Restarting (again) and fed up of not knowing which way to turn

Hi

As a bit of background I got married last month and was enjoying married bliss until we got our wedding photos this week. I was horrified to that despite eating sensibly and doing plenty of walking for the 9months leading up to the wedding I still look MASSIVE in the photos. I hadn't realised quite how big I still am. (Even my mother mentioned it being a shame that I have more than 1 chin in the pics!)

Then to make it worse I went shopping today to get a new bikini for our honeymoon (Turkey in 2 weeks ) and looked at myself properly for the first time. I look about 10years older than I actually am and could easily pass for a few months pregnant with my very extended belly.

I have decided I have got to fix this before I lose the last of my self confidence. The problem is that I have tried all the diets and plans before and the only thing that has ever worked is getting stressed out. I could really do with some suggestions on how to start? Unfortunately as newlyweds we have no spare money so I can't join the gym or any of the dieting clubs - just have to do it myself through hard work.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions on where to start. I'm a nightmare for giving up and really want to succeed for once!

Mrs D

For a start, congratulations! I bet you don't look as bad as you think. Photos are awful, they're one dimensional and nobody in real life sees you like that. That wasn't nice of your mum to say that, not sure how that was supposed to help.
It sounds like you got into some good habits before the wedding and once you're on holiday you'll feel a bit better, you'll be swimming and walking and it's easier to eat nice salads etc when it's someone else preparing them.
For a pretty quick result I'd have a look at the paleo diet online. I've just mentioned this somewhere else on here but after years of trying lots of different diets this is the only one that I've been able to keep up, and I don't even follow it very rigidly. But I did notice a difference in the first week, particularly around my tummy. For the first few weeks I gave up bread and past etc and that's easier than it sounds. I had scrambled eggs and a piece of bacon for breakfast, which kept me going for much longer, had nuts and dark chocolate for snacks and then had fried courgette with a pasta sauce, or made cottage pie but had mashed cauliflower mixed with a bit of coconut milk instead of mashed potato. I also cut out sugar and as many processed foods as possible. You don't have to sticvk to it 100%, I saw somewhere someone suggested just doing it 70/80% of the time.
Once you get on that beach you'll see all shapes and sizes and hopefully feel a lot bettr. I hope you have a great time x

[FONT=Calibri, serif]Since you can't join a gym, try walking outside.[/FONT]

Hiya,

I'm the same as you, want to do more exercise but I don't want to part with any money... I've been looking at apps to help and you might want to try the 0-5k running app as I thought that looked quite good? Only problem for me is I live in the countryside and by the time I get home from work it's starting to get dark

Jo xx