The snow has started to fall in Saint Paul, MN, and Wedding Shoppe, Inc. employees are breaking out the boots and getting ready for the holidays. Plenty of wonderful things come along this time of year, but so does winter weight gain. Luckily, we have been working with Mary Black: nutritionist, trainer, and creator of Lean Bride Transformations. We loved reading her guest blog posts, and when she offered her services to us, we jumped at the opportunity. A little “healthy competition” never hurt anyone, right?

Photo courtesy of Staja Studios

Meet Mary Black of Lean Bride Transformations.

You may remember an informative post Mary wrote for our blog, My Wedding Chat: “How to Lose Weight for a Wedding Without Starving Yourself.” This blog was written for brides, but applied to anyone dealing with the frustrations and struggles of weight loss. Mary explained that losing weight is a lifestyle change, not a short-term commitment to restrictive dieting and intense exercise.  A healthy nutrition plan, dedication to exercise at home or the gym, and her 80/20 rule (80% of what we look like is what we eat, 20% is lifestyle and genetics) were key takeaways from her blog post. “Quit trying to be skinny and start trying to be healthy!” she told us. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and the Wedding Shoppe staff couldn’t wait to start her 5-week program.

The marketing team decided to snap a few photos in the snow!

Wedding Shoppe, Inc. vs. winter weight gain.

Every Wedding Shoppe employee was given the opportunity to participate, and everyone interested divided themselves into the following teams: Weapons of A** Destruction Thin-terest Bridesmaids XXL Corporate Punishment Hungry Hungry Hippos Bridal Beefcakes Our team names were impressive, but would our results be? Each team member took a ‘before’ photo to base their results on. No scales in this challenge (sighs of relief all around)! To help us on our journey, Mary Black created a Facebook group she would update every day with balanced recipes, tips for our healthy nutrition plan, new exercise at home routines, and words of encouragement. On top of that one-on-one attention, she also set up weekly team calls. During our thirty-minute conversations, she would give us more weight-loss tips, discuss safe ways to exercise at home, and keep us motivated.

The Wedding Shoppe team

Where are we in our weight loss journey?

It’s been almost three weeks since we started this program, and the Wedding Shoppe teams are working hard to meet their personal weight loss goals. You can hear constant chatter around the Shoppe: people talking about their new exercise at home routines, or a tasty recipe someone added to their healthy nutrition plan. We’ve all slipped up in our nutrition or missed a workout, but we’re keeping each other motivated in the final weeks of our challenge. Winter weight gain is no match for the Wedding Shoppe team!

Are you nervous about winter weight gain or trying to lose weight for your wedding? Read Mary Black’s blog posts, or share your own tips below!

• "How to Lose Weight for a Wedding Without Starving Yourself"
• "How to Get in Shape Fast for Your Wedding"