Fitting into “THE” dress

Every bride knows the struggle of fitting into THE dress. I don’t know why we do it, but we will ourselves to be thinner than we have ever been in our lives for the day we walk up the aisle. From an early age, most of us have imagined the moment when the first chords of the wedding march ring out from the keyboard and we glide up the aisle, arm in arm with our father, to marry the man of our dreams.

For some, the longed for wedding body comes easily. While the rest of us have a much longer journey to travel, to fit into our dream dress. My journey was never going to be easy. Due to a dodgy thyroid, I don’t lose weight like other people and my body doesn’t respond like others. Throw in a complete lack of willpower and a love for junk food and the journey was always gonna be that little bit harder. Even when the diet is in check, diet alone will only take you so far and at some point you have to bite the bullet and get yourself into a gym.

I am not normally the biggest fan of the gym. Wait, let’s call a spade a spade. I am not normally the biggest fan of exercise. I am a little on the lazy side and love nothing more than to come in from work, kick back and watch Corrie. The last thing I want to be doing after work, is to head to the gym. Yet here’s the thing. As corny as it sounds, for the most part Crossfit fifteen has given me the kick in the arse and the motivation I needed to help me fit into my Wedding dress. Crossfit Fifteen really isn’t like a normal gym. Yes you sweat and lift heavy things, but you also chat and have a laugh in-between. I can’t believe I would ever say this about a gym, but it is actually somewhere I like going to!!

When I joined Crossfit fifteen in November, the wedding seemed like an eternity away and I need a smaller, shorter goal to keep me going to the gym. I had a purple Armani Exchange dress in my wardrobe that I hadn’t been able to fit into in over five years. The dress itself is long since out of fashion, but for me it symbolised a time in my life when I was at my slimmest. When I started Crossfit fifteen I couldn’t fit into this dress. I mean it wasn’t just a case of the zip not closing, this dress would hardly go past my hips!! I posted on The Beautiful Truth Facebook page that I wanted to fit into this dress before my birthday. Fast forward three months later and the dress fits!!!  While it isn’t perfect and there are some areas of my body that need work. I am so much further along than I was in November.

I am usually the last person to acknowledge a change in my appearance, but in the last week or so, I have noticed just how much my body has changed. I have a shape again. My waist is  smaller and my legs don’t look like two tree trunks any more. While I am not where I want to be just yet, I am certainly a lot closer than I was in November. The drop in inches has now gotten to the point that I have a serious lack of clothes to pick from, as everything has gone far too big. Only last week I packed away a huge Ikea bag full of clothes that have gone too big for me up into the attic, never to be worn again. Great complaint to have, but I seriously have nothing to wear!! Maybe we should start a whip round for a new wardrobe for The Beautiful truth 😉

Don’t get me wrong. As fantastic as all this change sounds. It’s not easy. The classes themselves are all manageable. Yes there are days that I am dying from the workout, but for the most part everything is doable and even enjoyable, but  my biggest challenge is myself. It seems for every two steps I take forward, I take a step back. My diet  still leaves a lot to be desired. For the most part I am disciplined, but since Christmas, I am finding it very hard to keep myself on track. Monday to Friday I am fine, but as soon as the weekend comes, I am like a machine hoovering up everything in sight. I have told Mr Beautiful Truth that if he brings in one more bar of chocolate or packet of crisps into the house, he will be left at the alter! I keep telling him, he is a feeder!

It is an absolute fact, that if I could get my diet in check, the exercise plan that Dara and the Crossfit team have put in place for me, will have me looking better than I ever have. Crossfit works like nothing I have ever tried before. I sometimes get frustrated with my lack of progress to lift heavier things, but I trust Dara’s guidance completely. Each Crossfit class is like a semi personal training session and he watches out for every little niggle you might have. I have had problems with my knee and he has worked my plan around that, to make sure I can keep my progress going without causing damage to it.

Since Christmas, the scales has decided it doesn’t want to move anymore and yet, my clothes are absolutely a hell of a lot looser on me. I have learnt to try and not care about the scales and focus on the changes in my clothes, but there is still a large part of me that wants to see a certain number on the scales, and I know I can do it. Crossfit fifteen has deviced a plan that will guarantee I am  smoking hot walking up the aisle.

I am not writing this post to say, oh look how wonderful I am. Fat girl turned skinny. I literally just wanted to share with you guys that even with with dodgy health in the way, it is possible to get where you want to be. If you are in the West Dublin area, or go down to Crossfit fifteen and have a look at what they are about. I promise you it is nothing like you would expect. Trust me you’re more likely to find a group of girls talking about fake tans, holidays and babies while lifting weights, then you are to find muscly men grunting and lifting in front of mirrors.

My wedding dress should be ready in the next two to three weeks. Considering I ordered it at the start of October I can’t wait to see how it fits!! Now that I’ve said Yes to the Dress, it’s time to fit into THE dress.