The Weight Just Melted Away
March 19th, 2008 @ 11:48 am by Mrs. Jasmine
One lazy Sunday afternoon, I sat in a cafe in Lincoln Park with a few recently married girlfriends. The topic of conversation turned to wedding stress and they all agreed that the few months prior to the wedding were ridiculously stressful. So stressful, in fact, that they could barely eat. All three women concluded that the overwhelming stress + loss of appetite made them very skinny on their wedding day and that I could expect the same. I smiled sweetly, but I knew better.
I’m not one of those people who can’t eat when I’m stressed out. If anything, I eat more! Guest list spiraling out of control: bring on the Sweet Mandy B red velvet cupcakes. Groom still hasn’t booked our officiant (yes, you Mr. Jasmine): take out from Star of Siam. Stressful day at work: I deserve happy hour sliders from Midtown Kitchen. What can I say — homegirl loves to eat.
I’m trying to keep it under control so I’m not a bloated whale in a lengha on my wedding day (and bikini on my honeymoon). But I have to admit that I’m envious of those women who see the pounds magically melt away.
Do you eat more or less when you’re stressed out? Has wedding planning increased or decreased your appetite?
flickr photo of heavenly sweet mandy b deliciousness
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39 Responses to “The Weight Just Melted Away”
The only time I see pounds “magically” melt away is when I’m sick! Other than that, I never have a loss of appetite either!
Oh, I am so with you, Miss Jasmine! I’m totally a stress eater, and wedding anxiety has had me “treating myself” lately too - not a good combination with the fact that I have less and less time to spend at the gym. But I’ve heard the same stories - the owner of the bridal salon where I bought my dress said she’s seen so many brides slim down from anxiety in the final 4-6 weeks so they always schedule a final fitting really close to the big day - and while I still hold out a tiny bit of hope that that might happen to me, like you, I know better. At 5+ weeks out, I’m just trying to get to the gym as much as I can, maintain some sense of balance in my eating habits, and love myself the way I am. 
I’m glad I’m not the only one! The only way I’ve been losing weight is exercising like crazy and watching portions like a hawk. Food makes me feel better when I’m stressed out. Not eating makes me stressed out. Oh well… more gym time for me!
Haha yeah the one thing I really learned about myself during the wedding planning process is that I am a stress eater. Luckily I was so busy that I didn’t always get to eat every time I wanted to so I didn’t gain that much, but I was most definitely not LOSING weight in the months/weeks leading up to the wedding…
yes people tell me I will lose 5 lbs the week before my wedding - yeah right!
Stress= Food! When I am stressed, unhappy, bored or even sick I eat. I have alwasy subscribed to the feed a cold only starve if you can’t keep anything down motto. A little stress and 5 pounds comes my way. I wish I was a stress starver. One of my girlfriends is that way. Totally unfare. I would be underweight instead of overweight if that was true.
I’m an eater too, Miss Jasmine! And cupcakes are my Achilles Heel. Particularly red velvets. I’ve been trying to go to the gym every night to prevent any damage from my cupcake binges… hopefully it’ll help!
well, my appetite doesn’t change much when i’m stressed. only when i sick but that’s when i force myself to eat anyway so i stay pretty even throughout.
eat!! Oh I definitely eat…there’s nothing that a black milk tea with tapioca pearls and coconut jelly can’t cure!
I had to put down the caramel hershey kisses to type. I definitely have been eating more. It takes the sting away from the endless list of things that need to be done.
When I’m stressed, I do eat less. But when I’m busy, I eat more/worse — no time to cook, etc. So what this means for the weeks leading up to my wedding? Who knows — I imagine I’ll be both stressed and pressed for time! But I will certainly make time for Sweet Mandy B’s cupcakes.
More… way more!!
LOVE Star of Siam!
This is a very funny concept to me. Personally, I’m four months away from my own wedding and balancing the wedding act along with a newly purchased home and friends moving across the country. I’m finding that while I DO eat less due to stress - I eat MORE bad things. For example - skipping dinner for a cookie or six, skipping breakfast for those brownies my friend shipped as a housewarming gift.
Either way, it’s a slippery slope and I too love some food!
While at the rehearsal at a friends wedding last year, i was shocked at how skinny the bride was. She said all the stress caused her to lose weight the last month before the wedding. “It will happen to you too.” She doesn’t know me well. I eat MORE when stressed out. I’m not one of those non eaters when stressed. I envy those people but being stressed makes me think of chocolate and In N Out. Well, any day of the week makes me think of those things. No way I can count on wedding stress to help me lose weight before the wedding.
I usually can’t eat when I’m stressed. But apparently, I’m not stressed enough yet.
TOTALLY eat more.
i am eating RIGHT now…my fingers leaving white cheddar dust on my keys….
since being engaged i have gained 5 lbs. major stress! i have no idea how on earth i am going to lose weight if the stress doesn’t quit soon!
All I have to say is that I wasn’t “dieting” the 3 weeks before my wedding and after alterations were complete because the dress fit like a glove and I wanted to keep it that way. But it must of been the stress, or traveling cross country to get to the wedding, or dealing with family but the dress was LOOSE on my wedding day–the one time I was mad about losing weight.
Hahaha Jasmine, I’m totally the same! The first time I ate Mr. Hum’s mom, I put away a ridiculous amount of food because I was so nervous!
With me, it’s salty things - french fries, potato chips, pickles - so I have put Mr. Hum and my wedding party on notice to keep me away from them before the wedding so I don’t bloat right out of my dress. 
It’s relieving to hear I’m not the only one who eats MORE when stressed. I’m disgusted thinking about the amount of ice cream it will take for me to get through this wedding!
I love to eat, the stress didn’t make me loose any weight before my wedding. In fact the day of the wedding, i was eating while getting my hair and makeup done and my artist commented on the fact that i was eating and she was surprised since most brides she knew were too nervous to eat.
i love food too much…. its just a good thing i didn’t gain any weight.
I eat less when I’m stressed. I kept loosing weight every time I went for a dress fitting and it had to be taken in a ton.
In the first 2 months after the wedding was over, I gained 13 pounds back! I want to go back to being stressed out 
I am usually a stress eater and I was until three days before the wedding and I squeeeezed into my dress. For some reason I couldn’t eat at all until 30 minutes before the ceremony when all of the sudden I was REALLY hungry. My sister had to run and get me some rolls, which I nibbled on while I waited for the ceremony to start.
I always, always lost weight when I was stressed except for one time in my life–before my wedding! Suddenly, I couldn’t stop eating! I thought it was so cruel that I would pack on the weight the one time I didn’t want any extra!
I’m an eater too. If i’m sick, i’ll eat. If it’s been a few hours, I’ll just randomly get up and find something to eat.
yeep. so if i’m stressed, i sure as hell am NOT going to miss a meal because at least for a few minutes, i can forget that the sashes are the wrong color or so and so aren’t showing up.
Girlfriend… when are we meeting at Sweet Mandy B’s?? Their red velvets are my faaaaavooorrriiiiittteeee!!
And no, I did not lose any weight from pre-wedding stress. Cuz I wasn’t stressed. Well, I was SLIGHTLY stressed cuz my dress didn’t fit and I had 1 month to go. But I still kept eating. Thats why I had to go on the South Beach diet… heheh.
ME TOO! ME TOO! I LOVE SWEET MANDY B’s! end all caps. oh my goodness, that frosting… I can’t even drive down Webster without craving that frosting.
I go either way. If I am stressed and running around, I forget to eat other than the occasional protein bar. If I am home studying or working on things, I eat like crazy.
I have always, always, always been a stress=food kind of gal. But when I was dealing with the potential loss of my job the week before the wedding…I did actually lose lbs. Go figure.
Still, not the way I would recommend losing a few extra lbs
Miss Jasmine,
I am stressing about one of the same things you are. It made me feel a bit better to read that I am not the only bride with a groom who has not booked an officiant yet! Our wedding is in september, and I am stressing out like nobody’s business. How can we have a wedding without someone to marry us?
I am a TOTAL stress overeater! Grrrr! In fact, I preemptively joined Weight Watchers to learn how to manage my stress eating (and to lose the 8 lbs I gained in the last year while I worked/got my grad degree.
For me, it’s not only stress that can derail a diet before the wedding, but what about all the pre-wedding festivities? I’m three months out and the shower(s), bachelorette parties, etc are starting and I feel like I’ll be eating and drinking every weekend, whether I feel like it or not. How on earth can any one lose weight the month before their wedding with all the parties going on?
I eat so much when I’m stressed. Actually, I was so stressed out today that I came home to bake super rich chocolate cookies….nothing like chocolate and weddingbee to de-stress.
This is really not a great habit
I eat more when I’m stressed too. I don’t think I’ll lose any weight in this wedding planning process. When I don’t eat you know something’s wrong! That’s usually when I’m sick.
I eat when I’m stressed, also. I tend to be my skinniest when I’m happiest. Food is an emotional crutch; when I’m really happy with life, I have no problem skipping the sweets.
I lost weight before the wedding because I was so excited and having so much fun finishing all the details. It had never been easier for me to motivate myself to exercise every day and watch the goodies. I was so skinny when I got back from the honeymoon, even though I definitely indulged. I think stress hormones make the fat stick to me, ha… so happiness is what actually makes it ‘melt away’.
Sadly I gained 10 pounds in the months since the wedding, after getting back to tons of grad school stress… but, I just wanted to mention this because it is possible to lose weight before your wedding even if you are a stress eater
LOL The only time I ever rapidly lost weight was right after oral surgery, when I couldn’t fit a spoon in my mouth or chew anything firmer than yogurt. When I took my qualifying exams for grad school, I scheduled myself an hour of gym time every day just to offset the fact that I was eating everything that couldn’t run away.
Yeah - stress-related eating is the family trait for women in my family, and I’m no exception - PLUS, when I wasn’t stressed, people wanted to celebrate! Showers, extra family get-togethers, a cluster of “let’s hang out and eat/drink/eat some more one last time while you’re still single” days… it added up. When I got back from the honeymoon (um. more eating) I was the heaviest I’d ever been.
I was also happy, and I frankly didn’t care that much (which was a first for me)… and I’ve lost most of it now.
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LA
Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Attorney
Engagement Date: March 24, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 20, 2007
Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los Angeles
About Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
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People always tell me I’m gonna lose weight from the stress. I look up from my giant burrito and go…”What?”