Fitness Encouragement, Support & Tips

How has your shoulder been today?

Great idea with the smaller plate! I really wouldn't be annoyed about the chocolate - we all deserve a treat. That said, my treat was a fat KFC for dinner last night because I was too tired and headachey to cook. Bad times

We can be bad together.... H2B co-erced me into getting a chinese. Haven't had one for ages though so I really enjoyed it and am ready to go back to being good ?

Shoulder is better again but still not really to go for a run I don't think. I think I'll take the weekend and start again next week. How is it going without your PT - any idea when they will be back to work?

I'll join in with being bad, I had half a packet of biscuits for dinner... On the plus side, I feel awfully sick for it so hopefully I won't do it again for a while.

Glad to hear your shoulder is getting better Romantic, hopefully you'll be back to your routines in no time. Pooba, any idea when your pt will be good to go again? In regards to the pill, I was on Cerazette for 4ish years then fell pregnant while still on it! Doctors reckoned my stress levels countered the effectveness apparently. Was a big surprise. No help to you though I guess, I had no issues with stopping taking it.

Mittel you must be so pleased the dresses are in and good. Try and ignore your sister some what, I have 3 sisters, I know how difficult that can be when they seem to be hell bent on winding you up. If it makes you feel any better, my mother keeps telling me she can't be bothered with the wedding, she's going to turn up in jeans and only stay for the ceremony. I keep smiling and telling her if that's what makes her happy I don't mind.

RBF - yay for Chinese! And Indian! And takeaways in general!

Glad your shoulder is getting better. Hopefully by beginning of next week you'll be able to get back into everything.

PT sessions start back up again next week; 0800 on Tuesday and 0730 on Friday. Already dreading the alarm going off.

Mogf - love your half a pack of biscuits dinner! Was that with veg as well?!

Thanks for the panic about cerazette failing when stressed. I knew it's less effective if you're ill or miss it for a little while, but stress? Uh-oh. Might need to be a bit more careful with that.

Fingers crossed your Mum comes to her senses and dresses in something a little smarter than jeans! Ha ha.

Happy weekend y'all!

Hey all,

Today we have made the big decision to move our wedding from 27th August to 2nd April, a close family member was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer at Christmas time, she doesn't think that she will make our wedding so we've brought it forward. I'm not going to get my beautifully fit body ? But wouldn't manage with my biscuit diet anyway.

Im hoping that my dress, which is now being rushed in, will be ready, and I'll be able to find a seamstress who can alter length etc as quickly as possible. So much to do, so very little time now.

Enjoy your our weekends and I'll stick around and try and get myself into some form of shape.

Oh MOGF, I am so sorry to hear about your family member Kind of exciting that it is so soon now though, despite the very sad and unfortunate curcumstances surrounding it. I saw your other thread about this and that they have battled 3 times now, fingers crossed this person has more lives yet.

Maybe you'll be so busy in the lead up to your wedding now that you won't have time to eat.....not even biscuits! You made me laugh when you said biscuit diet....sounds good to me!

I have been good today (unlike the last couple of days). Had a stroganoff for dinner and substituted some of the rice and sauce for veg, and put it all on my small plate. Still feel full after though so that's a good sign. Plate was crammed though.....dam veg!

Pooba good to hear you PT is better an back to work. Good luck with those early mornings....I am realllllly not a morning person. Would 100% choose a night shift then a day shift where I have to get up at 6am. Determined to get back on the exercise tuesday (am working monday).

Morning ladies!

firstly, mogf, I am so sorry to hear about your circumstances, What an amazing thing to do to bring your day forward for your family member. It will be so special for you all. I know this is very random on a forum like this as we don't 'actually' know each other but if there's anything I can do to help please don't hesitate to ask. All us fellow brides understand the stress of organising a wedding so if you need any tips for contacts, or quick and easy ideas for the upcoming day just shout.

I haven't had the healthiest week. I attempted to give up caffeine and sugar but my head felt like it was going to explode. I lasted as long as I could but then I just HAD to have a cup of sugary tea and a Kitkat ? my headache went almost instantly ??

Rbf well done with your small plate and using veg as a rice substitute....that's a good idea!

i spoke to my friend yesterday (she's a counsellor) she reckons weddings are one of the things in life that people (women especially) feel strongest about. Weddings apparently bring up really strong feelings for people, whether it gets them thinking about their big day in the future, what they DIDNT do on their big day or what they feel SHOULD happen on your day, apparently it's totally normal for family and friends to try to influence your day. This made me feel a lot better about my sisters recent behaviours and made me realise that maybe I'm not alone out there. I'm planning on keeping my cards close to my chest now. 'Over sharing' helps nobody so I'm going to keep the remaining plans and ideas quiet. If they don't know, they don't have an opinion eh?!

Well Pooba good luck with the PT this week. I'm up at 6am every morning for work and then planning on hitting the gym at 10am Tuesday and Thursday...at least the mornings are lighter now! It definitely helps to lift the mood and get me out of bed when it's not pitch black outside!!

Ive got exactly 15 weeks and 10hrs to go until my big day! DEFINITELY need to try a bit harder with this weightloss!!

Happy weekend everyone xx

Thank you both, it may seem silly, but I see you lot as friends, seeing as we seem to talk most days. Unfortunately there are no more lives left for this one, she is terminal. She gave me a wedding present on Thursday as she has decided she wasn't going to make it, which is what spurred us on to making changes so quickly. When she goes it will devastate me.

I think with all the added pressure I may just eat minimal and see if I can get a little exercise in here and there. What's the betting it's that time of the month too, I can't remember at the moment. How on earth do you deal with that in a white dress?!

This one I definitely know the answer to....you can get a prescription from your go to delay your period. I've used it once before when I was working abroad. You take it about 3 days before you're due on and then every day to hold it off until you decide you're ready for it to start. It then starts within a day or two.

Oh how extremely heartbreaking for you, you'll be so thankful that you brought the day forward for your family member though. It'll be such a special day, for added reasons now.

My heart goes out to you ?

Aww MOGF I am so sorry that it is terminal ☹️ I second that if there is anything we can do then let us know. Re. the period, There is that pill, but I would suggest taking it the month before (i.e. this month if it is not too late) and put it back by a couple of weeks then stop taking it, so that your next period is 2 weeks after your wedding. The only reason I suggest doing that it because I read somewhere that it can have some side effects such as bloating - which you also don't want for the big day. I don't know how true this is but I can see why it might cause she unpleasant side effects, I guess everyone would be different.

Mittel - no sugar or caffeine sounds horrific, I couldn't imagine life without Coffee. Maybe just try it one at a time next time so your body isn't suddenly without sugar AND caffeine which is probably why you got the headache. 15 weeks - so exciting, what date does that make your wedding?

Oh and I just messaged a couple of PTs near me to see how cheap they can go for me. Fingers crossed!

Mogf – I’m so, so sorry to hear about your sad news. Echoing everyone else, please don’t hesitate to say if there’s anything we can do. I’m getting married in April as well and very aware of how time is flying… if you want someone to bounce ideas off or discuss something, just ask xx

Re. period, if I’m honest (and sounding rather hypocritical, bearing in mind I don’t have periods on the pill I’m on) but if everything was normal, I don’t think I could take a pill just to delay it. Not least because I was so irregular I didn’t have a clue when I’d be on (!) but if you’re regular now, I’ve heard that taking the delaying pill can absolutely mess up your cycles going forward.

RBF – Well done on keeping up with your veg intake and the healthy eating!

I’m really not a morning person either and if it was just me at the gym at that time, I’d be hopeless. Thankfully it works well enough, her telling me what to do and my confused body just doing it. I’m ravaged for the rest of the day, but it’s worth it just to get my exercise done and out the way! Hope you get some good deals from your local PTs! Let us know what happens

Mittel – heyyy! Kudos for trying to give up the caffeine and sugar; don’t be hard on yourself for having to go back to it. Maybe try cutting down steadily before going absolutely cold turkey?

Looking forward to your session at the gym tomorrow?!

Afm – we had friends staying with us over the weekend, so lots of bread, bacon and big dinners. I reeeally need to focus this week; have my (final) dress fitting on Saturday and while I feel I’ve maintained my weight and measurements (good!) I don’t feel any healthier (bad!)

Plan is: carry on with press ups (24 a day now!), general workout at gym during lunch today, PT session tomorrow morning, ~7km jog with a friend either Wed/Thurs evening and then another PT session Friday morning.

I have dinners sorted for most evenings: tonight will be stirfry with pork and lots of veg. Tuesday: salmon, sweet potato mash and veg, Wednesday: sausages, sweet potato mash and veg, Thursday: probably rice noodle and homemade bolognaise, Friday: lamb steaks, sweet potato mash or bulgar wheat and veg.

Of course, I’ll probably cave mid-way through the week in tiredness and have some sort of cheat meal but I promise I’ll try!

Actually MOGF I was also going to ask you to clarify if you were happy to be on your period and were looking for ways to manage, or if you wanted a way to not have it. I agree with Pooba, I think for the sake of the future, I may just deal with being "on". But having said that I have very light periods and know that one tampon will easily be sufficient to last me the max. recommended 8 hours. Sorry that is waaaayyy TMI.

Thanks, I am finding the smaller portions much easier then I thought I would actually. Just before I dish up at the point I am dying to eat whatever I have cooked I am tempted to do a big dish, but I don't and am perfectly satisfied each time. Fingers crossed for exercise tomorrow. I am in two minds about it as I said that I would restart this week, but I am studying for a degree whilst working and have just today been set a big essay which I am nervous about so kind of want to spend every spare hour on that. But on the other hand, I made an appointment to go see my dress again on Saturday to 1. check the dry cleaning is up to scratch and 2. try on different styles of lace bolero to make up my mind on style of sleeve that I want as I cant decide. However I sooo think that I have onyl gotton bigger (unintentionally) since I tried it on last in October. So kind of pooping myself that the shop and my mum will tell me off for putting on weight when I promised I would loose!!! ekk!

Pooba that is so exciting about your final dress fitting on Saturday too, you will have to feed back how you get on, I will do too!

Well done for the perseverance with the exercise Pooba, yo uare doing so well. Are you weighing yourself or going by measurements? Those meals sound amazingly healthy! Better then me. I just had a homemade paella...not the best for reducing carbs but I don't put in any crap lol!

Morning all! RBF - I hope you're preparing for exercise today! Understand what you mean about wanting to spend all of your time on the big essay (well done on studying while working! I definitely wouldn't have that level of commitment!) but I find that exercising helps me clear my mind and focus on solutions to any problems I have. Nothing better than pounding away on a treadmill or rowing and thinking about essay plans. What do I want in my opening paragraph? How many words do I have - okay, conclusion will be this long... etc.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on on Saturday! You'll be absolutely fine and I'm sure it will look beeeeautiful

I haven't weighed myself since my PT did it early February. I only go by clothes, although it fluctuates so much during the day. In the morning, my work trousers hang off me. By the evening, they're snug and I can't wait to get into my comfy jeans as soon as I get home! Ha ha.

Paella sounds amazing. Mmmmm. I managed to stick with the plan last night and have stirfry, although I was / / this close to giving up and getting something in - I had the dentist yesterday morning so my teeth ached and I think I'm coming down with a cold, But I stood strong and had healthy option! Yay. Tonight will be different; unexpectedly going to a steak place with my folks so it will be rib-eye and fries all round!

Mmm steak! We had a steak at the weekend before the rugby - love a good bit of meat! The paella was amazing! That's great you're not weighing, it is so tempting yet so pointless....measurements/clothes fitting is the best way!

So I really wasn't looking forward to the run so was rather relieved to wake up and see it is absolutely hammering down with rain! So i did the shred instead which was fine...level 1 is rather easy once you are used to level 2....so will stick with original plan (before my shoulder messed up) of doing level 1 four times and then back to day 1 of level 2.

Gonna get one with the essay now. TBH I have done a lot of *thinking* about the essay, it is about time I make a start haha! So yeah just gotta get down and dirty with it hehe. Wish me luck....hate essays! I will try and take your advice on board though Pooba and think about the essay while exercising and hope that it spurs me on to get my ideas down on paper straight after the exercise instead of procrastinating on here.....going to make a start now I promise!

Evening all!

I hope everyone is doing well. I surprised myself today and actually enjoyed my workout....probably helped that it was chucking it down outside so it gave me a reason to stay indoors!

wow Pooba, 24 press ups a day is fab! Well done!

Mogf how are the speedy plans looking? I've just got in touch with a wedding planner for our party back here because I'm stressing about pulling everything together. She's charging £450 to be there on the day, be the 'go to' person for suppliers and guests and make sure I do nothing but have fun....is this something your budget could stretch to? It might be worth thinking about it to take a little bit of weight off your shoulders?!

Talking of shoulders, RBf, how is yours doing now? Are you back to full health?

So I still haven't heard from the wedding dress designer. half of me is anxious that she's forgotten all about me (which I'm sure she hasn't!) and the other half of me hopes she gives me another 4-5 weeks to lose some weight before I have to go for a fitting! I had my hair trial yesterday... My hairdresser reckons it's easy peasy to lose a stone in 4 weeks.... My question is HOW?! I'm doing exercise (although admittedly I need to do more!) I've definitely cut down on snacks and chocolate, I'm having soups for lunch and veg with most dinners but the scales (and tape measure) just haven't budged ?

The sugar and caffeine cold turkey thing was the worst thing I've ever done and I definitely wouldn't recommend it!! My mood was absolutely foul!!

Right people, I'd better gets my beauty sleep. Only 14 weeks to go.... I can't remember who asked but my wedding date is 11th June (in Ibiza) then I've got the wedding party (and second chance to wear the dress) over here on 25th June. All good fun!

take care everyone xx

RBF - ooh yes, me love the meat too. It was so good last night, although I told my trainer a little white lie. If she asks any of you, tell her I had sweet potato fries, onion and a salad with my ribeye. In actuality, I had full fat chips, lashings of garlic butter and the onion was part of a fried onion loaf which probably has my daily intake of calories in one go. Whoopsies. Totally worth it though.

Glad your shred went well. Again today? Any stiffness? How's your shoulder? ALL THE QUESTIONS.

Good luck with your essay and I hope you were suitably motivated yesterday

Mittel - glad you enjoyed your workout. What sort of exercises did you do?

That's such a good idea about the wedding planner; must take a lot of the stress off!

If you're worried, I'd give the designer a quick call. Even if the dress is ready, you can determine when you go in - my dress came in early January and I had my first fitting early Feb, but it could have been later if I wanted.

re. losing the stone, it can be doable. Maybe you could do what RBF is doing and cutting down on the portion sizes as well? Try cutting out the snacks entirely, or have fresh raw veg or nuts instead. What are you drinking? (Apart from the caffiene ) - alcohol? Fizzy drinks (even diet ones are full of evils)? Breakfast? Short of upping the exercise, I'm running low on ideas

Mogf - sending you love and best wishes. Hope you're getting on okay xx

Hi ladies! Well I am assuming we are all ladies haha!

That's quite a good deal for the planner to take control of the part here. Do you have a planner for you wedding abroad too. I had no idea you were eloping, how lovely! Will be blooming lovely in June too! Can I come?! hehe.

Yup did the shred again today go me! My shoulder is fine, I am aware of it every now and then and don't quite move it as much as I would normally in the shred DVD i.e. in punches and jumping jacks.

I know how you feel about sort of wanting extra time to loose weight before putting the dress on! I was hoping to get away with a couple more weeks to regain that tone I got in Jan but hey ho, mum is coming this weekend so this weekend it is!

Funnily enough the lady in the shop also said to me "it'll be easy to loose a couple of inches to fit in your dress, you could do it in 2 weeks". I think she meant by literally eating nothing and doing one of those fasting type diets. I did one once and lost 14 pounds in 6 days but it doesn't stay off. I will be very tempted to do it just before the wedding, and a body wrap to literally get as little as I can for the pics. I know I'll regret it my whole life if I look fat in my wedding pictures. I'll see how the dieting goes over the next 15 months and decide then!

I went to a MUA/dermatologist (not sure what she calls herself) today who was recommended by my friend. I accidently/was pressured into buying £130 worth of products. eek! I dont really have that much money to spend but to be fair, I got 6 products and she said they should last 6-9 months so I am trying to make myself feel better about the spend. I'm really not a girly girl so I am sort of having heart palpitations over spending that much on my face. But they reason I went was to get some products which will make my skin look its best for the day and fingers crossed no spots!

Haha love it, your secret is safe with my Pooba! I agree, totally worth it! We got some bacon greens, and creamed spinach with our oops! Felt very naughty!

I actually did a good amount on the essay yesterday, Was supposed to be on a study day all day today but this morning I went to the dentist (teeth whitening is £245 eek!), then the skin person, the I went to go see my friend who I delivered her baby on Sunday, He is such a cutie pie! Gonna do a couple of hours essaying now before the H2B gets home and then I'm back into work tomorrow. I'm on study again on Friday but the rents are coming up this weekend (both of them, separately!) and my house is a pig-sty, honestly it might as well be my student digs lol. So no doubt will spend most of Friday cleaning!

RBF does it still count as eloping if 50 odd people tag along for a cheap holiday?!? No, in all seriousness it's going to be amazing and then obviously, I get to wear my dress a second time for the big party back here at the end of June!

Yes we do have a planner out in Ibiza too. But I've made quite a few changes to the standard package, otherwise you're paying for stuff you probably wouldn't normally choose to have. I'm also managing to cut down on costs by taking my own flowers (my friend is making me an artificial bouquet) which I can use for some photos back in uk too. And my dad is performing the ceremony out there which is pretty cool...I'm not sure how easy that would've been to organise over here ? I can't wait to get out there and relax in the sunshine...another reason I reeeeeally want a beach body!!

Oh wow, delivering your friends baby must've been amazing! Well done! I'm glad your shoulder's holding up, good luck with the rest of the essay!

Pooba that porky you told the PT absolutely cracked me up! We all need a little treat now and then though ? No I don't drink fizzy drinks, but I do like the occasional glass of vino!! Maybe I should cut that down because I always eat crap when I drink ? And yes, portion sizes can be a killer too, maybe I'll get myself a smaller plate to eat from... I definitely don't fancy starving myself unless absolutely necessary, I'm a nanny AND I've started my own business, I need the strength and energy!!

Workout wise I do about 15 mins on the treadmill alternating walking with running, then I do some weights on the bosu and fitball and then about 20 mins doing various exercises on the power plate. I do my cool down on the pp too.

I had my hospital appointment yesterday, turns out I have a 'kink' in my colon which is causing me pain. I need to discuss my medication options with my GP but I'm looking forward to getting on with things without this (almost constant) pain??

Mogf, I hope you're doing ok and things are coming together for you xx

Almost the weekend again ladies....that's another week down I just wish the weight would drop as quickly as the time ?Xx

RBF - while I am certainly a woman, I'm not a lady

Well done on shredding again yesterday. Today?!

Can't wait to hear how the fitting goes for you Just be wary about doing one of those extreme diets just before the wedding - with my dress, if I lose much more weight after final fitting there are bits that may gape

Hope the skin products work wonders for you!

Good job on the essay writing as well - and the whole delivering a baby thing It must be so nice to carry on being part of that baby's life, knowing you were one of the first people to see them enter the world.

Mittel - very jealous of your Ibiza wedding. You're going to have such an amazing time!

I think I'm going to work on my portion sizes as well. Also, I had pasta last night (impromptu date night with my friend, her mum and her sister after our 10km jog!) and it's made me more than a little worried that I have to give pasta up full stop. I used to have it regularly (2-3 times a week) and then with the PT and watching my weight, I replaced it with rice noodles and bulgar wheat. Since then, I've had lasagne once which was fine, but I've also had cannelloni and tortellini and both of those caused me to bloat like a big old fat whale. The only other thing that it might be is the ricotta that was in both meals... but I can't imagine it was that?

Fingers crossed your GP can prescribe you with the medication to stop you being in pain. Any risk of having to have an operation?

You're right, it nearly is the weekend! I have so much to do at work and may be away for several days next week, but I just can't be bothered. All that goes through my head during the day is wedding, Rough Runner, exercise, food, boredom, whyamisotired?, wedding, exercise, urrrrggggh I want to be home, Rough Runner, wedding... no interest for work. Bah humbug.

Err maybe not eloping then, that is amazing that 50 people are going with you! You're going to have such fun, holiday of a lifetime! You going on honeymoon after? I am very jealous you get to wear your dress twice, I think I will actually cry when I have to take mine off!

Yeah delivering her baby was amazing, and she did so well Was supposed to be seeing her today but not now, hopefully Wednesday ?

Shoulder is still holding out though I could feel it today. Yes I did the shred yesterday which I was very proud of as I working in the day (what we call a short shift which is actually a standard 8 hours) which usually stops me. And I did it this morning too. Clearly worried about dress trying on session tomorrow eek!

Mittel and Pooba YES - you should both definitely join me on the smaller plate malarkey, it has been great for me. I think because visually the plate still looks full (because it is) I don't notice the difference and am definitely still full after. It is amazing how much I can cram in without realising! The plate stops me doing that and I have not once gone for 2nd helpings. It always makes a lunch portion for the following day too!

Pooba I don't think I would do the crash diet unless I really needed to the fit in my dress, I really don't want to be uncomfortable but I still want it to be tight and suck me in on the day haha. But I also want room in there to eat lots of cake! Pooba, it is kind of good the pasta made you bloat because it shows your diet has changed and your body is getting used to eating more healthy! Well done. My sister recommended to me courgetti the other day, anyone done this?

Mittel your workout sounds good! How often do you go? I've never used the power plate, feel like I would look like a right numpty! Is it good? Your colon sounds painful, I've never heard of that before! I hope your doc can think of something to sort you out. Even if it is an op, in my view it is better to have a few weeks off your feet and get it sorted for good then struggle on tablets etc for unknown amount of time. But I know not everyone sees it like that.

Yayyy It is the weekend for me already, well not really I am supposed to be essay writing. Got the rents coming all weekend so just spent the whole morning cleaning and stocking the kitchen! Knackered now! Gonna get writing/researching now!

Gosh you're all doing so well! I have my first fitting tomorrow, I'm a blubbery lump but I have pretty sucky in pants that I'm hoping will help some what. If the dress doesn't fit I might cry. I've not had much time for exercise with everything, but I'm managing 24 press ups a night, and 15 minutes here and there on the machine.

Mittel, that sounds very painful, hopefully they'll be able to sort it without too much fuss.

I have to keep pretty fit to be a wedding photographer, so I hit the gym etc regularly. However I do have a sweet tooth & love good food, so I need to keep an eye on what I eat.

The best thing I started doing was using an app called My Fitness Pal, it monitors your food intake & tells you how you're doing. There's an old saying, "what gets measured gets done", in this case that is absolutely right, if I fill it in it really keeps me off rubbish food.

No diets, just watching what you eat :-)

Nice to hear from you MOGF! How random that the three of us are going to try our dresses on tomorrow! Pooba has her final fitting, you have your first, and I'm just going for fun ? Hehe not really I am going to try on accessories, mainly boleros! Well done on the press-ups - that is amazing! And well done also for still managing 15 mins exercise here and there with all this stress. Keep at it! Are you managing to keep control of what you are eating OK?

Neil - You sound like you are trying to sell MFP to us but I can see your a photographer...! MFP has come up on this thread a couple of pages ago. Personally, I've tried it twice now but just can't be dealing with it. I was spending a good 20-30 mins a day to input all my food and exercise as I cook fresh every day so my meals tend to average 15 different ingredients. It wasn't worth my time when I am perfectly capable of staying on top of what goes in my mouth without having to track it on an app!

How did everyone's dress trying on go? My eating is out the window, I'm either not eating, or back on a diet of biscuits and ice cream. ?

I tried mfp mfp a few times, but as you said it's just time consuming. It's not bad if you can just scan a packet (of biscuits) and be done, but I mostly cook from scratch. Oh and Courgetti is beautiful, you can do it yourself easily, or Tesco do pots of it in their quick cheat bit with the fresh veg and pre chopped onions. They also do a butternut squash spaghetti, same thing cut into ribbons, I never eat pasta any more as either of these do the job perfectly and have a lovely flavour. Just don't over cook or they go to a squishy mess.

Heyyy, Just a quick one from me as I am just going to bed after a 13 hour shift with another one tomorrow. Dress fitting was a bit emotional (everything to do with the dress causes a wave of a variety of emotions) but good in general. I just wanted to ask MOGF how do you cook courgetti if you are doing it from scratch. And do you have a recommendation for the machine to slice it? (can't recall the name - feeling a bit braindead...)

xx

My courgetti is usually more (tagliatelle) courgliatelle , I use a vegetable peeler to just run the length of the courgette, and then use a knife to cut it into strips, I prefer mine to be thick and flat. You don't need to have a julienne, but you can pick them up cheaply if it's easier. I give the strands of courgette a quick press into some kitchen roll to get rid of the excess moisture, then sauté it in oil or butter in a pan. It takes maybe 3-5 minutes to cook. 5 minutes is bordering soggy, which you DO NOT want. Blurgh.

Hi all,

So sorry for silence this week. Last weekend was mental, this week’s been mental, I’m mental. Gaaaah.

Quick recap: my dress fitting went well on Saturday. I still fit in it (yay!) and I got the first wave of proper excitement for the wedding day, which was exhilarating.

I also now have a new dress for the hen do, although need to find a jacket to wear over top. Spent 20 minutes in the changing room poring over how I looked in it, criticizing every lump and bump and then thought ‘sod it’ to myself. I like the dress and (for the most part) look semi-decent in it. Just need to stop my brain over-thinking.

Had a PT session this morning with measurements being taken and shockadoodledoo, I haven’t put on weight! I was convinced I’d gained cms and kgs, but I’ve actually lost 0.1kg (ha ha, go me!), 0cm from arms (boo!), 2cms from stomach, 1cm from hips and 1cm from thigh. Nice to know I’m maintaining weight and measurements, despite eating like a fat pig and doing only a little exercise in past week.

Away for the weekend tonight, but will try to keep on top of food and maybe go for a jog. We shall see.

RBF – how is your shoulder now? Hope you’re back on Level 2 shredding!

I’m glad the dress fitting went well all-in-all. Was it good-emotional?! Did you manage to sort all of your accessories?

How were your parents last weekend?!

Mogf – how did your dress fitting go?!

Well done on the 24 press ups every night – hope you’ve carried it on. Feeling the difference in your arms yet?

As much as I’d love to be on a biscuit diet, do try and throw a few bits of fruit in there as well

Your courgette sounds nice in theory… although I’m not actually a huge fan of courgette so will probably give a miss! Ha ha.

Neil Walker – welcome to the thread! I tried My Fitness Pal a while back, but struggled to keep on top of it. I’d rather eat, than have to worry about logging!

Happy weekend everyone!

Morning all!

Firstly I'm glad everyone's dresses fit!

I decided to bite the bullet yesterday and call the dress shop about mine (I've been putting it off until I lose weight but THAT hasn't happened!) she revealed that my dress had arrived a few weeks ago but it was completely different to the one I ordered. She rang the company and apparently mine has been discontinued ? I was surprisingly calm to the news!! Anyway, I'm buying the sample one I originally tried on and getting a nice discount and having alterations to make it more 'my own'. The first fitting is in 5weeks ? So operation panic has set in!!!!

I hit the gym hard this week but have now been struck down with a horrendous cold and cough. The little girl I care for has had the same and totally lost her appetite so I'm praying I get the same strain of virus as her ??

I hope everyone's had a good week and still doing well.

Well done pooba for your inch loss btw!!

have a great weekend guys!xx

Hi girls! Sorry for the silence from me too, I have been on nights and just finished my last one this morning so trying to get back to real time. Knackered!

Good job fitting in your dress Pooba! Mine was similar fit to before i.e. need to loose a good couple inches all round. The diet just goes to pot when I am working my shifts though ☹️Not sure I'll ever manage to loose weight, not ever lost weight before so feeling pretty unhopeful! Worst case it will need to be taken out but I look much bigger in the photos then I want so really want to manage it. Sorry for the ranting, feeling a bit down prob just because I am so tired!

Well done for the inch loss too Pooba, that's great!

My shoulder is back to normal. Not managed shred this week due to nights as expected. On nights next week too but might manage it on Wednesday and Thursday. We shall see! I am very active at work it is just the junk food I eat that lets me down!

My dress fitting was emotional in good and bad ways. When it was on I was ecstatic and fell in love all over again but almost as soon as I walked out the shop, I struggle with the dress wobbles so badly! Don't like the pics of me in it and I have decided that it is because the light in there is very unflattering and it doesn't help the dress needs lots of alterations which when they are done I will feel much better, but it looks pretty frumpy at the moment and I know there is no point in altering it now especially with the intended weight loss. It wouldn't be so bad if my wedding was this year but I have over a year of feeling like this until my first proper fitting. I decided on the bolero, veil and flower accessory which is good. I intended on taking it away to look at whenever I please, which I think will help with the wobbles. But I find the staff a little intimidating and feel like they think I am wasting their time as my wedding is so far away and I am not making them any money. Don't get me wrong they are perfectly nice and polite, I am just very shy and find it difficult to say what I want to say.

The main concern I have is that for the alterations required, they have quoted me £470 and this honestly makes me want to vomit as it is so extortionate! So I am planning on taking it elsewhere closer to the time to see if I can get it done cheaper. The boutique it is at is very posh in one of the richest areas of London so I would be surprised if I couldn't find it cheaper. However, I am getting my bolero made by them and the lady was saying that she will make it in time for the first fitting and then fit it at the same time as the dress, yet I don't have the guts to tell her I am planning on going elsewhere so don't know what to do! All so hard - I go from loving it, to worrying and wanting to just bring the wedding forward a year (not an option of course), to just thinking I would be better off with another dress altogether.

Mittel that is great news on the dress - sounds like a win win situation for you as you have saved money and still get your dress! Sorry to hear you are feeling unwell though - take care of yourself.

xxx

Mittel - wow, what a story about your dress! What would have happened if you hadn't called in?! Exciting about the first fitting, though

Hope you're feeling okay now. It's so horrendously bad that we hope we get ill and lose our appetite, isn't it. Every so often I get a recurring bout of gastroentritus (sp?) where I can't keep anything in/down for 24-48 hours. It's awful at the time, but the last 3 sessions I've lost at least 4-6lbs... and a rather large part of me hope I get it again in next few weeks. I'll miss the gym, but at least I'll be skinnnnnnnny! Urgh, bad Pooba.

RBF - feel free to rant away. It's why we're here - to help you realise you're beautiful regardless of shape or size

Hope the night shifts this week aren't too horrendous. Looking forward to potentially shredding tomorrow?

Stop looking at photos of the dress - or any other dresses. Just hold onto that feeling you have when it's on. It's your dress! It's the dress you're going to marry your OH in! (One of) the happiest days of your life! You still have a lot of time to feel good about yourself - don't look at this as a negative. You're already doing so well, incorporating changes into your diet and exercise routine. The weight loss will happen.

I'm sure you'll be able to find someone else cheaper to alter both the dress and bolero. I don't know if this helps, but I paid £200 in Winchester to have the dress brought up, tightened around stomach and boobs and removable capped sleeves added. Seemed an awful lot of money, but there's a lot of dress to work with and I know I couldn't do it!

Hope everyone's week is going well. Diet has been out the window yesterday and today, but going for a 10km jog this evening and then ramping up the exercise so hopefully food will get better as well.

Had a scary experience today where it all came crashing on me that it's my OH's birthday this weekend, my hen do next-next weekend, Rough Runner (and OH's stag!) 2 weekends after that and then wedding 2 weeks after that. Holy fudge on a stick.

Hugs to all x

Hi ladies!

Been very busy here. Still am busy tbh I'm just chilling out this morning and taking a nap this afternoon before my night shift. Both diet and exercise hasn't happened as I have been so busy! But hopefully the busy-ness counts as exercise haha! Eating a lot of ready meals and quick food though which I guess aren't too good... wah!

I am also one of those brides who hopes I'll get food poisoning just so I can stop eating for a few days lol - absolutely awful behaviour!

Thanks Pooba - yes I am not that down about my weight as it isn't the worst, I am a size 14 on bottom and 10-12 on top (only as I have no boobs lol) but I am tall so hold the weight well. I just want to generally loose a couple inches all over and be a bit more toned but it is mostly my face I get down about, I have a very round face and so much of the weight has gone on there looking back at pics of me from a few years ago. But of course there is no exercise to loose weight off my face so I just need a general all over loss. boohoo. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if I can't loose it for the wedding because if I can't get the motivation for this one day I am spending £20,000 on, when will I?

I look at the pics of me in it daily, do you think that is not a good idea?

Yes thanks for the recommendation, what;s the shop name? £200 isn't that bad, I would be happy with less then £300 tbh. The bolero is being made bespoke to me so should be fitted by them, that's the problem. I mean of course to avoid facing them I could just collect it "tacked" and not go back and get the dress alteration person to finish it off but then I will be paying for something twice!

How do you find time to do a 10km jog lol, when I used to do 5 it took me 35 mins then add on a warm up and cool down and shower suddenly about 75 mins of my day were gone! Well done though, you're doing absolutely amazing!

That is a scary thought pooba! I'm very excited for you! x