Bride to Be...

[FutureMrs]

Hello all!  I am a bride to be.  Less than a year until my wedding and about three months untilI need to get dress shopping.  I feel terrible about myself.  I went dress shopping for a friend's wedding next week and am finding that I have made zero progress.  I am frustrated, my self esteem is in the toilet and I am having a hard time getting motivated.  Hoping there are other brides to be to join up with and keep each other motivated.

[Nicou]

Hi FutureMRS,

Try not to put all your focus on the weight and get excited about your dress.

The first thing I ask the Bride to be when I work with them is finding out what they see as their best features. You should start with that! Is it your shoulders,back,arms,legs, neck....If you love your back and shoulders look for a dress that will promote these features. Now if you want to shape ,sculpt your assets while walking I have some suggestions. While you're walking use a Pilates band also call Therapy band and do some waves wave with it . ( I call a wave working 6 to 7 major muscles in a row. legs, back, chest, shoulders, biceps triceps and abs. and you repeat with the same wave or make up an other one)

Star by warming up your legs and arms while walking .

example of a workout. 

once warmed up  while you're walking do lunges and lat pull down for 24 reps in a row and resume with a regular walk add a chest press for 24 reps fallowed by a front or lateral shoulder raise for 24 reps and finish with biceps and triceps. You are done your first wave.You could repeat the same wave until you're done your walk ( I find 3 or 4 times is plenty) or you make up new exercises for the second wave. Example: run for 2 min or side lunges with reverse fly....

If you're interrested I probably could make you a little video with cues so you   get the most benefits from it.

As for your abs I suggest Pilates.

Good luck with the dress and have fun shopping for it! 

[FarshadM]

Hi, I had one of my best friends get married about 3 months ago and she went through the same hectic cycle of trying to lose weight for her wedding day. She started off slow on the weight loss but she gradually started to do parts of the p90x programs, lots of walking and strength training and slowly started cutting out carbs from her diet. Ofcourse she had amazing support from her fiance as well and he joined in whatever diet / training program she was doing. She also cut out high calorie alcohols like beer which was the hardest thing for her since she is an absolute beer lover. It took her about 7 months overall but she went down to about 8% body fat and completely toned out and looked amazing on her wedding day.

She has also managed to keep the weight off after marriage, she said the key was to not beat yourself up about it, get slow progress but be consistent, and take it one day at a time without worrying about the next week or month!  

Hope some of this helps, best of luck and congratulations!

[kelfran]

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@Nicou wrote:

Try not to put all your focus on the weight and get excited about your dress.

The first thing I ask the Bride to be when I work with them is finding out what they see as their best features. You should start with that! Is it your shoulders,back,arms,legs, neck....If you love your back and shoulders look for a dress that will promote these features. 

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^^ This.

I'm not saying to quit on your goals, but dress shop for the body/assets you have, not what you hope to have. There is a reason why there are so many dress styles and there is one to flatter your figure, regardless of your proportions.

[melisa87 · Accepted solution]

im getting hitched in october this year lol i totally feel your pressure. if you want you can add me as a friend and we can work together.

[Mapes84 · Accepted solution]

I hear ya, lady. I am getting married in October, and I am not where I want to be, but getting there. I am finding that weight training coupled with HIIT is finally starting to give me SOME of the results I want, but it's slow going. That aside, try to liberate yourself emotionally a little bit (while still working towards your goal). You have to, or you will cheat yourself out of enjoying this special time.  I have tried very hard to adopt two mantras this year: 

1. Change doesn't occur in your comfort zone 

2. I've been critical of myself for years, and it hasn't gotten me anywhere. Time to try a new approach- like acceptance. 

#2 is the really difficult one for me to abide by, but it's slowly getting easier 🙂

[FutureMrs]

Thank you for your positive feedback everyone! I was at an all time low point last week when I wrote this post.  I'm not saying I'm feeling any better but there is a fire in me now to feel better about myself and the small progress I make each day.