Trimming down the bride...

Last warning on the personal abuse DE.

Sorry Cranky, but your niece is going to have to get married looking like the Michelin Man.

Woody Pecker-Head and his panel of geniuses have it all covered.

Personally I’d say that in our 20s we fall into the lifestyles which will determine our weight.

There are so many fun ways to get exercise (bugger the gym and jogging), but only if you start doing it before it becomes humiliating.

OK I’ll put it out there – I usually hate fad diets BUT….I’m a big bloke and after retiring from actively playing sport a few years back I had to go on a diet as I got pretty big – about 120kg’s. I lost 20Kg in about 6 weeks using optifast dietshakes. 18 months down the track I’ve kept it off as I managed to change my lifestyle as well, so now I’m losing more weight gradually. The good bit is while on the stuff I still drank (beer, wine and scotch!) on Friday, Sat and Sunday nights and still had good size dinners (not huge but filled me up) every night, so you only need it twice a day. The key is exercise too, and lots of it.

You can”t live on dietshakes but my GP recommends them as long as you change your lifestyle while on them – it makes it easier to maintain when you go back to real food.

reality tv has proved more than you have

It’s proved that locking people away, working them like dogs all day every day, strictly controlling their diet and dangling $250K in front of them works for some of them in the short- to medium term.

But hey, I recant. I don’t understand why more scientists can’t see that this approach is a sound foundation for effective public policy, or why you’re not the Prime Minister. Thanks for opening my eyes with your TV-based common sense. Maybe you can get reiki on the national health agenda while you’re at it – it’s just another form of willpower, and that’s all it takes for all of us to be winners.

The serious thing is it would actually work, although it may contravene several laws.

Call it ‘acupuncture’ and people can claim it on their private health insurance.

Woody – For all your ‘expert’ sermonising and theorising reality tv has proved more than you have on this thread – and i’ll repeat it again because you missed it twice before – regular exercise + healthy diet = healthy body. Say it with me, regular exercise + healthy diet = healthy body 🙂

I’m looking forward to your next lecture on ‘some people really are big boned.’

It should be a cracker!!!

jakez said :

Absent Diane said :

actually one of the biggest factors in weight loss (when older) is how much you weighed in early your 20’s.. allegedly thats when your body ‘sets’ itself. meaning that if you were larger in your early 20’s it is going to be harder to shed the weight or keep it off. obviously if you’re lighter at said age group then group then you will have less problems.

…….CRAP!

Okay what if for 1 out of those 4 years I was a decent weight?

WMC: I’m not sure why your having such a brain explosion over this? Nobody is saying that you are wrong.

All they are saying is that it is about will power. All of those things that you talked about I agree with (as a fellow BSc, with majors in Human Nutrition and Human Anat and phys). However the way you present them gives the impression that it’s impossible to beat obesity.

Will power doesn’t equate to easy. It IS bloody hard work, not just to get the weight off but to keep it off. It IS bloody hard work to overcome the psychological aspects.

That is WHY you need will power, and will power doesn’t mean locating the treadmill.

If on the other hand you philosophically don’t believe in free will…well let’s not open that pandora’s box.

Agreed. Crap.

Heh ‘underpinning’ from WMCs lecture above – I’ve got images of sticking pins into fatties until they are skinny.

The serious thing is it would actually work, although it may contravene several laws.

gives the impression that it’s impossible to beat obesity

No, I said, and I quote, “it’s very, very hard”. The “it’s all willpower” argument, on the other hand:

– implies that it’s easy, and that people who can’t do it are lazy or stupid (no, you didn’t say it was easy, but many others in this thread have);
– ignores that ‘willpower’ describes a collection of mental processes and behaviours, many of which are physiologically and psychologically impeded by obesity itself; and
– doesn’t explain why some people magically develop ‘willpower’ about their obesity when most others don’t.

It’s no different than the ‘willpower can beat depression’ argument – ie, it’s total bullsh.t. And for the record, I’m not a BSc – an increasingly-frustrated colleague is.

You’re right, Duke. Why have scientists in multiple fields admit they don’t know everything and obesity and set about pursuing the truth when we can just solve everything with reality TV shows? Perhaps you can tell us all about the lessons learned from Big Brother for the intelligence community and the pervasive surveillance agenda. “All we need to do, see, is move the whole country to Dreamworld…”

Absent Diane said :

actually one of the biggest factors in weight loss (when older) is how much you weighed in early your 20’s.. allegedly thats when your body ‘sets’ itself. meaning that if you were larger in your early 20’s it is going to be harder to shed the weight or keep it off. obviously if you’re lighter at said age group then group then you will have less problems.

…….CRAP!

Okay what if for 1 out of those 4 years I was a decent weight?

WMC: I’m not sure why your having such a brain explosion over this? Nobody is saying that you are wrong.

All they are saying is that it is about will power. All of those things that you talked about I agree with (as a fellow BSc, with majors in Human Nutrition and Human Anat and phys). However the way you present them gives the impression that it’s impossible to beat obesity.

Will power doesn’t equate to easy. It IS bloody hard work, not just to get the weight off but to keep it off. It IS bloody hard work to overcome the psychological aspects.

That is WHY you need will power, and will power doesn’t mean locating the treadmill.

If on the other hand you philosophically don’t believe in free will…well let’s not open that pandora’s box.

The bigger the cushion the sweeter the pushin’.

actually one of the biggest factors in weight loss (when older) is how much you weighed in early your 20’s.. allegedly thats when your body ‘sets’ itself. meaning that if you were larger in your early 20’s it is going to be harder to shed the weight or keep it off. obviously if you’re lighter at said age group then group then you will have less problems.

Wowsers Woody, all that fancy book learning and the bleeding obvious still illudes you!

When the obesity problem starts going down, not up, then ‘experts’ such as yourself can start flaunting your resumes in public.

I made reference to the Biggest Loser show only because some layman, namely a tv producer, has successfully demonstrated on many occasions the link between diet, exercise and weight loss.

FFS – I’ll try to spell it out for you:

– There are complex social, economic and psychological factors underpinning obesity. The factors vary form individual to individual, and affect them in different ways;

– Once present, obesity affects individuals in different ways depending on the severity of their obesity, genetic or lifestyle propensity for associated disorders, pre-existing conditions, etc;

– These effects are physiological (for example, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes), psychological (reduced self-esteem), social (exclusion) and even economic;

– these effects are often circular and self-aggravating (low self-esteem leads to increased eating; increased weight leads to lower mobility; lower mobility and general poor health make it less likely a person will exercise; weight gain leads to exclusion; exclusion leads to low self-esteem…;

– the interplay of these factors is complicated, and not easy to break;

– there are additional biological factors we don’t fully understand (for example, the effects of obesity on hormonal regulation and brain chemistry; the effects of these effects on psychology and behaviour); these unknowns make treatment more difficult;

– the science in tis field is incomplete; for example, we still don’t understand the role of protein intake in regulating appetite.

Yes, obesity is ‘self-inflicted’, in the same way that poor schooling outcomes, domestic violence and ilicit substance use are ‘self-inflicted’. Yes, people can readily make simple changes to their lifestyle that will go some way to overcoming these issues.

But: short of surgical intervention, there is no easy way for most obese people to lose significant amounts of weight and keep it off. People will lose weight, then put it back on again, usually with a bit extra because diet and exercise don’t address the complex underlying causes of obesity and because <ithese causes also undermine treatment.

Ask Big Wal from The Biggest Loser why he’s shilling for Jenny Craig – even being locked away in a compound for months on end isn’t enough for some people. Ask somebody fabulously wealthy and successful like Oprah Winfrey – somebody who clearly doesn’t have any issues with drive, ambition and motivation in other aspects of their lives – why they still struggle with their weight when they can afford the best medical science has to offer.

Or hey, just sit here and say ‘fat people are lazy and it’s all their own fault’. Whatever works for you.

mate you should see my list of things wrong with me. and even i can lose weight.(mind you sitting right up the top is hypochondriac)

Wow, that’s impressive. Does your house/workplace have special keyhole shaped doorways?

If I have type 2 diabetes (Genetic trigger, not lifestyle) and Sleep Apnoea and can lose weight through lyfestyle change then no one really has an excuse for not trying.

For this particular issue, is somebody with Bachelor of Science (with First Class Honours), majoring in biomed with a focus on human metabolism ‘expert’ enough? I don’t claim to know everything, but between the people I work and live with we’ve got a helluva lot covered, including:

– science, and in particular, biomedical science;
– the implementation of public policy, including the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of public programs;
– the development of aid interventions for developing nations, including Australian Indigenous communities;
– administrative law (with a general grounding in other areas law, including torts and contracts – family, tax etc, not so much); and
– the Australian military, including the ADF’s current capabilities and our ongoing role in Afghanistan and Iraq and domestic counter-terrorism.

What have you got? Oh, that’s right – you watch The Biggest Loser and Hogan’s Heroes.

Amphetamines.

How many fat meth-heads do you see?

@ WMC – you raise some legitimate points but the idea that biology is to blame for rising obesity is fantasy land stuff – it’s just an excuse used by enablers and defenders of obesity. Like drug addiction, obesity is self-inflicted, it is not a disease. Only a lifestyle and attitude adjustment can cure this problem.

It’s a simple equation, here it is – over eating plus sedentary lifestyle = obesity.

There is an excellent television series which proves this equation called The Biggest Loser. These people are largely forced to lose weight I agree, but it does show that if you eat properly and indulge in proper exercise on a daily basis you can achieve a healthy weight.

Doctor Evil said :

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

maybe you should stick to commenting about civil engineering or space flight or whatever else you happen to think you’re an expert on this week.

Maybe you could give us a list of things that you are an expert on this week, i’ve always wanted to see if html had a limit 🙂

HAHA, yowsers.

Ouch Dr Evil. I felt that slap.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

maybe you should stick to commenting about civil engineering or space flight or whatever else you happen to think you’re an expert on this week.

Maybe you could give us a list of things that you are an expert on this week, i’ve always wanted to see if html had a limit 🙂

WMC I hate you more and more every time you post. I think it’s a personality thing.

I’d be worried, except I’ve never heard of you.

As for your ridiculous prison camp metaphor: anybody can do pretty much anything at gunpoint. I could be Batman if somebody put me in a camp and wouldn’t let me out. Are you suggesting prison as a long-term solution to the world-wide obesity crisis? The challenge is how to stop people becoming obese in the first place in a society characterised by both abundant energy and a near-zero need for physical exertion, and how to help those who are already obese. Both are wicked policy problems, and your Changi program, with all due respect, is the dumbest thing I’ll read today.

For the rest of you – the plural of ‘anecdote’ is not ‘data’. You did it? Good for you – you’re in the overwhelming minority, and science can’t generalise to the wider population from your experience. The research clearly shows that obesity causes fundamental shifts in the brain chemistry and hormones controlling appetite, desire and self-control. Any animal, given a sufficient abundance of food, will become obese and will stay that way until forced to do something different. There’s a reason why half the western world is obese, and it has nothing to do with willpower. It’s simple biology – that is, it’s not even remotely simple at all, and we don’t really understand much about it. If the biology and psychology was as simple as you all think, there’d be a pill for it. There isn’t.

Fat people don’t like being fat. Fat people will do just about anything to stop being fat. They almost invariably fail. If you think it’s just ‘willpower’, you’re grossly misinformed, and maybe you should stick to commenting about civil engineering or space flight or whatever else you happen to think you’re an expert on this week.

Danman said :

hey Jakez – Re-read my posts – alcohol has energy yes – I never denied that – I was arguing how the body processes alcohol borne sugar compared to food borne sugar whilst under the influence of alcohol.

You will also note that I said Tonic water also has just as much sugar as other popular soft drinks as well. Do not tbe fooled by the “water” in the name.

I had moved on to Thumpers comments regarding the tonic water. The Thumper post that I had quoted, had quoted a specific post of yours. Your tonic water comment came after and was not in dispute.

Buy her a Wii and Wii Fit, or an energenitic dog that requires lots of walking. Gym gift voucher ???

If all else fails, get your hands on the Jamie Oliver Eat to Save Your Life show, and show her the part where they chopped up the fat people.. !!!!

She shouldn’t be losing weight for her big day, she should lose weight so she can spend an extra few years with the love her life.

ANT – I be well edjamakated..

Drinking without eating is also bad practise indeed – eat sugars or carbs – avoid saturated fats.

yes – interesting – but don’t forget that drinking alcohol and not eating is the way to lose the most brain cells. A common trap for dieting women who decide to skip the calories in dinner and just have a few glasses of wine.

Danman said :

Give up eating crap while drinking beer and you’ll be right – no point giving up beer frivouously

Giving up beer is extremely frivolous.

Interesting stuff about livers and their ways, Danman.

By the way, the side-topic on biltong is not to be seen as my (rather extreme) contribution to the effort to “trim down the bride”.

6 months of progressively warmer months is a good time to undertake fitness\weight loss.
I have the remains of several months of good food, a bad knee, and a nasty woman to get rid of, myself.

No, weight loss is very, very hard. People who think it’s just a matter of ‘eat less, exercise more’ grossly misunderstand the impact an obese body has on physiology, brain chemistry and psychology and how difficult putting less on your plate and getting out more really is is. Just 3% of people who set out to lose weight are able to lose more than 10% of their body weight and keep that weight off for three years.

Disagree. I lost almost 25 kgs in 6 months several years ago this way, and have kept it off without difficulty. Overcomplicating things makes is what makes it hard. When dieting, you just need to find substitutes for wanting to eat unhealthy food. Filling up on vegetables helps manage hunger cravings, and doing exercise also reduces appetite. Truly, it’s not that hard if you’re serious.

I used to work with a guy who made his own kangaroo biltong stockies.

Fine stuff, and I’d gladly sell Johnboy’s legs to secure an ongoing supply.
Yo work in Phillip, non?

DJ said :

Peterh…. no red meat? That’s un-Australian – our beloved Skippy provides some of the best low-fat red meat available! Apparently they had a big sale near the old Naval Base in Belconnen recently!

yeah, a few mates are getting another batch of roo meat biltong soon. I will be keeping it at work, so she who must be obeyed doesn’t know….

biltong of any sort is worth keeping at work, instant steak…

que?

But Danman if you don’t drink tonic water you could get malaria (not easy to say with a straight face in this weather).

hey Jakez – Re-read my posts – alcohol has energy yes – I never denied that – I was arguing how the body processes alcohol borne sugar compared to food borne sugar whilst under the influence of alcohol.

You will also note that I said Tonic water also has just as much sugar as other popular soft drinks as well. Do not tbe fooled by the “water” in the name.

Peterh…. no red meat? That’s un-Australian – our beloved Skippy provides some of the best low-fat red meat available! Apparently they had a big sale near the old Naval Base in Belconnen recently!

Danman,

You are correct. However, by having no grog you don’t let yourself fall into the trap of eating when pissed.

Also, wine and beer are chockers full of sugar and most people drink their spirits with something like Coco Cola.

If you want to binge on scotch and tonic water then you are fine, but you may get the munchies…

No he isn’t correct. Alcohol is an energy source. One gram of alcohol has slightly less calories than a gram of fat.

As for scotch and tonic water, tonic water often has a bit more sugar than most soft drinks. The rest of this post was sound advice though…

I knew a girl who lost 35 Kgs in one day at Gloria Marshall. One of the exercise machines tore her leg off.

Cranky, I lost 48 kg about two years ago at the Cohen’s Lifestyle Clinic in Erindale. It took me 9 months and cost about $600 at the time, but it has revolultionised my life. Like your niece, I am with a partner who loved me for who I am inside but I am much healthier and feel more like myself now. I hope they will be very happy together.

: )

I must say that I am on the side of those who say that perspective is what matters the most here (i.e. the guy loves her anyway etc.). If she wants to lose weight as an ongoing health thing (i.e. a regime change that she will want to and can maintain after the wedding) then go for it.

BUT, as for the wedding day itself, my advice would be to get a dress made in a beautiful fabric – preferably something with some structure to it (like a brocade – nothing flimsy). A beautiful fabric looks great on anyone – and the more of it the better! I’d check out Ganters in Kingston. They have some gorgeous stuff there and the gentleman who runs it is really helpful.

Danman said :

BS – yer a twig mate

Im a chunky monkey – but workin on it 🙂

Give up eating crap while drinking beer and you’ll be right – no point giving up beer frivouously

I gave up all forms of alcohol, haven’t had many drinks for years….

but I found coopers vintage, and back down the slippery slope I fell.

I am going to the gym 3 days a week now, and feel great. The doc tells me that I am losing weight, and I am canceling the effects smoking has caused. Just have to give that up, now.

my wife has started going on an eat healthy program, unfortunately, it effects me too, and I haven’t had much red meat for the last week…

nooooo!

my wife went on a diet prior to our getting married, I am sure she went too far, but she seemed to feel good about her weight loss…

she was determined to lose weight, and she exercised (walked), cut out the chocolate ( I ate mine at work) and cut out the booze.

it really helped her, but she wasn’t that large to begin with.

hang on, we all may be missing something here.

Cranky, is this an arranged marriage??

If it is, then there is some family honour to be saved by slimming down the bride.

If however, she loves him, and he loves her, then everyone else can but out.

BS – yer a twig mate

Im a chunky monkey – but workin on it 🙂

Give up eating crap while drinking beer and you’ll be right – no point giving up beer frivouously

Like Feebles, I dieted before my wedding and lost a few kilos, I really only had about 7 to lose and I used a website – http://www.calorieking.com.au – to count my calories. It is an excellent site and I have referred it to a lot of my friends, it is free and user friendly, tracks not only your weight but your measurements, and you can quickly see how you are going in a day against your calorie budget, and hence can plan what to have for dinner, whether you need to go for a longer walk that night etc.

I would recommend it to my neice if I was in your shoes.

Thumper – true – I done a test and got drunk on 8 alco pops – I tested my blood sugar beforehand and after and it only went up 0.3points – which is negligible.

So the results of that test proved what my nutritionist told me – that when you indulge in alcohol, your liver turns off (Liver is responsible for providing blood sugar) so your body is survuvung on sugars directly from the stomach rather than what has been processed by the liver.

Because the liver is turned off by the alcohol – the only energy your blood is getting is from stomach borne sugar – what does not absorb into the blood is digested – but usually there is not enough sugar in the blood for the body to start storing it as fat – because sugar is short chain carbohydrates so is burnt of quick.

Tonic water also has just as much sugar as other popular soft drinks as well. Do not tbe fooled by the “water” in the name.

Funny thing about the liver is that even without having eaten for 12 hours it can still alter the blood sugar of an individual quite considerably.

An example is one morning, before breakfast I went on a 4km run. Measured my blood sugar beforehand and then again aftewards and, despite the energy expended by my body on the 4km run, my blood sugar was actually higher when I got back – havign not eaten for 12 hours.

This is because as a reaction to stress (Physical and mental) the liver secretes glucose into the bloodstream.

This is why it is important for people with diabetes (Both T1 and T2) to monitor their stress and activity levels as their body is either not good at moving blood sugar from blood to cellular structure (Type 2) or does not provide insulin to move blood sugar to cellular structure (Type 1)

Bad taste effort: Heroin and ice seems to keep the kgs off the junkies….

Oh, and no alcohol, sorry 😉

Sorry thumper – I really have to disagree here – I talked to my nutritionist about alcohoil and she said its not the alcohol that is bad for you rhealth, its the food you eat whilst drunk – so if you just get drunk then you’re all good.

This is because when you receive alcohol in your blood stream it turns off your liver, which is responsible for the transmission of glucose from food into the blood. Therefore when you are drinking, you are surviving on only the energy from sugars etc absorbing into your blood via the stomach lining from your alcohol /food intake.

The alcohol itself is harmless, in fact if you were just to drink raw alcohol (mixed in the same concentration as beer, with say water, or a zero energy liquid) you would eventually pass out from hypoglycaemia (Lack of glucose in the blood stream) – its really the fatty food that you indulge in when you’re drunk that gets ya fat.

Good eating choices when drunk are to avoid fats – and indulge on carbs – sugars – white flours etc….because for the most part they will be absorbed into th eblood immediately and burnt off – or just digested…..

There ya go.

Right. First, the niece. Maybe she’s fat (definitions vary and young women tend to underestimate what is required). So what – someone loves her, and that’s more than can be said for many others, fat, thin or perfect (in their own minds). Does she really want to funnel down to something she’s not for the sake of photos? After all, her beloved (male or female) wants to be with the person for the rest of his/her life, not with some photos. It’s the package.

Fatness generally. Yup, most people can do something about it. A few can’t, for a whole lot of physical and/or psychological reasons. Those people are entitled to be treated on their merits, as humans with a full set of brain cells and emotions. And it’s entirely their business (unless they’re sharing your row in economy).

Duromine. Works wonders. Bloody hard to find a GP in Canberra who will prescribe it though.

It has side effects, but I lost 10Kgs very quickly on it. It’s like speed for wusses.

If anyone here talked like that about my wife you should expect nothing short of a 2 inch punch to the neck – you should be ashamed.

Some people have trouble losing weight – hypothyroidism, sluggy metabolism, genetic dysfunction, sleep apnoea, chronic fatigue syndrome – its not all about McDonalds.

This thread just goes to re-inforce the current narrow mindedness trend of posters on RiotACT – To the poster – perhaps order a plus size dress off eBay – and then get it altered to suit – I hear you can save plenty of $$$ doing it this way.

Diets are crap – its about lyfestyle changes – I still eat chocolate, fats food and sweets and managed to lose 14kg – how – moderation – not eradication.

Its about a healthy balance – dont diet – change your lifestyle – and get active – if that fails – see a doctor and nutritionist – there could be some underlying undetected chronic ilness that you are not aware of..

Disrespect is the actions of insecure people.

I was a bride who dropped 10kg in the year before my wedding. I read a book called the Wedding Dress Diet, which only cost $5. Although it might sound faddish, it was really the opposite. Old school counting calories. Write down what you eat every day and how many calories. Eat vegetables. Nothing was off limits as long as you could fit it in your calorie budget (which depended on how much you weigh and how much exercise you do). I ate chocolate pretty much every day (fun size milky ways are only 40 calories).

I joined a gym with my fiance and saw a personal trainer every fortnight (tried to get to the gym three times a week). Played netball twice a week.

It was brilliantly effective. Having to confess to your food diary helped to stay on track. Getting out the measuring tape to see the centimetres fall away was also excellent motivation. Whack the measurements into a spreadsheet, graph and watch those lovely lines go down. It can be done. It’s all about taking ownership of calories in and energy out.

And stop swallowing

You are seriously mistaken if you think it is a food group.

cohens diet. Seriously.
Sure, it’s 800$, and it’s a bit involved.. but it definitely works.
They give you a specific eating plan, based on your goal weight (which they define) and then at the end, they put you on another eating plan, designed to reintroduce ‘bad’ foods into your diet. The end aim is, with a little bit of careful management, you should never put the weight on again.

My partner has lost 10Kg in about 5 weeks, a work mate lost 25K over a few months…

also I find keeping your day regimented helps eg doing the same things at the same time everyday. It all becomes habit forming. not just in terms of exercise. I personally carry a bit of weight.. but am getting addicted to exercise again – its all just habitual. Also don’t start out too hard.. first two weeks just form the habit… then after that start pushing yourself.

Well, I suppose this one’s an improvement on “where can I buy a cup of coffee”.

Maybe if she stopped shovelling grub into her gob it may help.

And stop swallowing – although that is usually automatic after they’re married.

Everything Thumper said.
For dresses, the bridal shop at Gold Creek is fab – one of my friends is getting her dress from there, and she’s not a small girl either.
I would advise your niece to get a friend on board – it’s always easier to get motivated when someone else is supporting you and going through the same thing 🙂
Good luck!

Or buy a kelpie, three walks a day will do no harm.

There’s a lot of unnecessary sledging going on here, so i won’t add to it. But i will tell you a little story:

My sister is overweight. She’s never been small, but medication she was taking a number of years ago for a mental illness (plus months of inaction) caused her to pile on the kilos in a big way, and she’s never really been able to shift it. Five years ago she got married to a man who doesn’t give a toss what she looks like, and neither does she. They are still happily married.

For my mother and i particularly, it was hard to step back and look at the wedding from their perspective – we’re not shallow people, but we wanted her to look beautiful, or what we thought was “beautiful”, that is, not fat. In the end, most of the traditional wedding fare came from us (stuff like bonbonnierie, placecards for the reception, organising photography – it really is all just “stuff”). We were the ones who organised it. She only wanted to marry the man she loved.

She looks back now and sees herself in photos and says she can only think of how happy she was. And she was – she was radiant, in her simple dress my mother made and cheap shoes. She was surrounded by people who loved her, and it never occurred to her that she could’ve looked different.

I tell my story only to give you another perspective, Cranky. If your niece is keen to lose the weight, there are plenty of fine suggestions here – if she’s not, maybe it’s not really a problem.

Hahaha thanks JB I hate lines in fact I try to circumvent them as much as possible. You are correct my first line was hastily constructed and ill thought out WMC I don’t really hate you in fact hate is a very strong word.

Ant – in light of what Johnboy just politely mentioned to me…. 2 words…discipline

I saw this guy the other day and I swear he must have weighed 300kgs. I had no sympathy for his ability to indulge and thought he was ripe to be locked away and fed a bowl of rice a week.

Those who pontificate about how easy it is to be thin are usually thin, eat rubbish and think that being fat is some kind of moral failing.

Sleaz,

WMC is a big boy but I have to stay impartial.

You could have made your point without resorting to personal abuse and next time I advise you to do so if you don’t want to end up in the mod queue.

Thanks.

WMC I hate you more and more every time you post. I think it’s a personality thing.

I have a little saying “there are no fat people in prison camp” simply eat nothing but 2 bowls of rice a day and dig pylons for canberra’s very first monorail. Hahhaahahhahahhahahaa

Don’t make excuses here is how you body works after tens of thousands of years living on hunter gatherer mode. When times are good eat lots and store lots of energy “read fat” when times are tough eat the body reserves of muscle and fat a failure to do so meant our genes were horribly weeded out of existence so we have a) a society with more food and higher sources of sugar and fat than ever before b) no real tough times therefore weight loss is very very simple expend more energy out than more energy in. Eat far far less in fact only eat one meal of rice per day and then don’t sit in your office chair with your can of coke and three summer rolls and 2 bag of chips before lunch instead get up park your car 3-4 km from work and oh my god actually have to expend energy to be where you need to be.

How hard really is it? At what point do ou reach the point of obese and go oh well that’s cool I’ll just keep eating.

No fat people in prison camp you would be amazed what people can endure everything else is apologetic bulls$%t.

Suck it up. (not that vanilla thickshake)

Well you know what they say about the fat ones? They are always grateful.

spotlight out at Queenbeyan has cheap fabric. Bonus: you can swing past KFC and Macca’s on the way back.

There’s this real thing about weddings being like a hollywood film or something, everyone has to look beautiful/thin/perfect for their special day, and then they can go to seed with impunity.

Heck, they got together while she was fat, she’s going to be fat no matter how much weight she loses “for the day”, so hunt down whoever makes giant wedding dresses and let her enjoy it. White wedding dresses are a very recent addition to western weddings anyway, and yet everyone thinks they have to spend thousands on a dress that’ll become useless after a few hours and looks really, quite silly.

The bride isn’t asking for weight loss tips herself is she? – how about her family get behind her, love her, celebrate her big day, eat lots, drink lots, and let her husband decide whether he loves her the way she is. If he marries her, he does! It sounds as though you are all, in this “applying pressure”, being awful about her behind her back. Perhaps she should elope and forget the wedding, if you’re all going to be so concerned about appearances!

Mael, haven’t you seen “how to look good naked”?

Now that guy works miracles and it’s all about dressing your body shape.

Besides, we don’t even know how ‘big’ the poor girl is, she could be an 18 (not too large) and be considered obese by her family.

Weight loss is easy

No, weight loss is very, very hard. People who think it’s just a matter of ‘eat less, exercise more’ grossly misunderstand the impact an obese body has on physiology, brain chemistry and psychology and how difficult putting less on your plate and getting out more really is is. Just 3% of people who set out to lose weight are able to lose more than 10% of their body weight and keep that weight off for three years.

We know from the National Weight Control Registry that outside help isn’t at all necessary to lose weight, with 45% of members losing and maintaining weight loss on their own. However, there’s no one ‘diet’ or even a set of rules common to NWCR members (for example, 22% skip breakfast, and a quarter weigh themselves less than once per week). Exercise is one common factor, with 90% of members doing 1 hour of exercise every single day to maintain their weight loss, usually walking. What isn’t understood is how this small minority of people are suddenly able to ‘switch on’ to exercising and keep exercising, while everybody else is flat out keeping it up for longer than a couple of weeks.

Anyway, if she’s serious about weight loss, talk it over with her doctor and see a registered dietitian. Otherwise, she’s a bride, which means she’s beautiful enough for some guy to want to spend the rest of his life with her. Try seeing what he sees in her and focus less on her waistline.

What a neat idea! A fistful of speed and one of those courses in Lap-dancing..no wait, is it pole dancing? Either way, the groom is sure to enjoy his newly slim, slightly psychotic bride throwing her junk around on the wedding night. 😉

Six months to go, is lap-banding or the new meds out of the questions?

p.s. Mrs Berlina on a tailoring thread – priceless !

Take her wedding dress shopping and take some photos – might spur her into action.

But seriously – losing weight is really hard for some people – it may well just not happen for her.

Mr must love her the way she is.

And whatever you do – on the day tell her she looks gorgeous!

You have 6 months – for that there are only two solutions.

1. Lipo.
2. Boot Camp.

Or as Nyssa says, cover it with sailcloth.

You can order plus size dresses from Sydney and I think there’s one in Fyshwick.

Speak to the ladies in Autograph (plus size clothing store) – they might know who else to speak to.

‘Weight loss is easy – fill up on vegetables, walk at least an hour a day, and ignore fad diets, infomercial training systems and flash gyms.’

Hmmm. Yes, for some people, it is easy but for a lot of chunky monkeys it’s not. It’s hard to get motivated when your overweight. My suggestion is to get professional help. Somewhere like Sure Slim or Weight Watches so she doesnt have to do it on her own. I have friends who’ve had great success with these programs.

As for the dress, if you want a dressmaker your going to need to get moving on it quickly. You have lots of fittings, so she can get it altered easily if/when she does lose the weight. Most good dressmakers would be booked already for a wedding in six months but you could try your luck. Chris Stott is excellent but very busy.

Failing the above two suggestions, Stewart Barlens does wedding event hire. Perhaps a nice white marquee with a big bow?

Real answer: As Mrs Berlina suggests, a dressmaker. And also invest in some good foundation garments.

Smartarse answer: Just get even fatter bridesmaids.

and what is wrong with an ample woman? Have been known to like something to hang onto from time to time.

Mrs Berlina is right – a dressmaker is the way to go, whatever the shape. Always more flattering to have something made to fit. As for losing weight, cut out carbs and walk/exercise lots.

Hahaha Whatsup, great minds 😉

Is the bride or family willing to spend some money to get this done?

If so finding a good personal trainer, either an independent or one connected to a gym, would be a good start. They keep you on track and are pretty knowledgeable about nutrition as well as exercise. Best of all they bully you into actually getting something done 😉

6 months should be plenty of time to make a big difference, if she is commited to it.

I know a couple of good ones I could put you onto, email the RA admin and get them to forward your email address through to me if you are interested.

If the bride honestly wants to loose some weight for her big day and has a enough in the budget a personal trainer might be a worthwhile option. Some trainers advise not only on exercise but also nutrition.

A good dressmaker should be able to suggest designs that flatter any figure.

Hope this helps.

Weight loss is easy – fill up on vegetables, walk at least an hour a day, and ignore fad diets, infomercial training systems and flash gyms.

As for the wedding dress, the easiest thing there would be to get fitted up and then try to find a dress style that isn’t ‘fitted’. (Mrs Berlina suggests using a dressmaker to make it specifically for the bride’s shape.)

Are you asking for pointers on weight loss resources in Canberra, or on wedding dress resources, or both?

Ruby,

Points taken.

We are attempting to assist with a wedding dress, which we are probably more capable of than others.

There is an awareness by the bride that this would be simpler if size was not such a problem.

Please accept this request for advice as genuine, and any assistance greatly appreciated. I do not need a blast on political correctness.

What Ruby said. If she is not seeking help then it’s fairly rude to be seeking it on her behalf. Fat people can get married too, you know.

Bloody hell. It’s not the ‘outside the role of RA’ that is offensive, it’s the fact that you are asking for help on how to tell an adult woman, in conjunction with her parents, what she should be doing for her wedding day.

I’d suggest you mind your own business. If she’s old enough to be getting married, she’s old enough to decide whether or not she wants to slim down for the day and to ask for help/suggestions if she needs it. Trust me, she knows she’s fat. If she wants to change it, that’s for her to initiate. If she doesn’t, it’s her wedding.