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?

Weight loss isn’t linear, unfortunately.

I lose every week, and have done since March - but it’s usually anywhere between 0.5-2lbs. I’ve lost 3lbs twice.

She’d likely have a few big losses early on, but after that there’s no guarantee it’d be 2lbs every single week.

She’d need an extremely limited calorie intake. Which isn’t safe for 9 months.

I haven’t used WLI but, used properly, as far as I’m aware it would still be difficult to achieve.

Yeah I guess that's true! Maths isn't my strong point. So yeah maybe it is doable.

This is so messed up I feel quite sad for her. She has set herself a target that either she will fail to reach - which will upset her. Or else she will reach it but only at the risk of becoming borderline obsessed. This is not how you want to spend the run up to your wedding.

Its obviously good that she is taking steps to lose weight, but she seems to be introducing a lot of potential negatives into the process

I think it’s probably unlikely unless she is going to do a strict diet with the help of WLIs too. The biggest risk to my mind though would be the fact she may have no idea what her body will look like in the end/how she carries her weight in the end.

I’m 5ft 2 and have lost 6 stone on WLIs, but even at 10st 6 currently, my dress size is all over the place. I still have a large bust and 2 kids plus weightloss has left me with an apron tummy that requires a tummy tuck really, so size 14-16 is what I’m fitting in to comfortably right now.

With drugs, sure. The old-fashioned way (diet, exercise) - highly unlikely.

Well done you! ❤️

But @DoeIdea this is much more realistic. I have known someone do as you said but she had a gastric bypass (and that wasn't all plain sailing either). She also split with her long term partner as he wasn't attractive to her when she was much slimmer!

Only with those weight loss drugs

The old guideline was 2lbs a week. Over nine months, that's just shy of 6 stone.

I would set my calorie deficit to aim to lose 2lbs a week but it’s likely that after a few weeks her weight loss will slow right down and she won’t be able to reach 6 stone.

I think she’s setting herself up to fail.

Even if she could, I wouldn’t recommend it.
6 stone is a lot to lose in less than a year and she’ll end up with saggy skin (and probably still not be able to fit in her dress).

I think it’s better to aim for losing 3 stone in 9 months - 1 stone per 3 months.
This way she’ll still look good (people who lose weight too quickly don’t look good), she won’t have to restrict her diet too much and she’ll have more success in keeping it off long term.

Agree with a PP about the dress size. Bridal sizes are tiny. I know someone who at size 16 had to buy a size 22 bridal dress for her bust and waist then had it altered for a perfect fit.
Good luck to her.

I lost weight very rapidly last year, going from 15 and a half stone at the beginning of August 25 to 10 and a half by January so yes it is!

Yes and she would end up with a ton of loose skin and be unable to wear a sleeveless dress. I lost 6 stone in 2 years on mounjaro slowlh and Im going to have to have surgery on my arms.
I suggest try a more doable 3 stone.

Is she taking WLI?

If she loses weight that quickly she’s almost guaranteed to have a hell of a lot of loose skin that will somewhat increase her dress size.

Not always. My gown in 2024 was a 12 and I was a 12.

Could she if she was very strict, no slips, maybe with WLI- possibly.

But I’d be very surprised if 6 stone reduced her size to a 12.

I’d also point out, if she isn’t aware, that wedding dress sizes are typically smaller than that actual size so for example a wedding dress size 12 is more like a “normal” clothing size 8-10.

How ridiculous buying a dress in such a small size. without the jabs she’s got
no chance

It would be a better plan to lose weight for 6 months, and then aim for a stable 3 months prior to the wedding so that the dress can be checked and altered or new dress ordered with just about enough time to sort out any issues. She can't plan to keep losing weight right up until the wedding day, as there will be no way to check if the dress will fit.

And, as everyone else has said, being 14st instead of 20st at 5ft 3in won't make her anywhere near a size 12, particularly in a wedding dress.

i think it is doable and anyway it’s not about the weight its body shape. Lots of exercise and toning she could drop the dress sizes. Though I’d suggest 14 stone won’t be a size 12 at that height.

I did 5.5 stone in 6 months (very healthily) but went from size 20 to 12. I still had a couple of stone to go at that point.

I’d defo get her to get a size 16 dress and then have it taken in - I’d recommend that anyway for a more tailored fit

Its possible but not healthy. The way around it would be very unhealthy.
I lost a stone in a week when my ex husband left but I was physically unable to eat. I certainly wouldn't recommend doing it that.
Its best to lose the weight in a health way. Which would be slowly and less likely to have as much saggy skin

I’m 5’3” and currently weigh 9 stone 7, my size 12 wedding dress fits like a glove even though I’m a size 10 in normal clothes as wedding dresses often seem snug depending on the brand. There is chance someone at 20 stone will fit in it within 9 months, but honestly she’ll realise this a few months out from the wedding and have to get another. Maybe it’s motivation for her, maybe it will be easily altered to go up a few sizes (depends on the style), just be supportive of her trying to lose weight and leave it at that.

She has time, so maybe just see how she is getting on in three months? You can get beautiful dresses off the rack with a couple months to go

I remember the lady did the alterations on my wedding dress saying”I can take any dress in so that looks stunning but I can’t make it grow if it’s too small” She told me that she would need two identical dresses to make a dress much larger.

Wedding dresses come up notoriously small as well. So if it says size 12, it might actually be a 10.

If she does the shake replacements which are very low calorie then it’s doable if she does it every single day and doesn’t ‘cheat’. I did it many years ago probably about 15 years, I lost 5 stone in 4 months. Obviously didn’t keep it off.
But otherwise no

I was 20 st and lost 6 and a half stone, but over 18 months. I went from a size 28 to a 16/18 even if she loses the weight she won't get into a size 12, where does she think all the skin will go ?