Wedding Bod

After you get the ball rolling on wedding planning, you realize 'oh crap, now I need to work on myself!' and start hitting the gym to get into tip-top shape for your big day.

Growing up, I was a scrawny kid - I was a really picky eater and usually had little appetite. In high school, sometimes I would just eat a Starbursts for lunch and that was it. Seriously, just a pack of Starbursts or Skittles!!

Then, sometime in late high school/college, my body changed and I filled in. I didn't get chubby and I didn't get super curvy, but my body changed just so I was more solid. It was kind of hard for me to go from skinny to normal body shape. I remember when XS's start to fit a little tighter, I would go into denial and buy it anyway. These days, I almost feel like I have the reverse problem and I like to buy clothes that are a little too big for me. It's even got to the point where my friends tease me about my wrongly-sized clothes! One way or another, I guess my body image doesn't match what my body looks like. I'm pretty sure at this point, my frame is the way it's going to be so I just have to work on that!

Earlier this year, I had to go to physical therapy because of some knee issues I developed while I was training for my half marathon. Basically, the crux of the issue was that I have a weak core section that caused my running posture to be compromised, thus putting undue stress on my knee. My friend Linda (and bridesmaid :) ) introduced me to a workout method called Pure Barre. It's a great strength training and toning work out that focuses on the areas of the body that women care about most - arms, abs, thighs and butt! I went out of curiosity the first time and totally got my ass kicked. These ladies were doing crazy things that were almost inhuman. But a funny thing happened, I got really into the challenge. I knew it would be good to help tone my body but mostly, I thought it would be great to be stronger in general. I bit the bullet and bought a unlimited monthly pass and have not looked back. All of April, I've gone to PB ~4 times a week and I actually feel stronger! I don't think I'm losing any weight like when I was running (in fact I almost think that I'm getting even more "solid"), but I feel a difference in how I carry myself and I can see (or am imagining) more definition in my muscles. I've never been buff so this is a really cool thing for me to experience.

Eventually, when I run out of my monthly pass, I'll be really glad that I did this experiment with my body and am sure that I will continue to do PB until the wedding to help tone my body. In the future, I think I'm going to try to mix in some cardio as well, just to also help lose a little weight.

I don't think I'm going to set any weight goals for the wedding. I think that kind of stuff is kind of silly because, after all, you look like what you look like, but I really want to get as fit as I can before the big day. That way when I marry the love of my life, I'll know I'll be giving him the best version of me, in all ways :)