Weddingbee Blog

I’m ashamed of myself. As I near the 100-day mark I’ve become more and more aware of one thing in this wedding planning process that I’ve completely neglected: my health.

I came to this (not-so-abrupt) realization yesterday when I had to call in sick to my internship. I had somehow forgotten to drink water/liquids the entire day before and was severely dehydrated. Desert-dehydrated. Nearly hospitalized-dehydrated. Dehydrated to the point where I felt like I had spent the previous night partying in Vegas harder than those Hangover guys. You get the picture.

This is so not like me. I routinely carry a reusable water bottle around with me EVERYwhere I go (I have a huge glass of water at my desk as I’m typing this). While recovering, I also realized that I’ve hit another point in my life that I’ve never been before: weighing more than I ever have. I seem to have just disregarded my health and fitness completely while planning for my wedding. The worst part? Exactly a year ago I was in the best shape of my life and making money as a part-time model because of it.

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No, I didn’t have any self-image problems. In fact, it was the absolute opposite. I was healthy because I had changed my lifestyle. I didn’t take crazy fat-loss pills, go on a crash diet, or detox. I worked out 4-6 times a week, ate 4-6 small (but satisfying) meals a day, didn’t stress over calories, and got plenty of water and rest. And although I’ve always been a slimmer (but “soft” around the edges) girl and active in athletics, I was learning to truly take control of my health and fitness. Pretty soon, my “model” body began morphing into more of a “fitness” body.

Photos taken by friends

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This photo was even featured on a calendar sold by bodybuilding.com!

Photos courtesy of NRV Photography

My back a year ago would have looked sexy in my low cut wedding dress! (Don’t worry, only Mr. Lab was in the house with me all nakedz!)

I can’t believe I’m sharing this one with the hive, but here’s part of my progression into a FIT body from the “I’ll just cover the extra flab with my clothes” body.

Yeah, that last one was taken exactly a year ago. So what happened? Well, school started (I had been training during the summer) and with it, I suddenly had a ton of excuses for skipping out on the gym and stuffing my face. I never quite learned how to manage my fitness with my hectic schedule (classes, extra-curriculars, studying, friends, football season, the holidays, etc.). And when I got engaged, I thought the magic wedding fitness fairy would pay me a visit and get me back on track. Well, I’m still waiting on that fairy. In the meantime, I’ve put on about 20 pounds. Here’s me now:

Photo taken last week. Wii Fit kicked my out-of-shape ass.

Yesterday’s setback has really knocked some sense into me. I’m not trying to get down to a certain pant size or number on the scale. I’m trying to get healthy and fit, to feel energized all day, and to like the way I look. I want to do all this for my everyday life, not just for the wedding (although I’d be lying if I said that the wedding wasn’t a big factor in getting me back on track).

I know I’m not dangerously out of shape. We all have different short and long term goals and know where our bodies should be. I know that I shouldn’t be this out of shape. It took a lot of fast food and laziness to get this way. I do have a thin frame, and it’s a bit frustrating to hear people say I look fine, when I’m so out of shape that playing a hula-hoop game on the Wii gets me sweating and panting in less than a minute. I mean, not that long ago I could run 3 miles in less than 30 minutes and squat 135 lbs!

I have a little over 3 months until the wedding. You might think that’s not enough time to get where I want to be, but those progression photos were taken over just a 2 month period. I won’t be “ripped” like an Oxygen magazine cover model, but I’ll be in shape. (BTW, in my opinion, Oxygen is the best women’s health and fitness magazine out there. Trash your Shape & Self magazines and get a subscription to the “O”, stat!)

I’m going to occasionally post about the things I have done in the past (and am doing now) that have worked for me. I’m no fitness or nutrition expert, but I do know enough through experience about what works for me, and what doesn’t. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me when I write about my renewed fitness journey, and that’s okay. A lot of health and fitness is trial and error, so what works for me might not be the best route for you. But I hope through my experience, you’ll get to learn some things along the way that will help you get to your own fitness goal finish line.

I just have to start taking my own advice, starting now.

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