Wedding Weight-Loss: Set-Backs and New Goals

I still have yet to get over my plateau, but I can’t blame anyone but myself. These past two weeks have been a little hard for me, and I definitely made some mistakes along the way. In every situation, there’s usually a good and bad side, which is exactly how I feel these past two weeks have gone for me. It’s time for me to cut out the bad and stick to the good!

jen and rene

The Negatives:
Two weekends ago, Rene and I made a last-minute decision to take a night trip to Atlantic City because his dad was going to be in town from North Carolina. We had a blast, but I did not think once about what I was eating, and it was a disaster. On Saturday night, I drank champagne and vodka, and I ate sushi, shrimp cocktail, and ended the night at 2 a.m. with potato chips. Gross, I know! Sunday morning, we ordered room service for breakfast, which consisted of pancakes, potatoes, eggs, and bagels — all stuff that I really did not need, and I felt so guilty after eating it that I literally did crunches on the bed because I was so mad.

jen in atlantic city

I did not need to eat that! But I did, and when I came home from that weekend, I was two pounds heavier from all the damage. I don’t know why I didn’t care enough to think that that was going to happen to me, but at the time, I just didn’t, and the aftermath sucked — so that was my first major setback.

Throughout all of last week, I made sure to get in cardio on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and I stuck to my diet hardcore for those three days. I was back in the mode until Thursday morning, when I had a “snow day.” My two girlfriends were over on Wednesday night and ended up sleeping over, so we spent Thursday snowed in together. Yes, it was so much fun being in my apartment with my fiancé and two best friends with nowhere to go, but the amount of alcohol and food I consumed was not good. I ate a bagel, chips, Chinese food, and picked at snacks all day long. Just because I was home and couldn’t get to the gym was absolutely no excuse, but that day it became my excuse, and I let myself go. That one bad day was a setback because I did not work out on Thursday or Friday. Finally, on Saturday, I was back in action...

jen with friends

The Positives
On a side note, I hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day last week! I have the most romantic fiancé in the whole world, so when I came home from work on Friday night, he had our kitchen decorated, with dinner and my favorite wine ready for me. I asked him to make a healthy low-carb meal, so we started with shrimp cocktail, then had mussels in a red tomato sauce and finished with delicious baked lobster tails. Dinner was amazing! He had roses and candles lit on the table with a beautiful picture frame and a picture of us from our engagement party in it. He also surprised me with a perfume I’ve been telling him I wanted and other little treats. To top it all off, he had rose petals all over our bedroom and on the bed. I’m a lucky girl!

valentines day dinner decor

So back to reality — Saturday morning, I took a spin class and did tons of ab exercises, and on Sunday, we had a training session with Bonne Marcus (thank god!). She texted me that morning and said, “get ready for an a** kicking,” so I knew she meant business — and if my legs could speak today, they would tell you she wasn’t lying! We had an awesome full body workout consisting of leg moves such as knee downs, squats, lunges, and step-ups; arm moves using our biceps, shoulders, chest and triceps; and ab exercises such as pullover crunches, side to side crunches, and reverse crunches. She made me do regular push-ups today on my toes, not on my knees, for the first time, and I couldn’t even believe how hard it was! I had to do two sets of 10. I got through them, but they killed me. She said I’m never allowed to do push-ups on my knees ever again, so I better start practicing. I was still super sore two days later, like it-hurts-to-walk-down-the-stairs sore, but I know it was worth it. It was exactly what I needed to kick my butt back into shape after a crappy two weeks full of cheating and making mistakes that set me back.

at home workout

When I weighed in on Sunday, I was the same weight I was two weeks ago, which is not good. I did lose the two pounds I put back on, but I didn’t lose any more. Bonne did, however, take my measurements, which ended up making me happy. In eight weeks, I lost an inch off my chest and waist, and I lost five inches around the biggest part of my stomach! I knew I was losing inches by the way my clothes are fitting me now, but I didn’t know I was losing that much.

I refuse to give in to bad food cravings anymore, because I really don’t have the time for that. I am going to Las Vegas for my bachelorette party the weekend of July 25th, which means I have five months to get in tip-top bikini shape! I am so excited, and it’s a huge goal to accomplish, but I know if I keep my head in the game — and with Bonne’s help and support — I can do it. My goal for this week is to lose two pounds, and I plan on doing that by recommitting myself to my weight-loss regimen completely. This morning, I did a half hour of cardio and some ab exercise, and I plan on doing the routine Bonne gave us on Wednesday and Friday with cardio in between. Last night, I prepared all of my meals and snacks for the week to keep me on track. All positive things ahead!

—Jennifer Crow