Losing Weight Before the Wedding

Sparkly_81 has lost 80 pounds in 13 months. In a discussion forum she says;

Last Jan I was feeling really down about being overweight. I was also was getting married and being a bridesmaid for my sister. I was really not confident at all about looking good and decided I had to do something about it. So I set about calorie counting and getting into fitness. 13 months later I have lost 80lbs. This takes me into the normal BMI range (I know; don't listen to BMI, but as a fat, relatively unactive woman it was probably quite accurate and psychologically this is a big milestone for me). I am working out regularly. I am pretty close to the point I can do a few pull-ups and I can run without killing myself.

She's had 130 people comment on her progress. See her workout and fitness details here.

Losing Weight for the Wedding

One year ago Regina set a goal to lose 60 pounds. She wanted to be in great shape for her wedding. At that point she weighed 195 pounds at 5'1" tall.

She has succeeded in losing 43 pounds so far. She's done it via exercise and a high protein diet.

Her fiancé is an ER nurse and "has seen some horrible situations with young girls overdosing on diet pills and other things like that. I made it a point to not do anything like that to my body. The only pill I take is a multivitamin.”

And she likes her new lifestyle and energy level so much that she says “This is forever for me. I like the way it (exercising and eating healthy) makes me feel and I don’t plan on giving that up.”

See her story here.

Getting in Shape for the Wedding

Jason Taylor was getting married in a few months and wanted to look his best for the wedding. He weighed 225 and his height is 6'1'.

He succeeded in losing 25 pounds over two and a half months. He also lowered his body fat percentage from 15 to 8.

One can achieve a lot in just two months but he says it took discipline.

Taylor did it by exercising on an elliptical machine six days a week. He also limited himself to 2,100 calories a day and gave up on refined sugar. He ate most of his carbohydrates at breakfast.

See his story here.

Has Suzy Preston kept the weight off?

It's been a while since Suzy Preston was on the Biggest Loser show and lost 95 pounds. (She went from 227 to 132). Has she managed to keep the weight off since then?

Suzy Preston and Matt Hoover got married last month. It's the most recent photo I've been able to find of them. They both look like they've put on a few pounds but they look fabulous and very much in love. Their wedding photographer had this to say about whether they've managed to keep the weight off;

"They both look great. They may have added a few pounds since the finale of the show but they still exercise and eat right."

Update November 6th: Us Magazine reports that Suzy Preston is pregnant and they are expecting their first baby in April. Congrats to them both.

See more background on Suzy Preston here.

Katie Holmes: In Perfect Shape by January?

Katie Holmes, 27, plans on being back in perfect shape by January. January is when she needs to start filming the new Batman movie sequel.

This gives her lots of time to get back in shape given she didn't gain that much weight during her pregnancy. But she has apparently already started with a strict diet and going to the gym daily. Suri (her daughter) was born only four months ago. Can you imagine going to the gym daily when your baby is only four months old? It helps to have someone else around to do the diapers, laundry, cooking and baby minding.

Apparently Holmes is also doing yoga and has just started kickboxing.

From the current photos, it doesn't look like she has any weight to lose, but I guess she wants to get her body toned and her stomach back to perfect pre-pregnancy shape.

It's very motivating to think she can be back to perfect slimness by January. September is almost here and it makes me want to get going on my failed plan to walk a minimum of 15 miles a week. It's not as ambitious as regular kickboxing and a daily gym workout but I know I could look fantastic by January if I stuck to it. "Fantastic" only by my own relative private standards, of course.

Update October 4th: Here's yesterday's photo of Katie Holmes at a wedding planning meeting. She looks like she's completely succeeded in her goal to lose all the baby weight already. Her wedding with Tom Cruise will likely take place sometime in the next two weeks.

On the other hand, pictures can be so deceiving. Here's a shot of Katie's belly from just a few days ago. Either she is already pregnant again, or she still has not recovered her body completely since the birth of Suri. It's reassuring to know that even a super celebrity cannot get that perfect belly back so quickly.