Wedding weight loss

Now that we’ve entered the feasting and holiday-wedding-proposal season, here’s the skinny about losing weight before your wedding date:

First off, don’t be like the woman who visited my Weight Watchers meeting a couple years ago, the one who held up a sleeveless beaded cocktail gown and said, “I bought this dress for my daughter’s wedding Saturday and have to lose five pounds before then so it will fit.”  We were aghast, as it was Wednesday; we were also a bit confused, since anyone who has ever looked at Weight Watchers literature or talked to someone in the program knows it isn’t about emergency dress-size revisions.

This lady was already tiny--probably about a size four--and she grabbed her dress and split once the leader told her Weight Watchers really couldn’t help her.  We were left to wonder exactly how much binging/purging/smoking/barfing/colonic therapy she was going to subject herself to before the weekend hit, and whether this was a regular thing with her.  Eating disorder, anyone?

If you’ve recently become engaged and have started thinking, “I want to lose some weight so I can look great in my wedding pictures”  then you’re already just as unrealistic as the five-pounds-by-Saturday lady.  Listen my dears: if you need to lose weight for your wedding, that means you need to lose that lard anyway, and you need to keep it off for the rest of your life.  As you all know by now, those extra pounds you've been ignoring not only make your wedding togs look lumpy, but take years off your life and drastically affect the quality of your health.  Don’t start dieting so you can be thin for your wedding; start exercising and eating right so you can look and feel great for the rest of your married life too.

Don’t think it’s only brides who say they need to drop a few; groom guts often need a little paring, so here’s an excellent opportunity for both of you to commit to an optimal food/exercise program and help each other stick to it.  It can be exhiliarating to work out together; finding an activity you both enjoy can not only help you keep your weight down, but add a little fun and intimacy to your relationship (yes, sex burns calories, as do hiking, skiing, and racquetball--so you can tinker with the fun/intimacy ratio as you see fit.)

Start working out and eating right NOW--yes, during the holidays--so you can lose weight at a comfortable pace.  Extreme diets for short-term weight loss aren’t sustainable and are a major contributor to yo-yo dieting, which can ultimately leave you even fatter, unhealthier, and unhappier than you were before. It’s important to not leave weight-loss until the last few days before your ceremony--you’ll not only regret your procrastination, but will very likely become discouraged about ever losing weight and that’s not helpful for your physical or mental health.

As for how to achive your weight-loss goal:  some people can establish a new food routine by themselves, but most of us need motivation and tracking to help up along. I’m a Weight Watchers fan because it’s about creating positive eating habits with real world food, but some people jumpstart their weight-loss with a medically-based program like Lindora or a pre-portioned food protocol like Jenny Craig and then attend Weight Watchers to help them maintain healthy habits once they reach their goal.

Finally, think about planning a healthy wedding-day menu to help keep you on track; choose herb-grilled meats and fish instead of the standard fried fare with fat-laden sauces, or create a buffet with lots of salads, grains, and vegetables in place of the usual high-calorie supper suspects.  Cupcakes instead of wedding cakes are all the rage now; not only can your guests choose their favorite flavor, but the built-in portion control helps those who might otherwise overindulge.

Whatever method you choose for slimming down, remember to take your time and stick with it.  As with any goal, good planning, courage, and determination will get you where you need to go; it’ll be good practice for married life and all those goals you’ll be creating and striving for as a couple.  Keep those wedding togs too, because they’ll keep you honest--try ‘em on every anniversary to check if you’re living large.

Until next time, a sweet and long life to you all.

Elizabeth Oakes welcomes your feedback at weddingexaminer@gmail.com.