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?

It’s doable, it’s just over 3 lbs a week, and the first week is usually a whoosh, but I doubt she will be a size 12 after losing 6 stone. More like a 14-16

Sorry it’s nine months not 6, yes she can do this, but again doubtful she will be a 12.

That's very amibitious but I'd imagine she needs to lose a lot more than 6 stone to be a size 12 and she may have an awful lot of loose skin to think about as well

I've lost 2 stone and am not yet down a clothing size. Clothes are looser but still not big enough to warrant new smaller ones yet

I’m 5ft 3 and was just under 10st when I got married and due to how wedding dresses are sized, I had to get a 14.

I think this isn’t your issue but you can support your friend by going for walks with her and checking in on her progress every now and then and if needed, suggesting going shopping again nearer the time.

Even on weight loss injections,with the current ones legally available, I don’t see this happening.

6 stone is nowhere close - I’m the same height as her and a size 14 at anything over 11 stone. 6 stone off might get her into an 18? She needs to loose 10 stone I reckon to be a 12. It’s possible but I think she would look awful shedding half her body weight in such a short time. A stone a year to let her body adjust would be a better idea but ultimately it’s up to her.

14 stone at 5’3 will not be size 12 - I’m that and 5’10 and size 16/18

Get her on the jabs.
Get her on the treadmill.

Even if she doesn't make a size 12 by the wedding she will feel better than she does now!

My daughter was over 19 stone. She has lost 5.5 stone but it has taken just over a year. She is young (early 20's). She's using WL injections and completely changed her diet. She has a couple more to go. I think your friend is unrealistic in what can be achieved in that timescale along with the stress of planning a wedding.

A stone a year, don’t be daft!

Why would she buy a dress so small !

I don't even think Mounjaro would get her small enough in any healthy way. A wedding dress in a size 12 would be actually be a size 8/10 in 'real' terms. Her fiancè obviously loves her as she is, so why she wants such a drastic alteration makes no sense.

Advise her, mayby the dress needs selling, and buy closer to the wedding based on her weight then.

A bridal size 12 is more like a high street size 8-10 for a start. I was a size 12 when I got married and had to buy a 16 dress to accommodate my boobs then have the waist taken in.

In terms of weight loss, I've previously lost 5 stone after pregnancy, without WLI, it took about 14 months of diet and exercise and I went from a size 16 to a 10. I'm 10 stone and 5'6".

Obviously her own build and height will come into it but 8 dress sizes down may not even happen with a 6 stone loss.
Even if she does lose 6 stone, that would make her still 14 stone which is very unlikely to fit a high street size 12 at 5'3" never mind a bridal 12.

I don't think the numbers she's aiming for are realistic to achieve in a healthy way and it will be a miserable run up to her wedding if she tries. By all means change diet/lifestyle/use WLI but in a sensible way with realistic targets which this isn't.

Everyone has answered the question of if she can. There's also a question about 'should she?'. She's changing her entire life drastically twice in a year. She's making the entire run-up about her weight. Her moods aren't going to be great. Her fiancé may find it hard and on and on.

A goal of being healthy with him, working on it together, focusing on their life together not a dress. All a good idea. Her obsessively slimming to fit a fantasy is a really bad idea.

She won’t likely be a size 12 even at 14 stone.

I was 21stone and a 26/28. I am currently working down - I am 12st 8ish and a size 16.

Wedding dresses are notoriously small fitting too!!

Everyone wears their weight differently. It doesn’t matter a jot how much YOU would need to lose to be a size 12 🙄 I personally fit into my size 10 dress for my weeding at over 12 stone at 5’5 but I always lose weight around my waist and upper body first (where most dresses are fitted!!)

Your friend has set an ambitious goal but maybe she just needs that dress as motivation. Just support her rather than doubting her and be ready to take her dress shopping in a few months if she needs something more suitable. Hopefully she will be feeling fabulous whether she achieves her goal or not.

good luck to her 🎉

I was a 26-28 when I started losing weight about a year ago with WLI. I’m a lot taller than the woman here (5’9”) but have lost 5.5 stone in a year and am down to a size 22. Partly because I have a LOT of loose skin on my arms, thighs and stomach, which would look awful in a tailored dress! I don’t think her weight loss plan is possible unless she stops eating altogether! You could encourage the weight loss and then help her shop for a dress that actually fits closer to the time?

My mum lost four stone in 5 months so I guess it’s possible. She looked like shit though. No muscle just skinny, saggy and aged. Her face just looked hollow and unwell. So yeah doable but not not sure it will result in a glowing bride.

She’s deluded. Would her body even get to that small a size? At my healthiest my body is naturally a size 12/14. I can’t get myself smaller than that!

Tbf, she was very slim and active before she had a serious accident that put her in hospital for months and on various medications that have made her weight ballon. I think she just want to get back to a healthy weight and is using the wedding as the catalyst. I'm just seriously concerned that she's going to make herself ill or not fit into the dress which would really upset her.

I’m 5’3” - weigh around 10.5 stone and I wouldn’t fancy my chances at a size 12 wedding dress.

Some shops (generous ones) I can get in a 12 but often I’m a 14. I need to be under 10 stone to guarantee that a 12’s going to fit.

Also - being kind to your friend - even in a pretend world where she lost 10 stone (which isn’t healthy in in a year of it did happen) she will surely have so much extra skin that could potentially add a couple of clothes sizes back?

I've lost 9 stone and gone from a size 28/30 to 14/16. I would need to lose another 2 stone at least to get to a size 12.

I believe wedding dresses are smaller than regular. My daughter is a size 10 in every shop on The high st and her wedding dresses was a 16.
she’s probably going to struggle unfortunately.

Another poster responding to say a wedding dress size 12 is not a regular size 10, as a pp said more akin to a small 10 or possibly an 8.

Even losing 6 stone might not mean she can fit in a size 12. I’m a similar height and at 14 stone there is no way I’d get in a size 12. I had to get my weight down to under 11 stone until I could. You have to also take into account that there a likely to be excess skin with that amount of weight loss.

I have lost 11st over the course of about 21 months. I don't have reams and reams of loose skin, not at all. Some bits of me are a bit crepey and soft, but I don't have any hanging folds of skin in the way that I think some people are imagining. So, it's definitely not inevitable that a 6 stone loss would result in the kind of loose skin situation that people are predicting.

You’re probably right. My wedding dress was a size 16 in reality I was a small size 12