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Most girls have a mental image of how they want to look on their wedding day. At least I do. That mental image has shifted and changed over the years, mostly because of the changing fashion and my abandonment of a big fancy wedding (I'm opting for something more casual). While that vision has been scaled back, one thing is the same -- I want to look good in my wedding photos.
I've always struggled with my body image. There was a brief time I definitely had an eating disorder. I don't know if it was anorexia or something else. I only allowed myself orange juice and vegetables. Fortunately it didn't last long. One of my friends (who was using the same restrictions) fainted and fell down some stairs. Plus, I remembered how much I liked food.
In college and shortly after college, I was not active and my eating habits were horrendous. I gained a ton of weight and definitely wasn't taking care of myself. About six years ago, I did Weight Watchers and started working out more and I trimmed down significantly.
I've gained some of that back since my discovery of craft beer, but I'm still very active. I eat better than I did in those post-college years and I'm trying to improve it all the time. I recently started counting macros, and it's been a very interesting journey. I haven't dropped any pounds, but I'm learning more about my food choices and categorization.
I feel good, but I'm still not 100 percent happy with the body I see in the mirror.
With my wedding date less than 365 days away and dress shopping less than 60 days away, I'm struggling.
I don't want to cry tears of frustration when I try on dresses and don't like how I look. I don't want to get my wedding photos and feel ashamed of how I look.
I also don't want to stress over my diet for the next year just for that one day.
How do I find balance between reaching my goal while still enjoying life? Any advice?
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Last week's workouts
Sunday - Off
Monday - Total Cardio Xtreme + FitFusion (I was so excited to get back to this class!)
Tuesday - Booty Camp Class + 2-mile run
Wednesday - Tabata
Thursday - Barre/Cardio Class
Friday - Off
Saturday - 30-minute walk/run (I wanted to do more but my legs don't like to cooperate the morning after a 7-hour brewery shift.)
As always, be sure to check out Sunday Sweats posts from Holly and Christy.
I understand the struggle! Try to mentally prepare for trying on dresses. Don't look at the size! The fit is like 3 sizes smaller than your normal dress size so you'll likely end up with a size significantly larger and it varies by designer and style. Do designers do this to make women feel bad? Almost none of the dresses will be your size and be prepared for a lot of them to be too small. It was easier for me to envision what the dress would look like when it was too large as opposed to too small. Once you have your alteration appointment closer to the wedding, don't try to lose weight; just maintain. Last minute alterations are expansive. Also, bring people with you who aren't overly critical. It can help to have a talk with them before shopping. They should let you voice your opinion of a dress before they do. My entourage was most helpful with deciding between dresses I already liked.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a positive experience! You'll look beautiful no matter what size you are!
I think your wedding and how you look in pictures is just a snapshot of life. It doesn't define who you are, but just shows what you were at the time. That being said, looking how you want to look is part of it. I was so stressed out leading up to the wedding (Scott was away at training until the day BEFORE the wedding, we were moving across the country the next week, etc) that I likely lost weight.
ReplyDeleteYou do have a year so I think just maintaining healthy habits...not thinking of it as a diet, just developing habits...will get you where you want to be. What you do every day is more important than a crash diet, you know?