Weight Loss

Google "bride weight loss" and you'll get "about 7,000,000" results. That's a lot of results, many of which are selling weight loss plans. There are websites devoted to weight loss (such as www.fitness-for-brides.com/), webpages of established weight loss websites (such as www.cardiocorebootcamp.ca/page/BridalParty.html), unsafe weight loss techniques (such as http://bridalweightlosscenter.com/), and news articles (such as http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/09/fashion.women). Please note, that I am not endorsing these websites. I am just pointing out the varying websites and webpages addressing the goal of bridal weight loss.

The news article includes statistics and reports such as:
-A report in Newsweek indicated that 70% of US women who were engaged were trying to lose more than 20lb in time for their wedding, and of those who were trying to lose weight, more than 20% were taking an approach that the researchers perceived as "extreme", including downing laxatives, vomiting after meals and adopting a new-found smoking habit as a way to stave off hunger pangs;
-A bridal body image survey for a UK wedding magazine indicated that 91% of respondents intend to lose weight for their wedding, as well as rhinoplasty (aka a nose job) (7%), breast enlargements (8%) and breast reductions (5%);
-And anecdotal internet forums in which brides discussed starting a strict diet 18 months before getting married, buying dresses three sizes too small as an incentive and living on 1000 calories a day (half the recommended intake).

That's a little too extreme.

Now, if you are losing weight in a healthy manner (such as through healthy eating and exercise), you can expect to lose up to 2 lbs a week at the absolute most. That's it. One pound is actually more the normal expectation. There are no magic pills that are safe for weight loss: everything out there has side effects.

If your goal is to lose 20 lbs before the wedding, you should have 20 weeks before the wedding. 20 weeks = 5 months.

If your goal is to lose 50 lbs before the wedding, you should have 50 weeks! That's about a year!

Unless, of course, you have dress fittings, which typically are finished 2 to 4 weeks before the wedding. So add 2 or 4 weeks to those numbers. And never buy a dress a size too small. If you don't fit into your dress, you're screwed on your wedding day!

And do you even need to lose weight? Consider that. If you are happy with your weight, or are just interested in toning up, then don't feel pressure to diet.