Getting Married Soon...Thoughts and ideas for Weight Loss

HI Chad,
first off - Congratulations on your engagement! Very exciting! I am getting married myself in January, and I think about my health now in terms of my responsibilites to my future husband. The healthier I am (we both are) the better lifestyle we will have together, and the longer we will live and be together. (Not to mention - that will probably be the most expensive dress I will ever own and the cameras will be going all day!)

I started working out in January and am down about 25 lbs. and will do my first tri in about 2 weeks. I just encorporated movement in everything I did at first - parked at the far end of parking lots to get more walk in my regular day. Joined the gym, started swimming again.... added in some stationary bike, elliptical, etc.... Also addressed my diet - just aimed for everything healthier, fresher. I log on here everyday and get great support from all these cool people. I am feeling great.
I think the 4 month plan is a great place to start. I love the elliptical - it is great to start out on as it is easy on the joints and very sustainable. Add everything in gradually and pay attention to your body - rest days are very important.

You aren't thinking of losing 30+ lbs before the wedding, right? Anything much over 2 lbs a week is burning up muscle tissue and not really gettting you ahead. Slow weight loss is more likely to be sustainable. Much more than 12 or 15 lbs before the wedding will not be too healthy or realistic. Believe me, you will look and feel so much better after those initial pounds.

Best of luck with your wedding and with your training!

Chad,

As Mary mentioned, you should not shoot for weight loss of over 2 lbs/wk. Since you have a gym available to you at work and at your fiancee's complex, you should be set. If I were you, I'd aim for working out some at lunch as well as after work. I find it easier to do two shorter/different workouts than to do it all back to back. For instance, doing weights at lunch and running after work is pretty easy.

I'd start with the advanced 4 month 5k program and add weights and stationary bike and any other cardio exercise you like on your off days, with only 1 rest day per week. You'll probably find that you can start in on the program a little further in than the beginning. You can do weights at lunch. I can usually do weights without getting too sweaty, but since you're a guy, you should be able to get a shower pretty quickly. The added bonus of working out at lunch is that it encourages you to brown bag and eat healthily. Anyway, after work, you can do 30 min to 1 hr of cardio, depending on your fitness level and what you're doing.

Whatever you do, be sure not to increase your distance by more than 10% each week and give yourself a rest week every 4 weeks. You don't want to injure yourself before your wedding. Remember, you didn't gain the weight in a day, so it'll take some time to get it off.

As far as your fiancee goes, she may be concerned about your weight loss goal because she saw you use unhealthy methods to get it off in the past. People tend to get behind you when they see that you're doing things the healthy way!

Good luck and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

hi,
i am new to this website, and yours is the first letter i am responding to...mostly beacause it is a subject that interests me. first off...i HATE the word "diet". it is a self-depreciating term, that sets people up for failure. so take it out of your vocabulary! what folks need to do is change the way they eat and the way they view food. start a eating journal...write down EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth..from gum to water to candies to.... and why did you eat what you ate...feeling angry, upset, anxious etc. after a week, look at your journal and think about what you ate and what you could have done differently. eg: ate a whole bag of large sized chips...feeling blue.....instead go for a walk....eat raw veggies.....you get the idea. next as you start to look at what you eat and what you can change..make small changes...eg: instead of thousand island dressing use basalmic vinegar and a small amt. of olive oil. make small changes every week... 1% milk instead of whole.....low fat yogurt instead of full fat...whole wheat bread instead of white. making lots of eating habit changes at once just sets yourself up . i am not a fan of weight watchers or jenny or any other diet.....measureing..counting points punisihing your self 'cuz you ate that chocolate bar doesn't do it for me...if you eat it own up to it and move on. the other huge factor in all of this is MOVE!! changing your eating habits isn't enough...go for a walk..go to the gym (have a weight program set up for you). set goals for yourself and you can do it.
audrey