OPERATION BRIDAL BOD!

I'm getting married in 10 months. 10!? Last time I checked I was newly engaged and had 18 months until my big day. 

So after realising that time is going very fast, I need to get planning and part of my plans is to get a bridal bod! Don't shake your head and assume I mean living off celery sticks and hopping on a PowerPlate at every possible moment until I am ultra skinny. I also don't mean trying every fad diet in the book or signing onto Lighter Life (saying that - you guys know how much I love VB6!). I'm talking about getting a lean, mean athletic physique.

There are athletes I aspire to for this dream body. Those that are slim, but strong. I really admire women who don't have this obsession with being 'thin'. A few years back, I was one that fell under the spell of being 'skinny'. In my second year of University, I lost a lot of weight. I had broken up with someone and was also working ridiculously long hours at a local pub. The combination of this with my studies saw me drop to 7st 12lbs. I lived off apples, Slim Fast cereal bars and bowls of peas. I really don't joke.

I remember shopping in TopShop and slipping into a pair of size 8 thick demin slim leg jeans and feeling high from this achievement. But, at the same time, I felt awful. I was constantly tired, calorie obsessed and quite frankly, not much fun. My grades also started slipping and I knew that things weren't right.

I then started dating a guy. I guess love picks you up as my attitude towards food changed. We would cook together and I remember the first meal he made me was spag bowl (romantic ha!) and I ate it all. I also vividly recall a time where he came round one evening with a family size bar of Dairy Milk and I cried as I felt guilty for eating it. Slightly baffled by my attitude towards food, he told me to grow up and just eat a slab of chocolate - so what if it's bad for you!

This guy is the man I am marrying and I couldn't be happier. Except that now I am looking at my body and thinking that I could put some effort into 'fine tuning' it into a body I feel proud of. We are in a very comfortable relationship and he loves me no matter what but I still want to walk down that aisle and be in the best shape of my life! Not the 7st 12lb shape that I once was but definitely not the 9st 5lb self I am now!

(I couldn't find a decent picture of the thin me but this gives an idea. Here I am in 2009 on the left and right is me today, June 2014)

I need to find the in-between. I really liked a post I read on Challenge Sophie - Fit Not Thin. Sophie's feelings and mine are totally mutual and reading this post really put into perspective that I actually have a great figure. I have limbs that are all fully functioning, I have no disfigurements and I certainly am not fat. But I am a woman and one of the typical types that obsessives over her appearance despite looking perfectly normal. So, keeping in mind that what I have is great, I am now going to work to make it greater and that I think, isn't at all a bad thing.

So, Operation Bridal Bod is me trying to achieve a strong, athletic figure and one that will look smokin' in a wedding dress! There are women athletes who I think look incredible and they are definitely people I aspire to look like. I've even stuck my head on their own bodies and made myself a 'perfect figure' comparison checker. What do you think?

(L-R: the always enviable Jessica Ennis Hill next to the strength and power of my favourite athlete, Jodie Stimpson)

(L-R: rowers Helen Glover & Heather Stanning, sprinter Jodie Williams)

These women are real women to me. Those that have used their natural body shape to their advantage. For example, Jodie Stimpson has sculpted her broad physique into a triathlon power house and Helen Glover has used her upper body strength to her advantage to become a Olympic Gold medallist rower. 

Now looking at my body, I am curvy but in a muscular/fat way. I don't think it's that bad front on but from the side and from behind, the lack of toning and sculpting is clear to see. What gets to me is that when I look at this body, I don't see a runner. I see someone who's had one too many cupcakes but managing to hold back a hugely expanding waistline through some form of exercise. At 5"3, I am also carrying all my weight on a rather short frame, so weight gain is easily noticeable. 

Focussing on my legs, my sprinting past is evident. Nicknamed 'thunder thighs', I will never have trim pins. But I can have strong legs and this is better than fat legs. My main goal is to cut the wobbly bit in the upper inside of my thighs as this does get me down. I also know this is a very hard area to blitz fat so I will need to ensure I incorporate specific exercises to sculpt this area of my legs more. Legs 11 here I come!

My stomach is well, rather mehhh. It's not amazing but it's not horrific either. When looking at it, you can see that there is shape and definition potential and that it is more the lower part of my belly that needs working on. I also tend to carry fat on my lower back, which does really bug me so targeting this area of my body will really help to add more of a leaner shape to my midriff. 

Boobs are boobs. They aren't the size of peanuts but not melons either so I am actually more than happy to keep them the way they are. TICK! Arms however - they need to shrink badly. I loathe looking back at pictures where I am shot from the side and my upper arm flab is the most striking part of the image. This feature of my body is genetic so I'm not expecting miracles but if I can definitely tone up my arms even a teenie tiny bit, I'll be happy. 

I feel like I have waffled on a bit here but it's been nice to write down my feelings on body image. Posting these pictures online was something I was a little indecisive on doing. But it is my reality check, that anyone in the world can now see so having these live on the web will be my motivation and reminder on the journey to gaining my ideal bridal bod. Plus, it's a special occasion and I get to wear a pretty dress and who doesn't want to look their best when walking down the aisle?

Keep up to date on my fitness and weight loss journey through my social channels (listed on the right side bar). I'll also post here on my updates and how I am reaching my goal. 

Lipstick Runner.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: VB6

I don’t eat meat. Not to object from animals not having the right to live but merely because I don’t really like it. I never have. When I was a child I’d pick at chicken and Billy Bear luncheon meat (hands up if you would eat the ears, eyes, mouth first and then the face?) but that was about it. I became a vegetarian in my teens then tried meat again in my first year at University before slipping back into being a non-meat eater a year later.

I do however eat fish. I love fish – especially salmon, tuna steak and swordfish. I feel healthy when eating it and it is a key source of iron and Omega 3, which are vital nutrients that play an important role in my training.

Last year, I felt a bit podge. Not fat but definitely a bit heavier than normal and with my best friends wedding fast approaching where I needed to fit into a rather tight bridesmaid dress, I opted to try out VB6 for six weeks.

I’d read about VB6 (Vegan Before 6) in the late Zest magazine and then found it was featured in all sorts of women’s titles so it was obviously becoming the latest diet craze. It’s written by American food critic, Mark Bittman, who after learning he had developed diabetic and heart disease symptoms, founded the VB6 method for effective weight loss.

Mark was advised to become a vegan by his doctors and as a successful food journalist, this must have been a hard thing to hear. So, he decided to adopt a part-time vegan lifestyle by following all the rules during the day and then by 6pm, switching off and enjoying what he wanted in the evening.

I LOVED the idea of this. I could be healthy and strict at work and then go out after 6pm and indulge in evening meals out with friends, or hearty homemade dinners with my boyfriend. Also, being a non-meat eater, this sounded like an easy ride. So, I purchased Mark’s book, gave myself six weeks and got stuck in.

I’m not one to follow recipes in books. I am a skim reader so I read about Mark’s story and consumed all the scary facts about food (if you want to learn the harsh reality of some foods– you should also read Skinny Bitch) and then wrote up my own straightforward plan. This consisted of the following:

Breakfast: Oatibix with soya milk OR home-made granola with soya yoghurt

Lunch: Carrot sticks, cucumber and radishes with red pepper hommous

Snacks: fruit, fruit and more fruit OR nuts

This I found really easy to adapt to, as I like all of the above. It was also easy to prepare for work and cost effective. At 6pm, whilst I was craving vegetarian lasagne smothered in cheese, I did try to restrain from ‘binging on crap’ to put it bluntly. I made sure I ate a source of carb, whether it’d be salmon with new potatoes or quorn based spicy fajitas. I also made sure I treated myself to curb sweet cravings so hot chocolates or Angel Delight were normally my options.

By the time the six weeks was up, I must say I did feel amazing. I felt lighter, detoxed and definitely more energetic. My skin also was incredible – not a blemish in sight! More importantly, I fitted in my bridesmaid dress and felt bloody fantastic in it!

This program WORKS and that is coming from someone that can barely last a week on diets (I didn’t even get through two days on 5:2 which I attempted to support my Mother). I find VB6 a safe, healthy and manageable weight loss option. I didn’t actually lose a huge amount of weight (only 4lbs if I remember) but it was enough to get that zip up on the dress. I reckon if I had chosen to continue and make VB6 a full time eating plan, it would definitely be a successful weight loss journey.

At this present time, I feel like I have slipped back into my 'podge mode'. I recently took part in Insane Terrain and was snapped by the events photographer on the course. I did have a good gawp at myself in these pictures yesterday and did wince slightly at the rounded tum that has recently formed.  After also coming back from a short 5K run this evening, I even felt heavier and well, a tad sluggish.

I’m stocky and muscular but that’s my natural shape so nothing I can do about that. Despite this though, I know I can ensure this is maintained in the best way possible and that, for me, has to be through VB6. With my own wedding a year away, I may as well start as I should mean to go on - just in case the dreaded jammed zip happens with my own wedding dress!

Best go munch on a carrot then.

Purchase VB6 HERE.

Lipstick Runner.