Need urgent advice to lose weight quickly- bridesmaid dress doesn’t fit!

[AngeloMysterioso]

I’m due to be bridesmaid for a good friend next Saturday. She’s just been round to drop my dress off, and I tried it on while she was here- we couldn’t get it done up!

I’m 5’ 5.5” and according to my scales I weigh 64.7kgs, or 10 stone 2lbs and 10oz. My clothes are mostly a size 10. So I’m not exactly big- I’ve got a 9mo baby that is still breastfed but I’ve just checked and back in February when the dresses were first ordered (and I was weighing myself regularly to see if the baby weight was coming off) I was 62kgs!! But I don’t weigh myself that often now as I tend to just go by how my clothes fit, and whilst some things are a little on the tight side atm there’s nothing that I can’t get into.

My friend has taken the dress home to see if she can get it altered to let it out a little bit, but we had a look and there isn’t really any extra fabric to play with and the style of it means that it would be quite complicated to make any big adjustments to. So basically I’ve got a week to lose enough weight to fit into this dress.

Help!!

I was just going to post exactly the same as this!

Please don’t be tempted to diet or reduce your calorie intake. You need it because you’re breastfeeding. The dress can be sorted. Sort the dress, not the weight!

Try the weightloss board on here too OP.
You are not going to lose 2kg of fat in a week, but I think shedding excess water and some good shapewear will sort you out no problem.
www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-to-lose-water-weight

Thats v doable. No alcohol and lots of water. 16:8 fasting and lower carbs. Lots of walking. It’s only a week so possible to stick to and nothing like a deadline.

Can you do a week of Slimming World, I don't recommend long term, I've done SW a few times and any weight I lose on them I gain back each time I've tried I've always lost between 7lbs and 10lbs in my first week

@AngeloMysterioso

Were they hand-made by a seamstress, OP or bought ready-made from a shop?

Swapping isn’t really an option, there’s 4 bridesmaids but two are mega mega slim and small chested, and the other one is quite a bit bigger than me, so my dress would be too small for her.

Periods still haven’t come back so I don’t think that’s a factor.

Gonna head into town once baby is awake and see if I can get some industrial strength shapewear!

I would do the Fast 800 keto and no carbs. You could easily drop 4 lbs in a week doing this. But be strict.

They were made to order from an American company

If you fast you'll easily drop it op

Oh sorry just read your breast feeding so fasting probably isn't an option

As others have said, get a dressmaker to insert a panel
You should not be dieting when breastfeeding.

I've recently had a dress that should have been my size but didn't fit, it also had a zip up the side and I couldn't get it to close without brute force. I had three weeks to lose 2kg and it didn't make much difference in the end anyway, I did manage to squeeze into the dress but it was so tight around my ribs it gave me stomach pains and I had to get changed eventually. Don't waste time trying to diet. Find a seamstress asap! They can work miracles!
If your dress is like mine it was tightest around my rib cage and chest, and 2kg in weightloss didn't make any difference in that area anyway.

Good luck!

No bread, cake, goodies, pasta, rice, potatoes.
Plain yoghurt, protein shakes. Miso soup. Fruit.
Plenty of veg to get things moving, as such…

One week BF while eating less is fine, I think.

I'm in favour of asking the supplier for an extra yard (as they're American!) of the fabric, get it sent express and pre-book your alterations person.

That's if your ultra-powered shapewear doesn't work.

Corset?

Shapewear should do wonders. But start keto and you’ll lose a few lbs. But you’ll feel rubbish the first week and it’ll affect your Bf.
shapewear should work magic and buy a cheap dress the same colour to swap into for the evening so you can breathe and eat!

Find a good dressmaker, they will have a solution. It’s really not a good idea to be dieting when you are breastfeeding and if it doesn’t work it will be too late to do anything! Also, if you are breastfeeding, you are probably a bit bigger around the bust and dieting isn’t going to change that.

I would remove the zip and have a seam cut down both sides and have a mini ribbon corset added to both sides symmetrically ad opposed to a traditional back corset.

Don't do a drastic diet when you are breastfeeding.

How much does the dress not zip up by?

Could you be getting into it slightly wrong? Make sure your bust is properly lifted into the cups before zipping up. Zip half way then readjust again.

I'm a wedding seamstress and something many people don't know is that many dresses can be stretched slightly. So if you only need a little extra space that might help. If you have a steamer use that, or if not then a steam iron. DO NOT iron the dress, just use a little steam from a small distance to very, very slightly warm and moisten the dress on the inside. Then gently pull and stretch the fabric in the areas you need more space. Get into the dress (make sure it isn't hot from the steam) and zip up as much as possible. Repeat. If it works and you can zip it all the way up then stay in the dress for a while to make sure it 'sets'.

A good dressmaker won't have availability to do this by next weekend!

I think it'll have to be a drink based diet

Op, you're breastfeeding so it's unrealistic to do any quick fixes I'm afraid.

Please don't listen to those recommending low calorie/ drink based diets 🤦🏼‍♀️

I hope you find someone who will be able to adjust the dress

I lost 3kg in the first week of doing this.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide

I cut out all sugar & carbs - missed breakfast & didn't eat from 7pm to 11am the next day - egg salad for lunch [no dressing] & porridge at teatime.

This is the closest I can find to what I'm describing, especially if there's no extra fabric to work with.

I wouldn't risk reducing my milk supply when I'm breastfeeding for a wedding or for anything really.

Also, as above, you are going to really struggle to find any seamstress who has space to help with just a week to go! You can phone around but be prepared for lots of no's and to be charged a rush fee.

how much size do you need to lose? You were 2kg lighter when you ordered but that doesn’t translate to needing to lose 2kg now. How many cm do you need to shift across the top to get it to zip up?

try again with shapewear on, and it might be possible to add a new zip with a bit of a panel in the side, won’t look perfect but could give you the extra space if you only need a small
bit more room.