’t think I can delay much longer. I’m already behind in the game. So with that in mind, I have a little over 2 months to work with until I go to Thailand.

I’ve never been very slim unlike many Asian women are. I have some curvature here and there, and I’ve been quite content with that. The smallest street size I’ve ever worn was a size 5 in my first few years of college. As it stands right now, I’m pushing between an 8-10. Which isn’t by any means huge, but I would like to go back to the size I was when I was in college. And being short, (I’m only 5′2″) I have a small frame so a little weight on me goes a looong way.

I’ve signed up for SparkPeople which is a free online dieting community, and I’ve found a wealth of information there. There are members I’ve found who are truly inspirational. WeddingBee even featured a knottie guest who raved about SparkPeople. I totally recommend signing up.

I thought I’d share some of the tips I learned from SparkPeople. Now we all know that you should limit your caloric intake, but how do you find out how much you need in the first place? That’s where finding out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) comes in. In a nutshell, BMR is the number of calories you would burn had you just stayed in bed all day - meaning little to no activity at all. But please be aware that depriving yourself of food will ultimately lower your BMR, and definitely backfire all your weight-loss attempts.

After you find out your BMR you can determine your daily calorie expenditure. From there you can figure out an appropriate calorie deficit to cause weight loss. And not only do you need to burn more calories than you intake, but it can’t be done efficiently without exercise. Be sure to consult your doctor before starting at diet/exercise program, to make sure you’ll be safe.

Sooooo, what am I doing for exercise? I have been working out 5 times a week alternating to Billy Blank’s Bootcamp with Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease. I totally recommend both.

The bootcamp really kicks your ass, and I’ve been sore for the past week. But boy does it feel great to know that you are able to do a little more than you did the last workout, and you really feel yourself getting stronger. Especially for me, someone who has no upper body strength whatsoever, being finally able to complete those 6 sets of pushups made me feel great about myself. And as silly as an aerobic striptease workout sounds, it teaches you some sexy dance moves, that perhaps you can use on your honeymoon? But even if you don’t, after you get over the silliness factor, it’ll definitely boost your confidence and make you feel sexy. And isn’t that the reason why we want to lose weight in the first place? To boost our self confidence, feel sexy, and be healthy!

So for all of you who have been procrastinating on weight loss and getting fit goals, I say there’s no better time than now to start! And this is coming from the Super Master Procrastinator who never seems to get around to finish anythi…