The most embarrassing thing happened to me at the gym the other day. After busting my butt at a 5:30 a.m. spin class before work, I showered and then went to put on my clothes. As I was pulling up my work pants, I realized….these babies were not going to zip up.
There I was, in the ladies’ locker room, surrounded by a bevy of size 2 skinny bitches amazingly beautiful and ridiculously thin girls, in my grandma undies with my cellulite on full display and I’m squeezing into my black work pants hoping they won’t rip. I couldn’t button them up! Thank God I had an oversize shirt to wear…
I wanted to crawl into a (donut) hole and die. How did I get to this point???
It’s no secret that freshmen entering college typically gain weight—15 pounds to be exact–hence the Freshmen 15. I fell prey to that stereotype.
I had also been remotely aware that newlywed couples also gain a few pounds during their first year of marriage…something about having romantic meals and eating out often and just generally enjoying bliss. But I didn’t think Mr. Marathon Runner and I would fall prey to this.
When we were dating, Eric had a strict 5x a week workout routine and diet, while I was plugging away 4 to 5 miles on the treadmill every weekday. Our Saturday mornings consisted of three-mile runs along the Newport Harbor.
We were the poster couple for The Fit and The Fabulous.
And then we got married. And our workout dates quickly turned into elaborate gourmet home-cooked meals. We had wine every night. And dessert. Instead of heading out for our Saturday morning jog, we prepared breakfast with pancakes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast…every weekend. It was delicious.
And then Eric’s work schedule changed from a typical Monday thru Friday workweek to two 24-hour shifts a week plus an occasional 8-hour shift. With that, came fast food galore to fill up those work days, and an erratic workout schedule.
Having to walk the dog before work became my excuse for not hitting the gym. I became lazy, unmotivated and…well, lazy.
And then the holidays came…oh the holidays…
SO what am I getting at here? I can’t hide it any further.
Between the both of us, Eric and I have gained almost 40 pounds since we got married.
40 freakin’ pounds.
That’s like a 5-year-old.
That’s more than our dog weighs.
We’re still relatively young. There’s no excuse for this amass of lard on our thighs and bellies. Eric can’t fit into his jeans anymore, and I only wear leggings and jeggings (btw, the person who invented those? GENIUS!)
I kept holding out until Jan. 1. That was the magic day that I would start eating healthy and start going to the gym. But when I finally stepped on the scale, I knew it was so bad that I needed to start making changes ASAP. So I started easing into my New Year’s Resolutions on Dec. 27 and I’m proud to say I’ve lost 3 pounds since then.
It’s amazing what veggies and exercise will do for you. It’s like my body really wants to shed the weight.
Hopefully, Eric and I will have some good news to report in the next couple of months. Last year, I lost 10 pounds in the first 3 months and I wasn’t even working out that hard. I’ll post updates periodically and see how it goes. Some of my fave weight-loss blogs include 125, and enough fluff.
Anyone else have any weight-loss goals for the year? Has anyone else gained weight after getting married?
21 comments
Oh my goodness – I am so in the same place!! Except I’ve probably put on over 20 pounds. 🙁
I’m pretty sure the culprit is my inexplicable desire to feed my skinny husband – and then the food I make is so good that I end up eating too much of it. Awful situation to be in, right? ha.
So I am GOING to lose this weight this year – I don’t want him looking at me and thinking ‘oh no, who ate the girl that I married?’
Two of my girlfriends joke that they were happy, skinny and single in their 20s-early 30s and now they’re happy, fat and married. Being healthy is what’s most important, but I bet that you and Eric will get back on track.
I unfortunately had the type of cancer and treatment that causes a person to gain weight. In the past 8 months, I gained 20 pounds. I have two charity fashion shows in the next two months. I hope that my body will bounce back to my old weight now that the drugs are out of my system, but we’ll see…
I’m worried about gaining weight now that I am in school. There is a gym in my apartment building but I’ve only been inside once and that was just to look. It sounds like you two will be back to your old sizes in no time. Especially since you started out working out together. That always makes a huge difference. It’s good to have someone that motivates you.
Oh my gosh! I love the new pics in your header and side bar! 😀
My pants have been dying from chub rub lately. I need to loose at least 40 lbs and so far have lost 6. I’m optimistic that this year I can really do somethings to help lose the weight once and for all. 🙂
Erica, Eric, friends, buddies, pals…. people-whose-couch-I-will-sleep-on-if-I-ever-venture-down-south-to-a-better-climate (Dear God, PLEASE make this happen at some point, Love E),
Hello!
Erica, thank you so much for the little shout out! I will admit I often miss your old blog, but I tell your story (but in it, I know you irl, obs) to EVERYONE, because holy hell, how amazing and cool is your story? Side-note: where the eff is my Blog Bog? the perfect man I’ll end up getting hitched to? (Dear Universe, I’m still waiting, Love E). BUT, best of luck in operation-shed-37-pounds-of-ass. I won’t even lie and be all like, “it’s easy! you can do it!” because giving up carbs and wine is AWFUL! But, as you already know, being skinny is da bomb (so I hear).
Anywho, I’m still reading and loving your ‘new’ bloggy.
Oh, and happy new year, Christmas and all that jazz,
xo
E
ps I COMPLETELY related to the pants not fitting at the gym, that’s happened to me before. Horrific.
Ha, okay after reading all of the other comments I’ve come to this conclusion: relationships make you fat.
LOL…
Come to think of it I did gain most of my weight while in relationships. I always do better single… because I can focus on MEMEME!
I have to make a serious committment to losing weight this year. I have no idea how I let myself get as heavy as I am- but I’m ashamed of it. I have no more excuses though, my life is good… there’s no bigger priorities anymore or any big struggle to overcome… I’m hoping that getting everything else in my life sorted out will allow me some room to breathe so I can really tackle my weight. I’m *hoping* to lose 40-50lbs pre-Vegas… haha… yaaa right, but that’s my goal anyway.
Ugh. I hate weight gain. But I think it’s good that you’re trying to nip it in the bud now. I’m not married, but I’ve definitely gone thru seasons where I’ve gained weight. I’m actually in the process of losing some pounds. I REALLY wanna be able to rock a bikini this summer…I never have before. Good luck with losing the pounds…wish me luck too.
Oh, and I dunno if your work has anything like this, but I just joined a Biggest Loser competition at my job. I’m real pumped!
I am right there with you – 15 to 20 pounds since my wedding last March! Hoping to get some of it off this year!
I think you know this already, but I’ve gained 15 pounds since last Jan. That is 15 pounds in a year. I can’t fit into a whole drawer full of amazing jeans and it KILLS me. My goal this year is to loose 15 pounds, fit into my pants again, and be toned and hot for summer. Good luck to you and Eric. I know you two can do it!
I’m right there with you, girl!!!
First, you are a brave brave woman for being so open like that.
Second, you’re not alone. Ashley and I used to play ultimate frisbee 4 nights per week, walked everywhere, and never stopped moving. Ah, the joys of living in a college town.
Then, we got married, entered our senior years, and then started working full time. Yeah, totally understand where you’re coming from.
Baby steps, that’s what I keep telling myself!
Ha ha ha!
I loved this. Now that I cook, and cook GOOD food…the weight is creeping up. SLOWLY. So I am trying to stop it now.
We need to get gym passes, its just not in the budget right now, so I have been trying work out DVD’s just not as motivating.
After seeing you guys last night, I beg to differ. You both look great, and are still a gorgeous, alive, and in-love couple. You are awesome! But I DO know what you mean about weight gain when in love…I feel sort of similar with M, and wondering if I have gained a few just from more dinners out, wine, yummy breakfasts. I think you are both doing the right thing though, you ARE getting back and track and will be great, no matter what. XO!
Ooh girl I hear ya! I started gaining my “newlywed” weight about three months before we were even married! As you already know, I started working on losing weight last April, but before that I was up about 15 pounds from where I had been a few months before our wedding (which was already a bit heavier than I wanted to be). Anyway, my goal right now is to lose the last ten pounds I’ve been holding onto, AND Joe and I are training for a 10k! Eek!
I’m right there with ya. I’ve been slowly putting on weight for the past 2 years and am now at my heaviest. I lost almost 10 pounds in August and September, but then I started back in school and used the whole “I want to really focus on school” thing as an excuse for not being healthy. I went for a run on new year’s eve day for the first time in almost 2 months. It felt GREAT and I’ve since been hitting the gym or the pavement pretty hard. My boyfriend and I are also cutting WAY back on our alcohol intake which I think has been the main contributor to my weight gain – like you and Erik, we love to cook nice meals every night so of COURSE we have to have a bottle of wine with a nice meal! Those extra calories have been killing me.
It’s only been a week since I’ve been focusing more on getting healthy and I already feel so much better. I haven’t stepped on the scale yet, but I’m sure a few pounds have been shed.
Good luck to you, you can do it!
The newlywed 15 is so not a myth! I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been, and I intend to do something about it… next week. Ha, see that’s my problem. Never willing to start today! Good luck!
I’m so with you!! When Mr Man and I were doing long-distance (over 20 months) I was the skinniest I’ve been since my teens. I was running most mornings and going to the gym in the evenings and really treating my body like a temple. I eventually moved back to England to be with him and since then have put on 18lbs and cannot shift it despite exercising 4-5 times a week and watching what I eat… We are 7 months out from the wedding now and I’m determined to lose every single one of those 18lbs, just not sure how~
Good luck over the next few months. Sounds like you have had a fantastic start. Keep up the momentum!
It takes a lot for my weight to change (but I can change sizes pretty easily, odd I know) but I’m a size bigger now 7 months out. My husband, however, has put on 40 pounds since moving in together which was extremely surprising. He actually weighed less than I did when we first got together and I never imagined that my cooking (and him not working out anymore) would do this to him! We just signed up for a 5K to get our butt into gear!
See, I gained the weight while we were engaged due the family stress that was abundant (that is a WHOLE other story). I gained almost 30 lbs….
We will be married 13 years at the end of January. Right now I am 11 lbs heavier than the day we got married. I guess that isn’t TOO bad considering I am 13 years older, have had 3 pregnancies, including 2 sets of twins.
My next “goal” for weight loss is to be back to my wedding day weight…with the ultimate goal to be where I was when we met.
Keep plugging away! Exercise is the battle that I fight….finding time, and honestly….I don’t like it!