Wedding Weight-Loss Dos and Don'ts

Don’t deprive yourself during holiday celebrations.

For Yom Kippur last week, Rene and I fasted all day on Saturday. We broke the fast at my mother’s house with our families. There was so much food, it was crazy! I had one bagel — half of it with cream cheese and lox and the other half with egg salad. I also had a piece of bread and a slice of cheesecake. We decided we were not going to stick to a diet for this meal, and it was well worth it! We were so full that we stayed in and relaxed on Saturday night. 

Do arm yourself with quick healthy meals and snacks.

The easiest way to avoid temptations around you is to always have "safe" foods on hand. Because I'm so rushed in the morning and don't always have time to make breakfast, I decided to try Atkins protein drinks in the Mocha Latte flavor as a meal supplement. I wish I could make my own at home, but I leave too early and it just doesn’t work, so I figured I’d try these, as they only have 3 net grams of carbs. I also bought Atkins meal replacement bars to eat for lunch.

Monday morning, I woke up sore (as usual after my workouts with Bonne Marcus!). I drank a shake for breakfast, then had a few celery sticks dipped in hummus as a mid-morning snack. I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did.

For lunch, I had my bar but was starving around 3 p.m., so I snacked on some almonds and sunflower seeds. That kept me full for the rest of the day. After work Rene and I went to my girlfriend’s house for a "gender reveal party." She surprised us by wrapping boxes in different color wrapping paper and putting smaller boxes inside of the big ones. Finally, the last box had the cutest pair of Stuart Weitzman pink slippers, so it’s a girl! I’m so happy for the both of them and can’t wait to meet the little beauty.

Don't let your workout routine become "routine."

Bonne changed up our workout plan again this week. Our new routine consists of many moves from a combination of all of the routines we’ve been doing. Some of the exercises included medicine ball passes, the “Prisoner Get-ups” (so hard to do!), push-ups, tricep extensions, squats with the body bar, and many more! For our abs, we did a move where you lay on your back with your knees up and you reach up and hold the position. I liked this one because I really felt it in my upper abs.

Do pay more attention to measurements than the scale.

Sunday morning, we had a training session with Bonne. I did not lose any weight this week, but she took our measurements, and I had great success! In just four weeks, I lost four inches off the larger part of my waist, an inch off my arm and an inch off my chest. That was all very exciting news! Plus, Rene lost four pounds this week, so I was very proud of him.

Don’t counteract your physical activity.

Thursday was our Esprit de Corps for work. It's something we do every quarter where our whole company gets together and goes somewhere outside of the office to hang out and spend quality time together. This time, we went to Roosevelt Island to have “field day,” where we played activities all afternoon like tug-o-war, egg runs, and relays. After, we went to the restaurant across the street for drinks... and I ended up drinking a little too much.

Thursday was also my second dating anniversary with Rene, so he joined me around 7:30 p.m., met some of my friends, and had some drinks. Then, we went out in the city to Nobu for dinner. We had amazing sushi, drank wine, and had a great time. We didn’t want to drive home, so we got a room at the Hyatt and spent the night. We walked from Nobu to the hotel, so at least we got some exercise, but then I saw a Mr. Softee truck and got a vanilla cone. Not good, I know. It was so spontaneous and fun, and I loved every minute of our night!

Work on Friday morning wasn't too great. Unfortunately, my bad drinking habits the night before caused me to eat poorly all morning. I had a bagel and an egg white sandwich already and it’s only like 3:30 p.m. The scale is not going to be happy with me tomorrow. Thankfully, I'll be training with Bonne again tomorrow morning!

—Jennifer Crow