Is losing over six stone in nine months realistic for a wedding?

[DoeIdea]

Friend is getting married at the start of may. She's obese currently at 20 stone/5'3 and has bought a dress that's gorgeous but is only a size 12. She's currently a size 26/28 for context and is adamant that she's going to lose enough weight to fit into it for her wedding. It's over six stone which seems a mad amount to lose in that time period.

I'm really worried that's not going to happen and she's going to be disappointed or frantic trying to find a new dress. I've been gently trying to get her to look at dresses that will fit but she's refusing.

Is it even possible to lose six stone plus in 9 months?

Not in a healthy or sustainable way. But it’s her problem, not yours

I've lost 3 stone in two.months just by change of diet and upping my steps so
its doable, but you need to be strict with the diet and exercise to see results

Not in a healthy way I wouldn’t think. Would 6 stone really get her from a size 28 to a size 12 anyway?

Can I send her my Mounjaro referral link? 😉

Im 5.3 and was 19st13. I was a size 26. I went onto WLI 1st May 2025.
15 months later I am now 11st 10 and a size 16.
No way will she get into a size 12 in that time.

If she goes on Cambridge exante lighter life etc maybe

Ultimately leave her to it

Not in a way that will be sustainable. Healthy weight loss that is maintained is meant to be no more than about 2lbs a week.
But if you're very disciplined you probably can but it'll come straight back on once you need to eat more.

should have to have an operation, surely to get rid of all the loose skin

It would be very difficult but even if she could physically do it, I wouldn’t recommend it.

She will look awful.

She will lose a lot of muscle and have saggy skin.

She’s being ridiculous to have bought such a small size. She is going to feel like crap if she doesn’t fit into it even if she loses weight.

She wouldn’t be 20 stone if she found losing weight easy and so she’s setting herself up to fail.

Tell her to aim for losing 1/4 - half a stone a month but know that our body fluctuates.

After 6 months then look for dresses that fit her and then she can have them taken in if she loses extra weight.

@DoeIdea It’s unlikely. But don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem as pp have said. Your friend will have to deal with the dress problem(or not) when the time comes.

How old is she?
Has she tried to lose weight before and failed; or just happily got to 20 stone and only wants to lose it now?
Any health conditions?
Ultimately yes it’s possible, but it’s hard work, she’ll probably need WLI and she’ll really have to stick to a calorie deficit.
Has she got the money for WLI?

I'm 5ft 3 and to get into a 12 I need to be 10 stone or under, even with vanity sizing. She needs to lose minimum 10 stone @DoeIdea I understand your worry about her, but I'm not sure what you can do except support her efforts and help her come to terms with having to get another dress nearer the time. But I hope she doesn't go on some kind of obsessive crash diet and then yoyo back. What about WLIs? Or the new pills that are out?

That’s an ambitious target!

It might be possible to lose 6st in that timeframe, although I’d have concerns about how sustainable and safe the weight loss was.

But I’ve also got doubts about whether a 6st weight loss would be enough to get her from a size 26/28 to a size 12.

Nothing you can do about it though.

I would be telling her exactly this.

There is a saying, the quicker it takes for someone to lose weight, the longer it will take overall - because you end up putting it all back on.

I’d rather have less weight loss but keep it off and gradually lose the rest, than lose loads, look like crap and then put it all back on again.

That’s how people get into the binge eat-starve cycle.

At 20stone she could easily lose weight by eating slightly less calories per day with no help needed.

2lbs a week for 9 months is almost 6 stone though? Seems a reasonable target.

Ultimately it is possible but depends on how healthy she is, definitely needs good advice on diet to ensure essential nutrients aren’t lacking, exercise is a must and she may have considerable excess skin, perhaps she hasn’t considered that. Ultimately her decision and a dress can be purchased close to the date if needed “off the shelf”

Honestly what happened to the old guidelines on how much weight was healthy to lose in a certain amount of time?

DB lost 13 stone in 12 months so yes it is possible, but if she has a lot of loose skin she may not change size as dramatically as she thinks she will. DB lost all that weight and went from 24 to 11 stone, but was still very 'fat' due to excess skin and it takes a lot longer to reformat your body into leaner muscle. But yes, it is possible and for DB this saved his life, literally, it was the healthiest thing he has ever done.

Here to say the same thing! I initially used one I found on here, would love to know who’s I used, grateful for it.

I’m 10 stone and a size 10, shorter than you too so it depends how she carries it.

Unlikely. As someone who has lost quite a bit of weight with WLI you slown after a while. Plus the size of your arse/hips is not necessarily going to change that much so if she has never been a size 12 she may not be now.

However I wouldn't be saying that to her, I would just tell her she is going to look beautiful on her wedding day whether or not she loses six stone but she might want to set a deadline to make sure she has a dress to look beautiful in at whatever size is looking likely.

This is very sensible advice I reckon. The psychological implications of ‘failure’ could be devastating. Much gentler and more realistic to set weekly/monthly goals and see where she stands closer to the wedding.

No this is not sustainable, nor healthy. Even if she loses the weight she will pile it back on after her wedding. Is she planning on using jabs?

A size twelve wedding dress is going to be tiny. They are notoriously not vanity sized like high street clothing. She may as well be saying she will be slimming into a high street size eight to ten. It doesn't sound doable but I wish her luck. Drastic weight loss leads to excess skin and that doesn't look great on a day you'll be photographed a hundred times.

This is ridiculous! Surely her fiance loves her as she is, so why aim to change herself into a completely different person?