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Wedding Confession

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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12 Comments

  1. Lori

    Hugs to you, Lisa. Keep your chin up. All this stuff will pass.

  2. Candace

    Gosh Lisa, I’m sorry you had such a sucky week. I tend to turn to wine during times like that instead of food. Neither is a good crutch. Hope this week is better for you!

    I need to go read that article – the whole body image issue makes me so angry. We are constantly forced to compare ourselves to other women, even when we try not to. We’re so unfair to ourselves – but it’s not all our fault when we are constantly bombarded with images of women that are totally unrealistic.

    Now that I’m in my 40’s, it really pisses me off when someone comments about an older movie star and say “wow, she looks amazing for her age” when it’s obvious that 99.9% of women in Hollywood have work done. I don’t have an extra $20K for cosmetic surgery, so I’m stuck aging normally, as best I can. And, seriously, why won’t these same women just admit that they have help looking like that? Really, your 65 but look younger than me? It’s the same thing when a super-skinny celebrity claims she “eats all the time”.Bullshit. It’s a disservice to women everywhere to lie like that.

    Ugh, I guess I’m in a mood today.

    I guess it’s impossible not to become a little obsessed with how you look on your wedding day – I never had a big wedding so I wouldn’t know about that – but I was really inspired by this post from a year ago:

    http://www.suzistorm.com/2013/06/i-vow.html

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thanks for the kind words Candace and that link. I read the post and it really struck a chord in me. I need to read it a few more times. 🙂

      I agree with you on the body image stuff. Even if you are feeling confident and okay with your body (and aging “naturally”), it’s hard NOT to compare when it’s in your face all day every day. You can’t avoid it! The expectations are so high.

  3. Kelly @ Finding a Skinnier Me

    I think weddings are always stressful and you just want everything to be perfect but the most perfect part is the actual marriage itself. Nothing else truly matters in that moment that you say your vows. I didn’t have a big wedding (too much family drama to even think about it) but in the moment that I said my vows and my husband said his, nothing else mattered to me but that moment.

    Shame on your co-worker for even saying something, people can be extremely oblivious to what they are saying or how much a few words can really buckle someone already freaking out. You will be an amazingly beautiful bride and I am sure your soon to be husband will light up the minute he see’s you walking down that aisle, no matter what size wedding dress you are in.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I know things won’t be perfect (as much as I want them to be) and I’m trying to let that go (or let the wedding coordinator day care of it that day). As for the rest of your comment, thank you, that was sweet and you are right! That moment is all that matters.

  4. Jess

    Your coworker sucks. I had similar comments, although they weren’t meant to be mean. I dropped a TONNE of weight the week before the wedding. Between the stress and all the stuff to do I barely ate. Not that it is remotely healthy, it’s realistic, and you will probably find the same thing happens to you. Regardless, you will look beautiful because you are the bride and that’s what brides do.

    In hindsight, the wedding was more of a big deal than it should have been. It was one day. An amazing day that I wouldn’t change for the world, but still. Focus on the other parts that are more important like the rests of your lives together!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I don’t know that she was trying to be mean, it maybe have been a joke but…who knows…I agree that there is SO MUCH pressure on this one day. It’s overwhelming sometimes.

      1. Jess

        So overwhelming! And you’ll get so sick of “are you excited?!”. My moh coped it big time the day before the wedding – I was so stressed and I just couldn’t take another person asking me that question!

        1. Lisa Eirene

          Haha! Yeah it seems like a dumb question, right?!

  5. Karen P

    I know my joint pain was 100% related to foods (sugar and wheat). I went from feeling 80 years old to feeling in my 20’s in about 10 days flat… kind of like that Benjamin Button movie… where he aged in reverse!

    Hang in there Lisa. Consider a 90 day opt out (Refuse to Regain, Barbara Berkeley, MD). Or 80 days if that’s what you’ve got before the wedding. Opting out of the junk could mean opting out of stress, stress eating, physical and emotional pain. Opting in might soothe for 5 minutes, but bring a whole lot more of the same old cycle.

    Set down the sugar. I know how hard that is. Should people be commenting, no. Should I say this.. maybe not. Delete this if you want. But I’ve been there and done it. 40 years. The beauty is that you have 80 days or so to choose to feel better. You can choose to step out of the cycle.

    You can choose the ending chapter of your single years and the start of the family years. The choice you make today will be part of this life’s chapter. Up to you how it’s written. What a nice gift to the start of your relationship! A gift you give yourself, but that your partner will also get- a clear minded you!

    Safe travels and good on you to admit it. That’s a great starting place.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I appreciate your input and encouragement Karen. I wish that things could be that simple for me. I did go gluten and dairy free and didn’t notice a difference or at least, not enough of a difference to make it worth it for me. The sugar, now that’s something I know I can kick–maybe not permanently but at least for awhile. And once it’s out of my system I don’t crave it. It’s just hard getting there…

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