I am the maid of honor in my sisters wedding in 6.5 weeks! I want to look and feel healthier at the wedding as well as fit in my dress.

The dress is a size 18 it was the largest size in the style needed so we ordered it. She doesnt know its not my size (she wears a 6 or 8 so I dont think she can identify with what size I am) and I cannot disapoint her.

I wear a 22/24 dress right now my meas. are

Bust 49.5 the dress bust is 44
Waist 42.5 the dress waist is 38
Hips are free flowing thankfully!!

How can I blast these inches off quickly! Can it be done or am I dreaming. I have already lost a bit of weight and inches so I know I can have the dedication it takes but I am unsure if my time frame is ridiculous.

My plan right now is to
1. exercise everday for 30min cardio and do 3 20min sessions of weight training each week.
2. drink at least 80oz of water daily
3. drink soy protein shake for breakfast and lunch and then eat a reasonable dinner, fruit and veggies for snacks as needed. This will put me at around 1200-1600 cal per day.


I was hoping to be down to 235lbs for this wedding but I didnt stay on plan as I should have!! Now If I get below 270lbs I would be so happy! Fitting in the dress is more important than the scale # of course.

Any tips or help would be so appreciated. Or even if you think I am not going to make I need to know.
Thank you

I read once, that for every 10 pounds you lose, you go down a dress size. Not sure if that is true, since I didnt buy any new clothes till they started to fall off me!

You have a good goal, just stick to what you are doing, sounds like it should work.

Have a good time at the wedding.

Chris

I think it MIGHT be possible, but you will have to be VERY strict on your plan. I am currently a size 18, but I think it all has to do with your body frame. Have you considered going to a tailor and seeing if they can let the dress out a bit to perhaps a size 20 so you don't have to climb such a mountain to make it into the 18?

I think it will be very difficult to drop two dress sizes so quickly, and perhaps unhealthy. When you are smaller, you can drop sizes in 10 pounds, but not at higher weights.

I don't mean to be a downer, but often the stress of feeling you "have" to lose so quickly seems to cause rebounds, rebellions, or even shutting down and giving up.

My advice would be to keep exercising and eating well, but start discussing alterations for the dress asap...just in case! do you have the dress? do you know anyone who could alter it?

Again, you might not need it, but better be prepared!

Hi sweetie,

I understand your dilemma, but I will have to agree with wyllenn. Keep doing what you are doing and find a good tailor. One of the tricks that Oprah's tailor used to do is to buy a 2nd dress and use the material to alter it to her size. Expensive, but effective.

While everyone's shape is different, I'm considered "busty" at 5'6". At my current weight (244), my top is *Barely* an 18 and my thighs and rear.. um, they are at a size 20 (as long as it's not cut tight). My shape size is a pear currently with apple tendencies . This is just to give you a comparison since we are about the same height. Like it has been said, everyone carries weight differently, so results may vary!

*hugs* to you! Keep up your good work!

Luv,
Ratkitten

I also don't want to be discouraging but I honestly don't think you can healthfully -- or maybe not at all -- lose that much weight in such a short amount of time. I agree with the suggestions that you need to look into having the dress altered and I would really encourage you to level with the bride as you don't want to end up too close to the wedding and THEN have to step up and say you can't wear the dress. And then think positive! Continue on with your healthful plan and even order a second dress as others have suggested and alter it so it fits! Hang in there though so soon you WILL be able to wear those smaller dresses! Believe me we all understand your dilemma here!

Thank you for all of your repsonses, perhaps I am setting myself up for failure but I am going to just do my best.
I might just purchase another dress so I will have extra fabric to use if I need to have it altered. I would have never thought of doing that!

How many bridesmaids are there in the wedding? I am no wedding expert, but someone told me recently that the latest trend in bridesmaid attire is to have each person wear a different dress but to just have them all be the same color. That way each person's body type can be taken into account. Is there any way you could wear a different dress?

Jasmine I think that is a super idea to go for it and try your best to make it; but also have the backup plan so you -- and the bride -- won't be devastated if you don't quite get there. And whether you make the goal - or not - you will STILL have gone a long way towards doing so!!

Hi .... NotTheCheat has a great idea about everyone wearing different dresses.

I realize that is not feasible now so late, but since you are the Maid of Honour, it's also very fashionable to have the maid of honour in a seperate style of dress and the rest of the bridesmaids in the same dress as each other, highlighting the m of h's role in the ceremony.

Or, what about having a tailor remake the dress entirely? Yes, it's extra money ... but at least it would remove an unrealistic expectation off of yourself.

Come clean now with your sister. Your sister's going to be incredibly stressed in the next weeks and if you spring this at the last minute, she's going to wig out.

I'm 5'10" and at 262 I'm wearing a size 20. I really don't think the 18 is feasible at your height. Do the alterations and thank goodness there are women smart enough here to have that extra dress suggestion. I would never have thought of that.

At larger sizes, I don't know how many pounds it takes to lose a size, but my own experience at my size was that I had to lose more like 30 pounds to go from a 26 to a 24.

Let's make a conservative estimate that the total you need to lose is 30 pounds. That's 5 pounds a week, every week. That's fast, really fast. Very few people sustain 5 pounds a week every week for over a month.

Like others, I don't mean to be a downer. But setting a goal like this and then not getting there can be a real downer, too.

What's more important: this dress or your health? There's plenty of research that shows that weight loss that's very fast isn't nearly as likely to be maintained. And that losing and gaining again is hard on the heart and slows the metabolism.

I'm 5'10" and barely squeezing into an 18 right now, and only in some styles of clothing. Wedding and bridesmaids dresses are notorious for running small. I love the idea of having the MOH in a different dress than the BM's. Very much the norm these days, can look quite elegant and is a great alternative. Why not ask your sis about it? That might be the perfect answer to the problem.