H: Weight Loss and the W word

Pressure, pressure, pressure.
We live with daily societal pressure.It provides a veritable How-to for just about everything; how to be a good daughter, how to screw up your life, how to fit in, how to keep on top, how to be accepted by your fellow human beings, how to keep polite company. It is, for lack of a better term, our way. Wedding planning is no different, and while living inside of it I've seen these how-to's amplified, exemplified, and without logic celebrated to the point of infamy. I've been exposed to a completely different societal pressure than I ever have before. One of those societal pressures? Weight loss. In order to be the ideal bride, I must wear a white dress, I must have my hair done, I must be neatly trimmed with make-up in place, and I must be thin. If I'm not, there will be consequences. Observe:



and my personal favorite:

I've got to ask....does this piss anyone else off? Or is it just me?

I'm now ashamed to admit that one of the first things I thought of when Josh and I set a date was "okay....that gives me a year and a half to lose weight" and I'm certainly not alone. Some people do see a wedding as an excellent chance to drop some weight, and this can be a good thing because it provides a wonderful opportunity for better health. I myself have dropped a few pounds (though that's because I put my back out last month and pain is an appetite suppressant) and yes, I feel and look a bit better. I'm not against that by any stretch of the imagination.
BUT one of the saddest things that I constantly come across on the wedding forums is people trying to lose weight for their wedding in the UNFOUNDED belief that if they don't they will be ugly, or they won't have a good time, or more importantly, that they somehow would have let everyone down.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially calling BULL$**T.

Josh loves me, all of me, the way I am. He does not judge me because I have a little extra in the trunk (always have, always will). He loves my arms, even though I think they're flabby. Is he going to see me coming down the aisle and think "hmm, she could have stood to lose a bit"? Hell no. I'm not going to starve myself. I'm not going to feel bad about myself.

I'm going to be a bride, the way I am.