My wedding weight loss journey

Over the years, my weight has fluctuated a lot - I've been as small as a size 10, and as big as a size 18. I've always been confident and relatively happy, but in the past couple of years I had noticed I wasn't feeling quite so healthy. With my wedding coming up in October 2025, I knew I definitely wanted to lose some weight, just to feel the very best version of me on the big day.

Exercise and healthy eating, sadly, does not come naturally to me at all. But I was inspired by one of my close friends who has lost 10 stone over the past few years through a calorie deficit. I decided this would be route I would try, and when you actually start doing it, it's really a no-brainer for anyone looking to lose weight easily.

What is a calorie deficit?

Put simply, you will be in a calorie deficit when you expend more calories in a day than what you consume. This expenditure comes in the form of resting energy, active energy and also the thermic effect of food - meaning the calories your body uses while digesting and metabolising food. So you need to be eating less than this number, ideally.

I used the TDEE calculator to figure out how many calories I should be eating; you input your age, gender, height, weight and exercise levels, and it calculates your basal metabolic rate (the bare minimum number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions) as well as your maintenance calories - e.g the number of calories you should consume per day in order to maintain your current weight, based on the information given. This is calculated via the Mifflin-St Jeor Formula.

To be in a weight loss deficit, you need to eat less than your maintenance calories; 500 less per day is the recommended, but you can start by eating 200 less and seeing how you get on, as then you have wiggle room to decrease your calories if you're not noticing much of a difference in your weight.

Where did I start?

When I first decided I wanted to seriously lose weight, I knew I was 100kg exactly - I'd been weighed at the hospital prior to an MRI when I was poorly in 2024. So I put this information into the TDEE calculator and took my maintenance calories, then reduced them by 500. 

I also bought myself a weighted hula hoop and did 30 minutes of this every morning, which frankly I hated but I did become pretty good at it. I tried to increase my steps around this time, too; I had previously been quite sedentary, as I work from home in a 9-6 office job. On top of this I was going swimming once a week, but this is actually not very easy when you a) don't drive and b) work the hours I do, because the pool is only open at certain times, but I absolutely adore swimming and definitely want to get back into it.

I weighed myself once a week from the get go, every Sunday, and I did start to notice the weight dropping off relatively steadily for the first 6 months at a rate of around 0.5-1kg per week.

How did I do it?

So alongside the slightly increased exercise levels, food was the main key in my weight loss journey. As I had cut my calories, I really needed to build a new relationship with food - throughout my time losing weight, I really haven't denied myself anything. I simply eat less of it, and use the free version of My Fitness Pal to track.

I bought a good set of digital scales, and weighed everything so I could ensure I was eating the right number of calories per day. You soon realise the handful of cheese you usually add to your spag bol is actually hundreds and hundreds of calories! I've definitely been eating smaller portion sizes, less carbs, more salad and so on - but I still have chocolate, sweets, cake and all that good stuff.

A typical day of eating in a calorie deficit for me looks like:

• Protein pudding (100g) with chia seeds, 2x rich tea fingers and some chocolate chips for breakfast
• A picky plate (think cocktail sausages, cucumber, tzatziki, crackers etc) for lunch
• Salad with 3-4x Iceland chicken strips for tea
• Low-calorie snacks in between like 10cal jellies, 'Skinny' bars or fruit
• Increased water intake but also lots of Pepsi Max oops

I also don't drink, as it flares my eczema up terribly; alcohol is full of calories, so I definitely think cutting it out has given my weight loss a huge boost!

Where am I now?

I am currently sitting at 77kg, meaning I've lost 23kg (around 3.5 stone) - I tentatively started my journey in November last year but then paused everything over the festive season, so I consider my real 'start date' to be January. I'm so happy with how my journey has gone over the past 10 months; I really wanted to lose 1-2 stone, so to have lost as much as I have is amazing. I'm now really eating at my maintenance calories, trying not to put any weight back on but not actively losing weight either.

I feel so much healthier, I'm more active, I enjoy a better variety of foods and so on. I feel SO happy and confident going into October, the month I get married - my dress looks amazing, and I can't wait to share all of the photos!

If you are looking to lose weight, a calorie deficit is definitely the easiest way to do it - and you don't need to pay for subscription fees, medications or apps or anything like that. Do you research and ensure you're doing it healthily!