Weddingbee Blog

Seeing as how it is almost January, I want to share with you a few things I’ve learned in the last year about eating. Maybe I just want to refresh my memory because I’m slightly scared Julie and her partner Aldina are going to give me a hard dose of honesty at my next dress fitting. Anywho, last January I started Weight Watchers at work, which is a wonderful program. Look to see if your company has a contract because it seriously is worth the knowledge. I am by no means an expert. I’m just giving you some information on what worked for me. Also, as a disclaimer, (because I caught a lot of flack about being on WW in the first place) I am simply a woman who would like to improve her body. I am not fishing for compliments or sympathy. WW has a policy that one must have at least 5 pounds to lose in order to join (calculated by height). I am well over that limit. So with that formality crap out of the way, here are my easy tips to kickin’ a few pounds.

1. Sign up for the daily Hungry Girl newsletter emails. She has some great recipes and suggests wonderful low calorie/fat products you can switch from your higher fat/calorie items.
2. Everyone says it is all about diet and exercise, which is true…totally true. However, I’m lazy. You might be lazy too. Just go for a walk. Park your car a little further away. Let Jillian Michaels beat you up for 30 days. Whenever you can sneak an opportunity to Rock That Body, come on come on, Rock That Body, do it to it.

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I’m happy to say that Operation “Turn into a Yogini and Wear a Miniskirt to the Grocery Store” has begun!

[Note: My miniskirted days are likely over, but wouldn’t it be nice to just have that option?]

Yes, the pre-wedding workouts have begun. And if you associated the aforementioned word “yogini” with yoga, you are absolutely correct! My routine of choice? BIKRAM.

I’ll pause while everyone shudders. Or at least everyone who had an experience similar to that of Mrs. Ribbons.

I think at this point, most people have heard of Bikram yoga: It’s a 90-minute routine of 26 insane postures in 105-degree, humid, stagnant air. It’s chic, in a way, because it’s like the Ironman of yoga, complete with sweating, grunting, even the occasional ripping off of one’s shirt and fist-pumping in a fit of rage…or elation.

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We Prairie Dogs love to eat. We love to eat all kinds of food. We love a spicy chicken curry with creamy saag. We love hearty gyros with flaky baklava for dessert. We love tangy pad thai with a sushi appetizer. We love delicate crab cakes with tartar sauce and Old Bay. We love crispy onion rings and juicy hamburgers. And pizza. Vegetarian, Hawaiian, meat-lovers’. Carry-out, homemade, and frozen. ALL PIZZA.

So…it might not be a surprise that we haven’t always been healthy eaters. We went through a period where we ate out almost all the time. If we ate in, it was carry-out or frozen pizza or some other delicious, unhealthy mess of food. Eventually we noticed it was taking a toll on our wallets and our waistlines…but perhaps even worse than that, we both just felt uncomfortable in our own skin. Unhealthy.

On our wedding day, I want to feel healthy. A daily cycle of eating choices that take a toll on our bodies…well, that’s not what I want for our life together or for our hypothetical future children.
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I think this one is my favorite because I feel like it was my most important contribution to the hive out of my posts:

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With less than three weeks until the wedding, the stress of everything is really starting to wear on me.

I really don’t have that much wedding-related stuff to do (at least, stuff that’s very important), but I do have to move out of my apartment by June 30 — which includes slapping a layer of paint on the walls because the roomie and I decided to get creative with color about a year ago.

On top of that, I really want to have everything done by next Friday so that I have a full week to take care of any last-minute details that pop up.

Everything really got to me last night, and I ended up crying on the phone with Mr. Bunny.

“There’s not enough time!” I wailed. “I’m not ready to get married!”
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Here is a rewind to Mrs. Snow Pea’s favorite post!

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Last Tuesday we had our first and only dance lesson at Atrium Dance. We really procrastinated on that task! Instructor Barbara was fantastic and taught us enough to move around the dance floor for our first dance. Whether we can do it without making a complete ass of ourselves is another thing. Barbara even instructs at Drexel U sometimes.

What I love about Mr. Snow Pea is that he is a great sport about everything. Dancing made him a little uneasy, but he sucked it up for me. The reason being is Mr. Snow Pea was born with Cerebral Palsy and has what is known as Spastic CP, which is heightened muscle tone and tightness. Mr. Snow Pea’s legs are spastic, so he’s a little apprehensive about dancing in front of a crowd. Otherwise, he’s cool as a cucumber!

The reason I bring this up is that I don’t think I have ever seen this discussed. What exactly? Disabilities and all that comes with it, e.g. Health Issues, Family Concerns, Prejudice, Compromises, Criticism, etc. These are things that people don’t tell you when you’re getting married, but I am sure many people deal with them. I don’t know anyone else with a spouse who has a “disability.”
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“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” - Sydney J. Harris

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With planning in full gear and the wedding less than 6 months away, it’s pretty easy to glance at those checklists and calendars and contracts and craft supplies, get frazzled and have those moments.

So, what’s a bride to do?

Over the past few months, I’ve pieced together a little anti-stress recipe that gets me through these moments of madness. Simple but so helpful, I’ve found myself to be leaning on it a lot more as the wedding rapidly approaches.
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I had hoped to hit the ground running with posts as soon as we landed back in Guam, but you know how life pops into the best laid plans!

Seven days after we tied the knot, Mr. B woke up with severe abdominal pain. When the pain had not lessened by 6 AM, I convinced him to let me take him to the Emergency Room. After googling “right side abdominal pain” and all the hits screaming “appendicitis,” I knew there was no where else he needed to be.

Upon examining him, the doctor concluded his appendix needed to be removed that afternoon. What?! Isn’t it crazy when one minute everything is normal and the next minute your love needs to be cut open? At any rate, the surgery went well and we spent the night in the hospital while his pain was managed and his food intake was monitored.
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Me too

Last night I had my most recent wedding dream. I’m reluctant to call it a nightmare because it’s fuzzy and I think everything turned out in the end. The ironic part of this happening however is the fact that I’ve been mulling over a post about not being able to sleep causing an absence of wedding dreams. Indeed, I have come down with a case of insomnia. I have to admit, I’ve been a major grouch recently.

My last fit of insomnia produced this gem which I’m going to post in its entirety.
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I have an embarrassing confession to make: until a few months ago, I hadn’t been to the dentist in a long, long time.

How long, you ask? I plead the fifth.

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So, disclaimer: I’m going to write about how I lost some weight before the wedding in this post. I totally do not want to reinforce that wedding industry pressure that all brides need to lose weight for their weddings. My diet and exercise efforts were kinda necessary for me (as you’ll see below), but it’s certainly not necessary for everybody! Okay, that’s it. I just wanted to add a little prologue so this post doesn’t come off like one of those incredibly annoying Facebook ads that stop just short of “Stop Eating, You Giant Fat Bride.”

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I’ve never been the type to worry excessively about my weight. This tendency is certainly helped by the fact that I’m naturally a fairly thin person, and I don’t usually struggle to keep my weight stable. My mental attitude about my weight held true throughout most of our engagement. I had some vague thoughts and plans about wanting to look my best, but I felt pretty casual about it all. My general health philosophy is to make an overall habit of eating nutritious, non-processed food, to make a reasonable effort to exercise, and not to worry about it much beyond that.
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Yeah, yeah, wedding planning is fun, but let’s not fake it—it’s stressful too. There are a million (some might argue a gazillion) details to iron out and sometimes (a lot of the time) it breeds bridezillas! I’m not gonna lie either, I’ve had my bridezilla moments. Already. I don’t think that’s because I’m a crazypsychomeanselfish bride though, it’s sometimes because I’m stressed.

Don’t worry. This is a mini whine. I’m not stressed all the time. Somehow in my 25 years of life I’ve learned the very basic, very useful, and always-works trick to handling the stress of a million details: RUN.

No! Not run away! Just run. Work out. Do some cardio. Break a sweat. Lift some weights. Just run. It helps me tremendously. And the moment I think I don’t have time to go to the gym is the moment before I lose it.

This last year I started running races, too, which helps a lot.
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I realized the other day that our wedding is about three months away. I then also realized that in the next three months I will be working my full time job, applying for grad school, planning a wedding, trying to find a new job (Did I mention my contract ends a week before my wedding? No? Well now you know), volunteering at two museums, writing for Weddingbee (which I love, but it does take time), and spending time with my friends and family. Sadly, spending time with friends and family is often the first thing to get cut. Unsurprisingly, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and tired. Even little things like filling out forms so I can be put on Mr. Knitting’s health insurance seem really difficult. Clearly I need to relax. Here are a few of my favourite ways.

Taking a hot bath and reading a book

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I do this pretty much every night and I love it. One of my requirements when Mr. Knitting and I moved in together was that I really wanted a deep bathtub with a “slanty back.” Yes, that is a direct quote.
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*Post title intended to be sung to the tune of All the Single Ladies. I was going to come up with a song parody but it turns out that I’m terrible at song parodies. So, just sing the title.

I never, ever, ever have insomnia problems. I fall asleep easily, stay sound asleep all night, and wake up feeling great in the morning.

See? Two sleepy peas in a pod!

There is just one exception to this pattern: I sleep terribly when I have a big (exciting OR nerve-wracking) event coming up the next day.
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We ladies know that there is one week out of every month that we should not wear white. But what if your wedding day happens to fall right smack in the middle?

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I’ve been on the pill for years, and my cycle is pretty regular, which is how I know that it’s due to start the day of our wedding. I was horrified when I realized this, and made a beeline for the doctor’s office. I asked her if there was a safe way to delay or skip that cycle, and she had two suggestions:

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A Coca-Cola addict! I’ve been chugging this stuff since pre-k, and it’s only gotten worse with age. I’m talking a four-a-day habit, guys. I’m a hardcore user. One thing that really burns my biscuits about the wedding machine is how they almost force brides to try to be their thinnest on their wedding day. Now, I have no problems with presenting a healthy, beautiful you, but since when do we have to hit the gym five days a week for just one day? I don’t think it’s fair, and though I thoroughly applaud those of you who have the discipline and commitment to achieve those goals, I’m 100% fine with the way I look. It’s the exact same way I looked when Mr. SD proposed, and that’s who he’ll see walking down the aisle.

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