Wedding Blog
I have to say that one thing that I will never forget about our wedding (and weekend) was how I felt. I can honestly say, that from the inside out, I glowed. I felt it in my bones, I felt it in my skin, and by the end of the day I could feel it in my smile because it was so tired.
Unlike the ultra-fabulous Meatball, Ballet Flat, and Joey, I was a bit more covert about my plan to find my bridal glow and my flab to fab plan. I think it stems from years of feeling self conscious about my body and my weight. But I think it’s about time I shed my inner fear and let you all in on my adventure to get my glow on.
Here’s Part 1 of my Flab to Fab Plan:
Growing up I was an uber athlete. I did gymnastics for 30 hours a week until I was 16 and then my body just started to hurt. I could tell that the bending and flexing was putting a strain on my body. It took a knee injury to unearth the truth; a MRI confirmed that I had the knees of a 40 year old woman!! AT 16!!! I kept up workouts and exercising until I went to college.
My first year of college, I stopped exercising and started eating and drinking. The pounds came on and on and on.
It wasn’t until I graduated that I realized how unhealthy I’d become.
I quickly became a workout machine and lost almost 30 pounds. I even ran a half marathon. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. I had lost the weight by eating too little and working out too much.
A bad breakup and two years of grad school later, I was a heifer once again. School allowed me to justify eating a ton of food. Luckily, after graduation I moved to a city of walkers and stopped justifying the binge eating study sessions—I no longer had anything to study for!!
When I met Mr. Peeps, I had lost about 10 pounds of my grad school weight. And for the first 3 years of our relationship, I stayed at a steady 10 to 15 pounds lighter than my highest weight.
Maintaining that weight was never that easy for me. While I rarely denied myself anything to eat, I worked out a lot. I did a crazy boot camp at 6 AM for 6 months; I trained and ran another half-marathon—and hurt my knee again; I tried Bikram Yoga (the hot crazy yoga) for a while; and then I tried just going to the gym on my own.
Finally, come January, with about 6 months before the wedding I created a POA—a Plan of Action!! Each month I’d make one resolution and stick to it. Here’s the break down:
January- go to the Gym two times a week. Stop drinking during the week
February- go the Gym three times a week
March- go the gym four times a week and join Weight Watchers
April- go to the gym, keep following Weight Watchers and tone up
May- tone, tone, tone
My goal was to lose two inches in my waist, or about 10 pounds. Since I love keeping the hive in suspense, you’ll just have to see how my 5 month POA worked out.
Did you set a wedding day fitness/weight goal? How’s it coming along?
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Share this post: Finding my Bridal Glow, Part 1
I can’t wait to hear more! I’ve lost just under 10 pounds so far. It’s the exercising that I have problems with. I have NO motivation. I also have exercise induced asthma which makes things hard. I want my arms toned and not flabby come the wedding but I’ve done absolutely nothing to work on them. Sometimes I wish I had someone like a personal trainer to help me and yell at me. lol
the husband-to-be and myself are trying the 100 push up challenge. i also keep promising myself to do more yoga but it ain’t happening so far. we also embarrassingly purchased the core rhythms dvd, but it’s so cheesy that it makes it fun.
i don’t understand that picture. why is someone so skinny looking upset at the scale? jerk.
I like that your plan is realistic. I have been going overboard and therefore falling off the diet wagon.
Keep us updated and give any tips you learn along the way!
Girl, I lost weight right before the wedding, only to gain back 5 lbs. of it. I need to get back to journaling my food STAT! You can totally do this! If you need a buddy, I’m here too! 
Yeah, that girl has no need to be sad about the number on the scale lol
@lavenderpug: Maybe she’s trying to GAIN weight and sad that she hasn’t! 
(I have a friend who has trouble keeping weight on. While I try to empathize, sometimes I just want to punch her in the face when she complains that she ate A WHOLE PIZZA (or whatev.) and still didnt gain anything :D)
you story sounds a lot like mine! I was a ballet dancer and trained up to 7 times a week. Then I hurt my knee when I was 16… after that I have to admit I never found a workout regimen that lasted 
I need to get to the gym more. So far on WW I’ve lost 10 pounds in a month. The key?? Write down everything you eat! Be honest, if you have a Snickers, then you need to still document that number I think your monthly goals were a great way to go about the process and I think I’m going to do the same!
Mrs. Peep Toe, I am right there with you! It’s so hard to keep myself at the weight I am now - technically around my personal lightest, but not near what would be considered “healthy”. It is a constant struggle so I can’t wait to hear how yours turned out!
I need to get it together and make a realistic POA myself, I started working out and trying to get my weight in check in january, but things have fallen to the side, and looking back my plans and goals weren’t realistic. I can’t wait to hear more, you might just be the motivation I need!
yes, i think your story is a similar one for lots of women. i also gained a lot in college, moved to NYC for grad school, and gained a bit more (darn those delicious NY bagels and pizzas). now, with 4 months to go to the wedding, i’ve lost about 15 pounds through weight watchers and excercising. that’s great, but i’m still not happy! i want to lose at least another 15, but it seems like it’s not coming off like it was in the beginning. so i saw a nutritionist and met with a trainer and am trying somethign new now. so goodluck to you and keep us posted!!
I started out walking to try to regain my health. When I first got into it, I could barely do a mile without feeling exhausted and short of breath, but I extended the distance every week without fail, and within a couple of months I was walking 3 to 4 miles at a time. I also started trying to make healthier choices in eating: no white flour, little white sugar, as little processed food as possible. The food choices cleared up my IBS completely (bonus!) without even trying, and the weight started coming off. Fourteen months later, I had lost over 100 pounds and went from a big size 22 down to a small size 12 (I’m tall, and this is a good, natural weight for me). That was four years ago (obviously not only in prep for wedding, it was in prep for life!) and I have maintained both the daily walking and the healthier way I eat. It can be done!!
I have to say, even though Mr. cubbie & I are running a whole bunch, I’ve been eating like a pig! pork ribs last night, cinnamon rolls this morning… I’ve got to stop it. It’s just not healthy.
Even though your knees are shot, have you thought about taking up gymnastics again? I LOVED gymnastics when I was younger, and took an adult class in grad school. Maybe you can find a class in the bay area that focuses on circuit training along with tumble track tumbling?
I’m working on my POA right now. It is really difficult for me to make to the gym while I’m working and in school, but your post inspired me to try harder to make it there on the weekends
i like your p.o.a. idea. i’ll have to figure out how to work that into my schedule. baby steps.
i will say you looked adorable at the meet up how will you finish your final day of the “diet”?
WOW! That’s great! How much did you lose?
I need MOTIVATION!!!! I get lazy to go to the gym (my bf joined my gym for me, but we only go twice a week) I can’t stop eating!!! My wedding is far from now (June 2010)…Does anyone know any good trick for laziness?
I’m trying to get back into a good workout. A few years ago I went from 190 to 170 and then a few years later I went down to 130. Now I’m back to 148. UGh. I’m 5′2. The DC Metro problem aren’t helping me by lengthening me commute and FI is stressing me out which cause me to eat.
I hired a personal trainer to teach me how to lift weights once a week. Two weeks ago I joined a gym and started riding my bike more. I have a hard time getting motivated to do cardio. 3 months to go, so I might step it up with my trainer. She’s awesome
It was so great to see this post from you. You pretty much summed up my life. Except that I was a swimmer. Once I stopped swimming it all went downhill. All the crap that I had been eating finally caught up to me. And now I’m 33 and am having to learn how to eat right. It’s been a challenge but so far I have lost weight. I find the biggest motivator for me is having people tell me they can tell I’m losing weight. Yipee!
If you need motivation or a cure for laziness, adopt a dog!! Or “borrow” one from a friend that you know is too busy to take them on good, long walks. I just recently adopted a terrier-mix puppy, and he’s 6 months old and FULL of energy. He wakes me up every day at 6 am sharp, and if I don’t take him for a nice, long walk every day I know I’ll be paying for it later when he’s bouncing off the walls. Dog ownership is a big step, probably bigger than marriage hehe, but I bet you could find a dog that needs walks.
Your plan of action sounds like a good idea. I need to develop one because I plan to do a half-marathon next year with the hubby. Oh and happy one month anniversary to you and your hubby, yay for May brides!
I’m trying to get back down to my grad school weight before wedding dress shopping this fall. I’ve got about 20 lbs to loose. I’m GREAT at working out… but I also like to eat and drink! I need to watch the portion control and keep out of the candy!
Ooh, I can’t wait to see how your POA worked out! I’m sure you must’ve stuck with it, because you look fabulous in your teaser pics!
I joined weight watchers in late Feb.. now the end of June and I have lost 13 lbs. Not as much as I wanted to by this time. I am proud of the 13 but workingout is my problem.. umm I am not consistent. I go at it 2 days and then fall off and stop for 2 weeks… ugh
I wanted to drop 30-40 lbs by November (total time 9 months) I thought is was doable.. but I need a fire under my bum .. I know if I exercised more I could do it.
[...] left you with my six month POA. Since so many of you liked the idea of creating your own POA, I’ve sprinkled my best lessons [...]
I def have a workout plan. I was always curvy, but more of an hourglass shape, post-college I gained so much weight. Close to 80lbs to be exact. When I met my fiance I was a size 14, he loves the curves, so I didn’t think much of it. Well I rung in the New Year a size 20, astonished that I had let myself get that out of control. How did I go from a size 12 to a size 20 in three years? I’m only 26 years old. I started my bridal workout plan in March (wedding is next April) and I’ve lost close to 20lbs and dropped a dress size and a half. I’m fitting into my size 16 pants and jogging my way to a size 14. I think a bride should feel comfortable with herself on her day. I have 10months to go, but I hope I can keep up the new workout plan. I’ll def check back with this blog to see how it’s going.
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Mrs. Peep Toe, San Francisco
Age and Occupation: 29, Policy Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production Manager
Engagement Date: December 16, 2007
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: November 26, 2008
Venue: Hotel Vitale
About Me: I am a west coast lady who loves the San Francisco Bay Area. I love living with Mr. Peep and our animals: Huck the Dog and Ferris the Cat. I work to save the environment in San Francisco, while Mr. Peep makes ridiculously delicious Olive Oil. On any day you can find me reading the latest book I have gotten my hands on, eating Swedish Fish, and perusing wedding blogs! We are both champagne drinking foodies on a Bud Light budget. We are planning an eco-chic, intimate, and interfaith San Francisco City wedding.
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