Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Last time around I shared my day with FitBit, and now I want to share a little bit more about its functionality.
As far as size, it’s small, and you can clip it anywhere on your clothing. It’s about the size of a money clip, but thicker. The reason you can clip it anywhere (unlike a pedometer, that you typically have to clip to somewhere near your leg) is that it tracks your movement in a 3D space (similar to how the technology for Nintendo Wii works). So it can tell you’re moving, not just because you’re shifting your weight (which is how a traditional pedometer functions). Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I recently won a FitBit via the LoseIt blog, and was really excited to get one! The shorthand version of what a FitBit is (which I’m sure their marketers hate to hear) is that it’s a very tricked-out pedometer. The longer form explanation of what it is can be found here. Basically, it’s a device that you wear 24-7 that tracks your steps (with 3D movement technology similar to the Nintendo Wii’s), approximate calories burned, distance traveled through the day, and your sleep efficiency. It takes all that data and shoots it wirelessly into your computer, and you can access this info via an app on your phone (Android or iPhone) or your PC. The FitBit Dashboard (basically, your homepage at FitBit) allows you to manually input a variety of extra information (your calorie intake, weight, water drank, exercise activity, mood and more) giving you a one-shop stop for getting a good grip on your calorie consumption/output and is a nice, digital partner for your fitness goals.
Up front: Its functionality is similar (but not the same) as the BodyBugg’s, which is a device that I know of through Jenna/Mrs. Avocado and I’ve really coveted since she’s had one. The BodyBugg measures your calorie output more scientifically based on your individual body heat and movement than FitBit. FitBit estimates your number of calories burned based on your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). The FitBit is less of a monetary commitment—a FitBit is a one-time cost of $100 with no monthly fee, while the BodyBugg costs around $200, plus a monthly fee of $10 (less if you commit to a year plan instead of going month-to-month). If you are considering either, I highly suggest Googling “BodyBugg vs FitBit” and reading some side by side comparisons.
Miss Doily, Cedar Rapids, IowaAge and Occupation: 25, Autism Paraeducator/ StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer/ PublisherEngagement Date: August 27th, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Father’s Vineyard Church/ A Touch of Class Banquet CenterAbout Me: I’m an Iowan girl with a deep love of Harry Potter, classic movies, cardigans, and Post-Its. My type-A Virgo tendencies often cause me to drive my laid-back college sweetheart fiance batty with lists and PowerPoint presentations. I love to be crafty and do things myself, which explains why my two crazy kittens often will prance around the house covered in glitter and ribbons. When I am not bogged down with work, school, or wedding planning, I like to travel to visit my expansive family and have wild adventures with my best friends. After a rollercoaster ride of a love story, I’m ready to take that final plunge, marry the love of my life, and become a Mrs.!
On top of juggling school, work, and wedding planning, I have added yet another item to my already overflowing list of things to do: lose weight. I am currently 223 pounds. I’m a size 16 (which is down from 245 and a size 18). There, I said it—I’m not ashamed to admit my weight to all of you guys (well, just a little). I have yet to order my dress in hopes of losing weight. However, I have a problem that keeps me from losing it easily. I am a COE. This stands for a compulsive over-eater. More simply put, I am addicted to food and cannot always control what I put into my body. I would binge eat, up to 3,000 calories in a sitting. Then I would feel guilty about eating that way and would consciously be very careful about what I ate, hardly eating anything at all until I would lapse and do it again. This is what caused me to go from being 170 (a size 12) my freshman year of college, to being the size I am now. I gained almost 80 pounds in six years. The cycle was devastating to me. But good news: I have not binged in a year. Which is why I have managed to lose 20 pounds. But I have so much more to go: my ideal weight is 160.
So what am I doing to lose this weight? Well, several things.
Mrs. High Wire, DallasAge and Occupation: 23, Legal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Director of CommunicationsEngagement Date: October 9, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Clark GardensAbout Me: My loves include yoga, anything spicy, our eccentric cat, our rambunctious dog, and Mr. High Wire, of course! Like the steadiness act of the tightrope walker, this gal is busy balancing life while planning a wedding to the man of her dreams. We’re hosting a laid-back, vintage-inspired, bird themed wedding with heavy doses of love, good eats (did someone say tacos and margaritas?), and endless Texas charm. Mr. High Wire and I are so happy to have you along for the walk across the tight rope.
A while back, I talked about some healthy goals I had taken on in order to be my best self for the wedding. I’ve been incorporating most of these goals in a big way (except drinking water, and I don’t even want to depress myself trying on those stupid black shorts).
Today and right now, I feel good. I want to bottle this up and tap into it whenever I need to. That’s the great thing about blogs, the opportunity to preserve the kinds of moments you want to hold on to forever.
The fact that I feel good right now is no random accident and I have to remember that. All of the books I’ve been reading, yoga I’ve been doing, and weights I’ve been lifting have helped me tremendously. I’m capable and strong and unique.
Personal Photo of my first 5k last year
My biggest goal in all of this body-image “stuff” is finding peace with it all. Read more…
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
Today I received a much anticipated phone call, hive. The phone call I’ve been waiting on for a pretty long time… SIX months to be exact. After I hung up, my brain processed the information I’d just received in this exact order:
My dress came in today.
Oh my God.
MY DRESS CAME IN TODAY.
I AM FREAKING OUT.
Yes, I’m freaking out from happiness and giddiness and girly fun, but I’m also freaking out because… y’all… that dress is going to be snug. And I just said “y’all,” so you know it’s serious.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
You’re a bride. You’re on a budget. You want to tighten up.
We didn’t say lose weight… I might say tighten. Tighter. (Name that movie!)
So here’s how I keep myself in check—I use Loseit.com for calorie/fiber/protein counting (Lose It is available as an iPhone app as well, but I have an Android…I do hear that Lose It Android is coming to Beta soon!). Calorie counting is tedious to some. To me it’s a game, and it’s all about planning your day so that you can live your life, have that glass of wine (or 3), or just generally be accountable to your fitness plan.
I was out of town on Monday. Clearly. I will never give up McDonalds at the airport. NEVARRRRRRRR.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Money is something I’m loathe to talk about in such a public forum. But it’s about honesty, and while yes, it is possible to diet an exercise completely for free, some of us (ovah heeeeahhh) need a lot of external help to get ’er done.
What I really wanted to talk about today was the cost of losing weight: both time-wise, and money-wise. I’m not self motivated to diet/exercise, and I spent a lot of money (in my world of money) thus far to get to this point in what I at least consider is a healthy way. And of course, there were redundancies—I didn’t quit the YMCA until a month and a half after I was into my boot camp because I thought I’d return eventually.
Ms. Gazelle, Calgary/VancouverAge and Occupation: 32, EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Technology AnalystEngagement Date: September 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Brock House Restaurant, VancouverAbout Me: I am a marathon runner, cyclist, Ironman triathlete and beautiful shoe fiend who also loves kicking back and watching Glee. I grew up a bit of a nomad as I traveled around the world with my family, living everywhere from Australia to England to South America and Indonesia. I finally settled in Calgary a few years ago and met Mr. Gazelle who loves me even though we cheer for different hockey teams. We are planning a bit of a destination wedding in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and we can’t wait to share the day with our close family and friends.
Well Hive, confession time. Ever since university I’ve struggled with my weight, going up and down 20 pounds here and there. Training for long distance triathlons was my way of keeping my weight in check. Unfortunately after I finished Ironman Canada back in August I was completely burned out. I was completely unmotivated to do much of anything in the fall and well…it came around and bit me in the behind. I gained weight. After buying my sample dress that fit perfectly.
I tried to come up with a game plan in the new year to drop the weight but I had difficulty being consistent with my plan. The scale didn’t budge and my measurements stayed exactly the same. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about my dress fitting.
Long story short, I tried my dress on this morning while my mom was visiting. It zips up over my waist but the zipper over my bust is a complete no go. My mom suggested I try a different bra, but there was no padding whatsoever in the bra I already had on. Yeah, the bra wasn’t the problem. Crap, my dress doesn’t fit.
There isn’t much point in crying about it, I need to do something about it. Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I wrote the first half of this post when I was about one month in to my boot camp.
~~~
Losing weight has been this all-consuming cloud that’s weighing over my life right now. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I think about all the people I know that constantly count calories and are tortured by food and how annoying that is from an outsider’s perspective. And now, I just hate what I’ve become. (Yes, those same people are also skinny and fit and beautiful. Sooooo, cost/benefit.)
We decided that based on my basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories I expend while at rest in a day…so say, if I laid in bed all day for one day) plus the amount of activity I have in a typical day (I’m pretty sedentary), I burn about 1800 calories. This is if I don’t work out. So, from that, I set a goal for myself to consume 1200 calories per day, with one cheat day of 1800 calories per week.
I love counting calories; it’s the best “diet” I’ve ever been on. I (sort of) eat whatever I want…I just have to make better choices and really watch my portion sizes. It’s time consuming (calculating meals that will fit into my daily diet, logging everything in my Lose It calorie counter) but I haven’t really felt deprived and I’ve been going strong for a month living this way. Results are happening (obviously) and combined with rigorous workouts 4 times a week, it’s happening quite rapidly.
Sounds so easy right? Count calories. Work out. Lose weight.
Not so much. The psychology behind it all is really what’s torturing me through this whole process. Right now, I’m the person I loathe. Weekdays are easy—in my little controlled environment of my house where I choose and cook what we eat. The weekends though. The weekends.
A friend calls, want’s to go to dinner. I ask where we’re going. I look at the menu. It’s all devastating—Charcuterie. Cheese Boards. Flat breads. Hello? Nary a freakin’ salad in the house? My blood boils. I complain to my husband that the menu is ridiculous. I don’t want to go. I’d rather stay home.
And then I step back, horrified of what I’ve become. Salami is MY LIFE! Go eat some salami. Who cares if you don’t lose any weight this week.
I EFFING CARE. I worked out 4 days a week this week. I slaved over making sure that I stuck to 1200 calories a day. Sure, I’ve “allowed” myself a cheat day, but I really don’t feel like having a cheat day if it means that I can lose 2 pounds this week instead of one.
Then I think about my life before dieting. I didn’t even CARE that I was fat. I still don’t. But now—there’s just too much effort being put into this journey to just blow it off. Hours and hours of meal planning, working out…and let’s be honest…it’s EXPENSIVE. Nutrition classes. Trainer. Gas to get there.
Low calories in, dedication to rigorous 1 hour workouts 5 days a week. Down 6 pounds. Losing weight is easy.
I might lose all my friends. I hate going out to eat. All I can talk about is calories and what I’ve eaten today and how many calories I have left to consume in the day. I beat myself up over what goes in my mouth when I’m not in my house. Losing weight is hard.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I was roped into joining a boot camp for seven weeks (six weeks, and they were running a one week free promotion) in Oakland. Was I nervous? Heck yes. I was essentially going from couch to working out three times a week+, and I expected it to be grueling. It was tough, but not too bad, and super rewarding.
My boot camp focused on gaining muscle while working out at an elevated heart rate. That meant short intervals of cardio with weight training mixed in between. So, it was never an hour long cardio dash (yikes! scary! too hard for me!) nor was it just weigh training where you didn’t break a sweat…it was a great way to go from not working out at all to getting on track.
Obviously there are different types of boot camps all over the world, so my boot camp experience won’t be the same as yours, but there are some key elements that were important that I think you should look for when choosing a boot camp.
Accountability - find classes that are small, and that meet at times that you know you can always attend so you have NO EXCUSES to miss classes. If the classes are small, people will notice and ask where you’ve been. If you’re serious (of COURSE you are!) find a specific-set week regimen that’s pre-pay, so when you feel like giving up you remember how much money you sunk into the camp. Larger classes are probably cheaper, but more impersonal, and you might not feel as obligated to show up consistently. (If you’re responsible and wonderful and committed, obviously this doesn’t apply to you, and you can find a large format cheap class and go to that!) Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I was rooting around for some pictures of myself for this post, when I realized that beginning sometime after our wedding, I didn’t take a lot of pictures anymore. A lot of it had to do with being unhappy with my weight.
To understand me a little bit, I will say that I’m not obsessive about my weight. On a daily basis I don’t care that I’m overweight. I don’t think about it, don’t obsess over it, it really doesn’t bother me. Aside from feeling bad for my husband that he only outweighed me by 15 pounds but was 10 inches taller than me, I truly enjoyed my life. I love healthy food (fish, veggies, all that good stuff) and while we did (and still do) eat out 3x a week and my portion sizes our OUT OF CONTROL, I can’t say that I have a particularly bad diet, nutrition wise. That being said, I didn’t like having a lot of pictures taken of me. Only when looking at pictures did I realize how much weight (25 whole pounds) I’d gained over the last few years. That’s rough for my 5’2″ frame, as I started out squarely overweight, and zoomed right up into obese (according to BMI calculators).
YEAH YEAH Wii Fit, I’m OBESE. And you’re an inferior gaming console. TAKE THAT.
So, simply, the solution was to stop taking pictures. Weight problems solved.
But that’s boring and detrimental to blogging. Plus, even more dangerously—I don’t go to the doctor. I was so terrified of getting weighed in (I avoided scales like the plague) that I haven’t had a physical in quite a few years. BAD. BAD. Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I’m just a month shy of my 3-year wedding anniversary and I have a confession to make: by the close of the holiday season this year, I’d officially gained 25 pounds since our wedding.
Being a newlywed is pretty blissful—lots of great meals, lots of travel, lots of basking in the glow of finally being done with wedding planning and moving on into the next stage of your life. Mr. Peng and I ate our way through Thailand this past winter, where I looked a lot like this:
Mouth agape, willing to accept whatever happened to fall in it, like a giant pummelo, for instance.
Mrs. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
Warning: For the purpose of telling a story, this particular blog contains a bunch of pictures of me. I personally found it pretty unnerving to see my face over ten times on a single page, so I thought I’d save you the shock and give you all a head’s up.
My “weight-loss journey” has been a long one. I wasn’t always overweight. Though I was over nine pounds when I was born, as a child I was pretty skinny (or at least average if nothing else).
Mrs. Biscuit, Morgantown, WVAge and Occupation: 24, Dental StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Chemist at a pharmaceutical companyEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Catholic Church, Lakeview Golf Resort and SpaAbout Me: I'm an engineer who decided to trek back to my hometown three years ago to become skilled in the arts of drilling and filling. I'm engaged to a pretty awesome guy who tests your assorted benzodiazepines by day and home brews by night. Together we have two fur children, Tsali and Tobias N. Fünkat. I'm a lazy perfectionist and eternal sorority girl who enjoys running, crafting, string cheese, good beer, and bad reality TV. We are planning a Big Fat Italian/Sicilian/Polish wedding filled with DIY details and are expecting 300 +/- 50 guests. Our whimsical summer affair is themed "Alice attends the Mad Hatter Vintage Garden Tea Party in a Ballroom. She Thinks That The Venue is Odd for a Vintage Garden Party, but is Tripping on LSD, so She Doesn't Really Care." Yes, I am the Dickens of themes.
I’ve been a pretty avid runner for years now. I may not look like it, but I often get crazy if I don’t get in my 6-8 miles per day.
When I’m really stressed out, I’ll up it to 10-13. Yeah, I’m that girl you make angry dagger eyes at while at the gym because I monopolize the treadmill or inclined elliptical. I only do that when the gym is empty though. I promise. Please stop stabbing me with your eyes.
I’m also not one of those cool, calm, and collected runners who find their solace running outside. For some reason, I hate it. I like to choose when I go up a hill, and I always have this underlying fear that a hobo on our Rails to Trails will cut out one of my kidneys or other vital organs.
Because I was already active and dare I say, in very good running shape, getting fit for the wedding seemed like a moot point. Except that, well, a few months ago, I kind of stopped. Read more…
Mrs. Magic, Chapel Hill, NCAge and Occupation: 30, Licensed Clinical Social WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, ResearcherEngagement Date: December 1, 2009Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Barn at ValhallaAbout Me: I’m a tall drink of water (5’10”!) and a Southern bride with an enormous appetite for Mexican food, good deals, anything French, and all things wedding! By day I am lucky enough to work with individuals with autism and their families. By night, I’m even luckier to be able to spend time hanging out with awesome friends, crafting, shopping, thinking about exercising, and kicking it with Mr. Magic and our two cats. I tend to have sudden, intense cravings that will not be denied (seafood enchiladas! new jeans!) and I’m prone to being a disorganized mess of anxiety and stress. After waiting (and waiting!) to get engaged, I am finally planning the colorful, fun, fabulously awesome Fall wedding of our dreams. In an effort to share the fun and craziness that is wedding planning, I’m gonna blog about it for y’all---the good, the bad, and the pretty!
