Diary Of A Bride To Be - Getting In Shape

Tomorrow is my first fitting for my beautiful Suzanne Neville mystery gown at Ellie Sanderson in Beaconsfield.

Getting Fit For My Dress

Getting ready for a run ... doing those s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s!

For the last three months I have been working up to this day, in one way or another. Ellie put me in touch with Pauline Richards, British Champion and former GB heptathlete, who currently runs 'Proud And Victorious' working with Brides and CEOs to create their perfect body. No pressure then!

We both knew I could look better in my gorgeous wedding gown if I was prepared to put in a little effort. I have been seeing Pauline twice weekly, and she has been moulding me into the right shape for the gown. When I say moulding that sounds as though there was very little effort on my part. Actually, it involved a lot of hard slog and determination, and a complete transformation of the way I ate (more about that later). The proof is in the pudding (oh I miss pudding!!!), and when I woke up at 4am this morning - unusual for me - but I really am so excited about the fitting .... I tried on every outfit in the smaller side of my wardrobe, and they were all comfortable to wear. Six months ago John and I were off to a party and I asked him to do up the zip on one of them. "Sorry sweetheart, it's not possible" he said, quite puzzled. I don't think either of us were aware that we had each gained a stone in the two years since meeting each other. Infuriating how it just creeps on....

My fiancé Is Getting In Shape Too!

John decided to lose a stone, so he started on Michael Mosley's Fast Diet and joined a gym, and promptly lost a stone. He looks fantastic! I joined the gym (but hardly went) and tried to follow my Weight Watchers diet, and lost a pound or two. Instead of plying my fiancé with chocolate and tempting meals to balance the scales, I went off in search of a solution.

Weight Loss Support

I think women sometimes need an extra helping hand with weight loss, as we tend to emotionalize food, and giving it up feels quite stressful. Also, we have lots of balls to juggle, with work, kids, friendships, keeping house, etc; so that those things we do for ourselves tend to be left out when we run out of time. Either that, or we are lazier than men, and I am definitely not admitting to that! Besides, my parents had given me some money for a big birthday, with strict instructions not to spend it on anything but myself, and it had sat around for six months waiting for that special dress or pair of shoes, but unless I got my figure back I was not prepared to buy anything special.... Catch 22 then.

My new friend Ellie Sanderson looked amazing, so I asked her what her secret was. Enter Pauline, and my life took another turn. I have been lucky enough to work abroad, in the US, Canada, Australia, and South Africa, and have always gone to gyms, and employed a personal trainer if I have had some spare cash. So my expectations in this area were huge. Pauline is on a whole new level. She has changed my running gait so running seems effortless now, and by working with weights on key body parts we are gradually moulding this old body back into the right shape for my amazing dress.

She also has significant input into what I eat. From day one I had to give up wine, sugar in pretty much any form, bread, fizzy drinks and pasta. Giving up diet coke was the most difficult, as I had become addicted to it, and was having up to six cans a day.

To help feed muscles and keep the sugar craving at bay she introduced me to lots of new and mysterious foods and seeds. For instance, I sprinkle chia seeds, hemp seeds and crushed linseed on my oats each morning to aid digestion and stabilize blood sugar; drink a very tasty but very green drink by Bodyism called Beauty Food for good skin, hair and nails, and after a workout combine baobab, and maca powder with a protein supplement. All are packed with minerals and vitamins, gives me an energy boost, and keeping me fuller for longer.

So today is another big day for me, and I will let you know how it goes. You will see the results in two months and 12 days (not that I'm counting) when I walk down the aisle towards my fiancé and the rest of my life.... EXCITED!

In the meantime I am working on the wedding cake, party favors, table decorations, and gift list. I am very excited about the latter, as our gift list will be all plants for our garden. We have everything we need, but our garden certainly needs sprucing up!! Watch this space as later on I'm going to talk about my plan gift list at Sweet Meadow Gardens.

Donna

P.S. I bought the purple shoes. They are perfect!

Credit: Featured image http://perfectbodybywii.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/running-form.html