172 days to go! Weight loss?

Find something that is fun for you to do. Personally, I love to dance, so that is a great way for me to exercise. Do you like to walk? swim? play tennis? Find something that will make working out fun!

How is your diet?

5 months is a good amount of time, don't be discouraged!

You can lose weight in 5 months! Realistically, probably 4-8 lbs per month. Don't forget about alterations though. If you're not into exercising, don't worry about it. Diet is more important. Eat real food, lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts, water. Cut sugar. Use the MyFitnessPal app to track your calories. Eat less and you will lose weight.

So- you're wedding is June? I'd say you need to FOR SURE be done no later than May1st. Because- alterations.

which is really 4 months.

if you assume SUPER aggressive at 2 pounds a week- 30 pounds.

Since you're not horribly far off from goal weight- a size 8 to a 4 is ROUGHLY 40 pounds- the first 20 is probably going to be easy- the next 20- is not.

16-20 pounds is probably FAR more realistic which is roughly 1 pound a week.

So- yes- it's doable- but you need to stop making excuses and get to work.

There is no fancy tip- no cure all motivation- you just have to suck it the fuck up and do the work.

There is little room for "maybe tomorrow" when it comes to achieving your goals.

Either you want it- or it's not a priority.

And there is nothing wrong with it being NOT a priority- but you can't have both- you can't really want it- and then not make it a priority.

Make it a priority- and do the damn thing.

First of all, THANK YOU gals so much. I love the honesty haha I will keep you guys posted with my progress throughout my journey...OUR journey

I used a tracking app and started walking at lunch to help me lose weight. It definitely didn't cure all of my "lack of motivation" problems, but it helped!

I used (and continue to use) the LoseIt! app. It's a free app that allows you to calculate how many calories you should eat in a day to lose a set amount of weight each week. Does it work? Sure, if you're extremely honest about everything you put in your mouth, and track it properly. I lost about 16 pounds in 6 months, but I was taking a gradual approach to it. Obviously, the more you can exercise, the better you'll feel, even if the scale doesn't budge much. Even a half hour walk during lunch is a great start. Play some of your favorite music, or listen to an audiobook or pdcast, and you won't realize how much time is going by. Good luck!

ETA: I also incorporated free weights, yoga, dance, and body weight exercises into my routine. While my weight didn't change too much from this, the look and feel of my body did - I'm slimmer through the tummy and hips than I was, and I have a lot more upper body strength. I've found that getting in shape isn't dependent on the scale; it's about how you feel!

I'm also using the Lose It app. I just started 2 weeks ago but have already lost 6 pounds. I'm hoping to lose about 30 pounds for so for my wedding on July 28.

@SoonToBeMrs.S we have the same date and I'm suffering from the same issues! FH and I even joined a gym about two months ago and yet I'm still struggling. You would think that gorgeous dress I have hanging in my closet would be motivation enough to get my butt in gear!! It's not and I feel the struggle and then it makes me feel like crap about myself. Hang in there!! We need to keep in touch and stay motivated!!

If a flat tummy is what you're after, here's a trick that works for me: Don't eat carbs after 4pm unless you're going to do cardio exercise that night. Have lean protein, like fish, and steamed veggies. When I do that, I can see a difference the next morning.

@Tori Thank you for sharing! I was a little hesitant about posting in regards to this but I did need the advice, and awesome tips/ support from the peeps on this forum! But hey today I replaced my usual bag of chips for a small bag of cashews! Tori we can do it ! Specially with the support our FHs give us! It is a great help! My FH just joined the gym this week and is definitely pushing me to do so as well. I will most likely be getting my membership this weekend, so I will keep posting Good luck on our journey date twin!

You're my date twin, so I feel you, girl. I will be following @JoRocka's advice!

We are date twins and my FH and I signed up for the gym last week. I don't need to lose any weight - I am doing it more for my mind but I keep telling myself 'you have to start somewhere.' It's never too late so I say just start exercising. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to look a certain way or be at a certain weight. Just know you are doing good for your body and keep going.

I'm one week after you and hoping to lose 20lbs more before final alterations. I'm 10 down from my initial weight but haven't been taking it very seriously because it's just seemed soooo far away and wine and cookies are just sooo close, but after the holidays I'm going all in.

I've been working out 3x a week since July. I can 100% say that DIET MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. The times I've actually lost weight and not just the same 5lbs that I keep yoyo-ing was when I was actually paying attention to dieting. I work out with a trainer, so you'd think I'd drop weight consistently, but nope- if I'm eating "normal" (which is still moderately healthy, fill up on veggies, rarely eat junk but don't pay attention to portion size or snack a lot), the weight doesn't change. If I pay attention to what I eat, it drops.

What's worked for me and is my best advice is to whole30/paleo it up and eliminate grains, dairy, refined sugar and alcohol as much as possible. Those things are known to cause bloating and are harder for your body to digest, and wine is amazing but it's all empty calories anyway.

The easiest way to do this is avoid pre-packaged foods and actually cook.

Replace pasta with zucchini, rice with cauliflower and bread with lettuce wraps or portabella mushroom caps.

Replace your milk with almond milk, coffee creamer with coconut milk, and try not to think about cheese because it will make you cry.

Use honey and fruit juices as a sweetener.

It's hard. But it's totally doable. Another benefit of cutting all that out is your skin gets clearer and all glow-y, and you're not bloated so your stomach is flatter and your face looks less puffy. All are excellent bonuses for a wedding, if you ask me!

Good luck! We can do this!

ETA - clarity.

@LindseyK17 thank you so much! We got this!

@lindseyK17...."wine and cookies are just sooo close" haha too relatable....but the rest of it is really good advice that I need to stick to!

Beach body is my life. I like the on demand, it's about $40 a quarter and you get access to hundreds of programs to do from home! Eating is the key...start clean eating and you'll see a difference!

The time I lost weight consistently and in good time (like five pounds a month) I just counted calories based on an online calculation and walked 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace or on an incline. It just takes dedication, there is no magic to it. I am currently in an online accountability group where I have to check in every day and that keeps me honest. I am in the same boat right now and it is HARD! You can do it

Drink green tea! Like 4 cups of hot tea a night! Also, cut out bread. Green tea alone helped me loose about 10 pounds within a few months (without changing my diet) but the bread part helped also!

Sweat it out. I do sauna alot and lose 3-5 lbs a week. Take vitamins. drink water when your hungry instead of eat extra meals. Get a personal trainer even for 2 weeks. You will feel amazing and when we feel amazing we look amazing. Personal trainers are completely worth the investment, even if replaces some decor. Also remember you are pefrct the way you are !

I highly recommend the Tone it Up program. I have been following there nutrition plan and daily workouts on and off for the past 3 years and always see significant changes in my body when I am dedicated to the program . There is a fee for the nutrition plan (which also includes a bridal nutritional plan!) but you can follow a lot of their free workouts and get some of their recipes from their website. They also have a huge following on Instagram and I absolutely love being able to connect with other Tone it up girls for support and inspiration. Each week they send out a weekly workout schedule (it's free) and I love being able to have my workouts planned out ahead of time. The nice part is you can do all of the workouts at home and all you really need to purchase is a yoga mat and some light weights (I currently use 8-10 pounds, but started with 5). The workouts target the total body, high intensity interval training, and then specific spot toning. The meal plan is basically 5 meals per day with limited carbs and fruit after 3. They also have a 7 day slim down meal plan that works wonders for a special event. Good luck and don't stress - you will be beautiful!!

I cut out grains and sugar over the summer and not only did I lose weight, I feel SO much better. I've also been doing a workout video every other day. I think it's called "Your best body" it's a Kelly Coffey-Meyer video. You can get it on amazon and it has a bunch of different work outs on it. Cutting out sugar is really hard so maybe try weaning yourself off of it. Replace it with honey/agave.