Brides and weight loss: When is enough, enough?

by Kristen Seymour, Posted Mar 3rd 2008 12:30PM

What does your dress look like? How will you wear your hair for your wedding? How much weight are you going to lose?

These questions, especially the last one, might seem a bit personal, but according to a recent Newsweek article, it's not off-track. The article cited a study published in the journal Appetite, which followed 272 engaged women who were, on average, six months from the big day. It found that 70% of them were trying to lose more than 20 pounds and another 20% were making certain they didn't gain a pound. Seriously.

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I'm not great at math, but here's what I understand from this -- most women want to lose over 20 pounds, which is a lot of weight to lose, especially within a set six month period. Only 20% wanted to stay at their same weight, so that means the remaining 10% were trying to lose less than 20 pounds.

Ladies, I understand all too well the desire to lose weight; however, it is important you realize that your betrothed loves YOU, not you if you fit into a size 8, and not you if your waist was a little more defined. He (or she) loves you, and if you want to get a little healthier or trim down a bit so you feel better on your Big Day, have at it. But I beg you, stop trying to morph your body into something it's never been -- wedding planning is stressful enough without worrying about whether your size 16 body will fit into the size 8 dress you ordered when you were sure you'd lose all that weight.

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