OPERATION BRIDAL BOD: The end result

(Left: September 2014. Right: April 2015)

The time has finally come to get married. Its strange to think that 18 months ago, the engagement ring was slipped onto my finger and now I have reached the moment where I will become a wife. Time has flown past and throughout my engagement, I have taken on the challenge to become a fitter and healthier individual in time to be a bride. I never thought I would remain dedicated to the challenge. Sure, there have been some slip ups along the way (you all saw my birthday dinner at Meat Mission) but what I learnt from this whole experience is that slipping up is OK. In fact, if I had made the decision to avoid bad food altogether, I would have given up on Operational Bridal Bod long ago. The fact that I have had bad days makes me what I am - a human - and human error kicks in at times.

Despite my up and down nutritional progression, fitness wise I have been pretty on it. I took my triathlon plan seriously and kept to the rota which has enabled me to reveal a stronger body over the months that I am incredibly proud of. I have actually come out the other end weighing the same as when I started but I look and feel far better.

In all it has, in my eyes, been a successful journey. No it has not been a body blitz from bloater to beach goddess but I have certainly made improvements. I can only aim for more improvement as I begin the journey into training for an Olympic distance triathlon. I'm really hoping the longer runs will trim down my physique and make it slightly leaner but I won't hold out hope for it. I was born to be curvy and I am for once, extremely happy with the state of my hips and bum. Result!

See you after the wedding!

Lipstick Runner.

OPERATION BRIDAL BOD: Week 28

This last month, I feel like my body changes have come to a standstill. Not in a bad way - but more that it has reached a slight halt. I know this is normal in weight loss. When you up your game, your body loses fat quickly in a short space of time but it can easily become used to your new way of living and decide to stop working to burn the bad stuff. 

If I was to compare my body update to week 20, I don't look much different but I do weight a bit less.  Only a couple of pounds but still it all counts in these final weeks to The Big Day. I'm currently 8st 11lbs (56kg). Since I started this journey six months ago, I weighed 9st 5lbs (60kg). In all, I am pleased with this loss. I cannot remember the last time I shed half a stone. Looking closer at my body shape, I have bulked up since January. My shoulders are broader and defined (thanks to swimming). The legs are a majority of muscle and my arms are slowly but surely still getting a teeny bit slimmer day by day.

In terms of my training, I have introduced brick sessions (where I take on two disciplines back to back). So far it has all been bike/run or run/bike/run and I think this is contributing to my more 'solid' build. My core is getting stronger (up close you can just about to see the start of a two pack!) and my boobs are smaller (which for me I wanted).

However, despite the small changes, when I don't see big changes I have to remind myself how far I have come. Taking pictures of my body has been so beneficial to me - I really would recommend it to anyone looking to shape up! Seeing the progress on screen makes you realise how hard you have worked and what you have achieved and the below pictures have helped me see at my week 28 milestone that in fact, I have done pretty good. 

(L-R week 1, week 4, week 12, week 20, week 28)

I would say week 20 has been my slimmest but week 28 is by far my strongest. My arms are toned, my stomach forming some sort of muscular shape (well at least trying to) and my back is looking pretty tough. For the latter comment, I will share this at my next body reveal which is due to be week 36 (one month before my wedding).

Hoping for another great report at week 32!

Lipstick Runner.

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.