Hi everyone, I’m Nadia!
When I first met David back in 2009, I was at my heaviest after enjoying student life a bit too much. To be honest, the thought of a wedding couldn’t have been further from my tequila and pizza-filled mind.
Fast forward to when David popped the question. By that time, I’d lost 3st with WW. When our dream wedding venue told us they had a slot available in just 9 months’ time, we immediately said yes. The panic quickly set in - I would only have a couple of months before having to choose my wedding dress, and every girl dreams of looking their best on their wedding day.
I wanted to look my best on my wedding day
Like most brides-to-be, I spent hours scouring social media and flicking through wedding magazines looking for wedding dress inspiration. When it came to trying on dresses, I tried on pretty much every dress that looked as though it would hide my figure. Whilst many of them were beautiful, they didn’t feel like me.
Eventually, much to the delight of my extremely patient mum and bridesmaids, I found the one. It was not the big meringue I had always assumed I would get married in (to hide my hips, which I have always been self-conscious about). It was instead a figure-hugging fit and flare dress with a very low back, the perfect mix of elegant but sexy (I would say like me, but that would be a massive lie. But you can’t buy wedding dresses that are clumsy and a bit feckless!). I would never in a million years have had the confidence to wear a dress like that prior to starting my journey with WW.
Having chosen my dress, I decided that I wanted to lose a bit more weight to ensure I felt and looked my absolute best on my wedding day. I’ll be honest, the thought of embarking on one of those crazy juice diets did cross my mind. But I knew that would leave me permanently hangry at best, and at worst facing a strong likelihood that my fiancé would be sufficiently traumatised from having to live with a hangry me that he would start questioning the wisdom of marrying me!
After following the WW programme, I had to have my dress taken in!
So, I decided to stick to what I knew best – WW. I stuck to the weight-loss programme and made use of my weeklies. I really enjoyed trying to bank some rollovers, and found looking forward to an extra glass of wine at the weekend really helped me stay motivated during the working week.
I also knew that, in the 9 months of our engagement, there would be a few events (engagement party, birthdays, Christmas, hen do etc) that I would want to enjoy without tracking. There were also the occasional times where 'wedmin' became a little stressful and I went over my Points Budget, but I got into the habit of tracking everything, even the days when I went slightly off plan, which stopped me going completely off the rails. Thankfully, the thought of wearing my wedding dress always motivated me to get straight back on track the next day.
Alongside following WW, I also worked out 3-4 times a week, doing a mixture of gym sessions, group HIIT sessions and running. I was amazed at how quickly my fitness improved, and soon found myself smashing my own personal bests. The exercise not only improved my physical health, but also had a really positive impact on my mental health too. I made a promise to myself that I would continue my new fitness regime after the wedding.
By the time I came to have my first dress fitting, I had lost a further 1.5st, and had to have my dress taken in, which was an amazing feeling. I actually hit goal a few days before my wedding, losing a total of just over 4.5 stone.
The night before my wedding, I hung the dress up in the bedroom and just stared at it. I was so proud that I had actually done it, I had got to goal and would be marrying my best friend wearing a dress I would never have imagined myself in before starting my journey with WW.
"I will never forget seeing David's face as I walked into the church"
On the day of our wedding, I put the dress on and, as cheesy as it sounds, I felt the most beautiful I have ever felt in my life. I will never forget seeing David’s face as I walked into the church. He had been by my side, cheerleading me all the way throughout my journey, and here I was, walking towards him, 4.5 stone lighter and feeling more confident and beautiful than I had ever done before. I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the church! I was completely overwhelmed by the lovely compliments friends and family gave me about how I looked on my wedding day, but the most important thing to me was that I felt my absolute best.
Now that my wedding is over, I can look back at my photos with a big smile on my face, remembering how amazing I felt on the day. I am genuinely happier and healthier than I have ever been before, and I am looking forward to the next chapter in my journey. Learning to maintain my weight loss will be a new challenge, but I am confident that continuing to follow WW and keeping up with my new-found love of the gym will stand me in great stead to stay at goal.