Wedding Workout And Diet Plan

Getting married made Jennifer Lilley want to start her new life with a new body.

Vital Stats

Name Jennifer Lilley

Home Freehold, NJ

Age 33

Height 5’5″

Job Advertising copywriter

Weight before 208

Weight after 138

The Buildup Like most kids, Jennifer Lilley preferred cookies to carrots. But her tastes didn’t grow up when she did, and by her late 20s, her junk-food diet had taken a toll. “I was working long hours and eating dinner out of the vending machine. When I got home after 11, I’d be too tired to work out.”

The Breaking Point Lilley found herself having to pass through turnstiles sideways and stopping to catch her breath walking up stairs. But it wasn’t until July 2006, when her boyfriend proposed, that she found the motivation to lose the extra lbs for good. “Marrying him meant the start of a new life, and I wanted to spend it in the best shape possible.”

The Changes Lilley took a colleague’s advice and signed up for Medifast, a program that combines prepackaged foods–oatmeal, soup, cereal bars–with one lean-meat and veggie dinner a day. Frequent meals kept her away from the vending machine; after four weeks her jewelry was looser and her jeans had room to spare. She’d already dropped 40 pounds by November 2006, when she started walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes two to three days a week.

By February 2007, Lilley had shed 20 more pounds and started choosing her own food, like brown rice and lots of fresh veggies and fruit. “I eat a banana and an apple every day now,” she says. Her weight loss stalled, so she ramped up her workout intensity and lost 10 pounds three months before her June 2007 nuptials. She said “I do” in a new size-8 gown that replaced the 18 she’d originally bought.

The Reward On her wedding day, Lilley says, “I could glide down the aisle with ease, dance without losing my breath, and socialize without feeling self-conscious. I felt so happy to not just look healthier but be healthier.”

Her Tips

Avoid a gym rut. “Push yourself. Try a 10 percent incline on the treadmill.”

Cook better. “The World’s Healthiest Foods website, whfoods.com, has great recipes.”

Eat throughout the day. “I call it SSS–several small sensibles. Eat every two hours or so; then you’re never so hungry you binge.”

Source: margin: Womenshealthmag