Weddingbee

Knowing that the wedding day is fast approaching (Just about 6 months left for us! Whoa!) is a huge motivation for me to lose a few unwanted pounds. When I put on that dress, I want to look and feel my best. Who wouldn’t want to feel that way on their wedding day?

I just found out about a website, WeightView.com, that allows you to get a visual idea of how you will look when you reach your goal weight. All you have to do is supply a photo of yourself—preferably taken outdoors, wearing tighter clothing and capturing your full body—upload it to the Web site, select your weight loss goal, and you will receive a new photo within 48 hours of what you might look like when you reach your goal. And best of all, it’s free!
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I really love to exercise. I actually look at going to the gym as a treat! Don’t look at me like I am crazy, it’s true!!

image source
*this is not what I look like when I go to the gym*

Before I was laid off, I used to take four aerobics classes a week. I worked in two huge studios and was constantly moving back and forth between the two—walking about four miles a day! (Yes, I was dorky and wore a pedometer to work every day for a month.) My MOH and I were also taking belly dance lessons together once a week. Mr. Taffy lived in downtown Ann Arbor, so I would walk a few blocks to and from my car (and up a flight of super steep stairs) to visit him a few times a week. I would say that I was in pretty good shape!

Oh, how things have changed:

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Last month, Mr. Meatball and I had just started working out to Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred. We eased into the process very slowly—starting one or two times a week, and working our way up to every other day. The best thing about it is how fast it’s over! 20 minutes goes by so easily, and I feel less inclined to say “I don’t have the time” because I know that’s just crap. Everyone’s got 20 minutes to spare for their wellness, yo. It’s been two weeks now of alternating The Shred with days off, and I have to say this moderate approach is much easier to swallow than my normal all-or-nothing tendencies. Moderation has never been my strong suit, but this year, I’ve been trying to integrate it into many facets of my life. Slow and steady wins the race, yes? The tortoise is moi.

Speaking of slow… we’re still on Level 1, but our goal is to start Level 2 next week and keep on schedule. Eek! But already we’re seeing results! We’ve got definition in our calves, thighs, arms and abs where only softness used to reign… which is really encouraging… but it also makes me more aware of the need to lose fat so the muscle can shine through.

To that end, we’ve also been eating better to try and get some of that pesky fat to melt away. I’ve tried a million “fad diets” over the years, and find the key rules across the board seem to be low-fat, high-protein, less refined sugar, more fiber. Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks to eat well, and be satisfied.
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It’s no surprise that most brides want to look their absolute best for their wedding day. In attaining this goal, many of us diet, exercise, obsess and nitpick every part of our bodies. It’s not always healthy, and we’re not always proud to admit that we are depriving ourselves of that piece of bread because we are determined to fit into a dress that is a size smaller than our current shape. A shape that, maybe, is not meant to be any smaller than it is.

I did not want to be one of those brides who was so obsessed with her weight that she was miserable and hungry all the time. I did not want to be so narcissistic to think that I had to strive for perfection or unrealistic goals of beauty for one day. But at the same time, I wanted to have no regrets about how I looked on my wedding day, and I wanted to feel fabulous. Not a size 2 fabulous, but a size healthy fabulous. And back when my dress first came in to The Wedding Touch in February and I tried it on, I did not feel fabulous. I still loved the dress, but I did not love myself in it.

At that time, Mr. Cupcake was a little tired of the extra weight he had put on since we first met, and he started following Weight Watchers to shed a few pounds before the wedding. I jumped on the bandwagon and loosely started following his Points system, and as much as I immediately saw results on the scale, I realized that it wasn’t necessarily the weight that I wanted to lose—it was some tone and muscle that I wanted to gain. But I was never great at pushing myself to get to the gym after a long day at work, especially amidst all the wedding to-dos on my list for each evening, and fuhgeddabout trying to get there before my 8AM workday begins. Mrs. Cupcake is not a morning person. When I did get to the gym, I usually spent some time on the treadmill or elliptical until I got bored, and then wandered aimlessly through the weights without really knowing what to do until I eventually just went home.

Then, at dinner one night with my friend J, she told me about the new business venture she had been putting her heart and soul into.
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I absolutely love my gown and feel that my body looks nice in the gown. However, I have a few problem areas where I could use some help. The main area, for lack of better word, is arm flab! I not only suffer from arm flab, but armpit butt as well. Armpit butt occurs when my arm is down and the flab creates a butt-like appearance. My back could also use some toning up as well, as it will be a focal point when I’m in my gown.

In an effort to look my best, I purchased a book titled Buff Brides by Sue Fleming for only $3.00 from Amazon.

Don’t let the title fool you.

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(image source)

First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the amazing compliments on my fitness accomplishment! I actually went to my first fitting today, but didn’t take pictures because all they did was pin my beloved VW, and since I just showed you pictures of the dress last week, I thought you might get bored! However, I thought you might like a fitness/food update!

For the most part, my fitness/food regimen hasn’t changed much from the original plan. I have made a few important changes, but I’m still working out 4-5 days a week and eating pretty well. I want to stress that I generally don’t deprive myself of anything. I believe that I don’t crave unhealthy foods as much because I try to watch my sugar intake.

My workout schedule looks like this:
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This may be the most exciting blog post of my life! You may remember how I didn’t exactly fit into my beloved Vera Wang, right? Then, you might also recall my super healthy, pumped up plan.

My original post was on May 28th, and today is August 27th. Almost three months later, looky what I did!

(Keep in mind, this isn’t an official fitting. The dress needs to be seriously hemmed and bustled, but I couldn’t keep my sugar-free fans waiting!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:
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So far, my pre-wedding exercise regime has consisted of speed walking to and from work everyday. I walk at a brisk pace to my job, in order to get there early (or at least as the clock strikes), and I sprint home in order to avoid the clouds of Winnipeg-brand mosquitoes in the evening. I originally started walking to work (which is over 2 km away) so as to save money on bus passes, and have continued since then, as daily walking proved not only to be a wallet-saver, but a really, really good way of slimming down. To date, walking at least 4 km per day (with 8 km on double shifts days not being rare), has helped me to lose over ten pounds! This is such a welcome benefit, as working full-time has ‘prevented’ me from seriously sticking to any sort of fitness program. Walking so far everyday has also increased my endurance, and has decreased the number of tachycardiac episodes I experience every week. Hooray!
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I always admired that Mrs. Magnolia did something active on the morning of her wedding. Now, seeing that I am no runner, when I came across an email from the W Hotel Dallas about their Saturday morning yoga sessions (FREE, by the way) through September 27th, it sparked an idea.

(Image from here)

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For those brides-to-be looking for some inspiration, here’s an update from my last fitness post! To recap: I’ve been a regular gym-goer for the last 5 years, but for the wedding I really wanted to get into excellent shape! So, for the past 7 weeks I’ve been working out 5 days a week and generally watching what I eat. (**On Fridays, I’ve been doing the StairMaster, a timeless classic that really kicks my booty, literally! If you haven’t tried it in a while, jump back on, your thighs will thank you!)

The scale has only moved about 5 lbs, but the inches have moved INCREDIBLY! I’ve read a ton of magazines and they always say to forget about the scale and just take your measurements, and boy they weren’t kidding!

Bust: 38″ (5/25/08) to 36″ (7/8/08)
Waist: 30″ to 29″
Hips: 40.75″ to 39.5″
Thigh: 25″ to 22″

For all you non-math majors, that’s 3″ off my thighs!!! Awwww yeah. Read more…