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?

First couple of stone will come off easily if she is VERY strict. The it'll be a struggle. If she can get it in a 16 that's realistic ...

This is true too. I’m 5 ft 7 so much taller than your friend and I fit in a 12 at 11.5- 12 stone.

I had a colleague who lost 10st in a year through slimming world and exercise, she was 40ish and went from 20 to 10 stone. Amazing. She didn't go down to a size 12 though due to the excess skin.

Not a chance. I'm on Wegovy and I've lost 25lb in five months by keeping to a 1300-1500 calories a day diet and increasing my exercise, and I've slowed right down. She's setting herself up for failure however gorgeous the dress is.

If she diets stringently without starving herself, and increases her exercise daily, she might manage three stone in six months without being unrealistic.

My friend lost 100lbs on wegovy in 6 months, so it's doable depending on how you respond to the medication. Could go either way.

I’m also 5’3” and I can wear a size 12 at 11.5 stone. At 10 stone I’m an 8-10. Weight vs size can differ a lot from person to person; it depends a lot on body composition.

Regardless of which, though, I doubt the OP’s friend is going to lose what she needs to lose in less than a year, certainly not safely.

Not really sure why the OP thinks this is her business though.

Mounjaro is her friend here

Even if she does fit into it by some
miracle? How does she know she’ll like it?? I lost 5.5 stone and still have no idea what suits my body in all honesty. She may think it’s beautiful but doesn’t mean it’s the dress for her

If she loses weight that quickly she will have loads of skin to tuck in. She is never going to fit into a size 12. I dropped nearly four stone in six months and went from size 18 down to a 14. Most people will be around that.

The OP doesn't want her friend's wedding to be spoiled by being unable to find a dress when the truth dawns that she won't fit into the 12 she has set her heart on.

Depends if she’s a fast loser or not, when I was younger I lost weight (and put it on!) really easily. I lost 4 stone in 3 months without a huge amount of effort.

I only wish I could do the same now!

Oh and I’m 12 stone in a size 12 too. People carry weight differently.
Edit - I’m 5ft4

I lost 9 stone in 9 months, I started at 20 stone. Did it 7 years ago and kept it off. It’s totally possible

I think this is doable but she would need to concentrate on exercise as well as diet. I lost 15kg in 3 months last year in a healthy and sustainable way and went from a size 16 to a size 10.

If she is 20 stone now and loses 6 stil won't fit in a size 12.
I don't think there is anything you can do about it though.

I am the same height at OPs friend and when I was 12 and a half stone a size 16 was becoming too tight for me . I can't see how she will.be able to fit into a size 12 at 14 stone

Even with WLI that's bullshit.

My friend has lost six stone in fourteen months and that was very fast.

I've lost a similar amount from a very similar starting point (maybe bigger but lots 7 stone). No way can I fit in a size 12 - she will lose the weight but will not be toned enough for a 12.

I lost that in just under 12 months taking mounjaro and with the added ‘incentive’ of having been bluntly told many the diabetes nurse that I needed to get my weight and sugar levels under control or it wouldn’t be long before I lost a foot of my life, which was a really effective motivator.

It’s also really possible that her goal weight wouldn’t mean a size 12. I’m 5ft 8 and weight around 10 stone now and I wear size 10/12. Wedding dresses are notorious for being cut on the smaller side.

I wouldn’t want to put her off trying, I am so happy I’m finally not obese, I weigh less now than I did when I was 11 years old, it has been transformative for me. But I just don’t think fitting into that dress is realistic in the time frame she has.

Absolutely. I'm 11st 10 and 5ft 7 and I'm a large 14.

No. Not even on WLI. I lost 6.5 stone but it took 15m.

She should either reschedule the wedding to give her more time, or aim for a size 14/16 (in which she would no doubt look amazing - after all her fiancé loves her as she is now.)

I went from 12 6 to 5 10 (I'm tiny, under 5ft and was very obese) in a year but 9 months of that was Mounjaro assisted (5 mg) and I massively changed my eating, my mindset and exercise. It was very hard. But it was possible.

Is it possible to buy the same dress in a much larger size and have it taken in by a wedding dress seamstress a month before the wedding? Getting married is stressful enough without trying to starve yourself and panicking that your dress won’t fit

I lost 7 in a year way before WLI. I did the 5:2 which is very effective, lost the first 4 stone on that in 5 months then just calorie counted for the next 7 months and the last 3 stone came off. I got into running and did strength training too on alternate days. So is doable in a year and may well be in 9 months with an extremely high starting weight. That said, she won’t fit into a size 12 at that weight and height.

I’d say no, it’s not doable, a stone every two months maybe? So that would take 12 months. But making a start and using WLI would help her massively.