How I’m Losing 125 Pounds for My Wedding

I’m gonna have to update y’all soon on the most recent story arc of my life. We have to talk about Cancun, Türkiye, & Egypt. We have to catch up on my most recent passion projects. And of course we have to talk about my engagement!

But today I want to talk about something else while the muse strikes!

First off, let me say that Wedding Planning is tough!

We thought we were ready for it with checklists and such when we would talk about marriage and what that would look like but ever since September we’ve been going back and forth between what’s the priority Budget, Venue, or Timeline and how each one affects the other. Even after doing our homework via Pinterest on how to hit the ground running on your Wedding Planning, we’ve still not picked one final venue, but I think that will for sure be cemented this coming January… so subscribe! 🤣🤣🤣

Anyways! I think we’re also shooting for early spring 2026 ( Mid March - Late April) to really give us a good buffer to save and book everything that’s needed. 

Now, I know I’m weird… 

A girl in middle school once joked about how a girl’s wedding day is HER* day and people should just concede to whatever they say or need. Of course, my dumb ass blurted out that it’s “a celebration of the couple… not just the Bride…”

To which she responded, “If he wants special privileges then he should be involved in everything.”

“I plan on it.” I replied and came up with a whole ceremony on the spot involving hobbits, a sword fight for the ring & a papier-mâché dragon…

Quick side note… “papier-mâché” is one of those terms I’ve heard or used my whole life verbally and fuck me… I tried like four or five different spellings before I gave up and googled it. I’d never ever actually read it or written it.

Somewhere in the middle of that rant I mentioned that I wanted a fully custom suit with a flowing cape.

The deadpan looks from the girls still haunt me to this day. Or well… they used to until the topic resurfaced now that we’re in full wedding planning mode. 

Now it’s my fiancé’s unimpressed look haunts me, 😅

She’s starting to come around now that I’ve cobbled together some references and let her know that the dragon wasn’t happening. I’m still negotiating on the hobbits and sword fight so… pray for me.

I’ll share some sketches once I actually sit down with someone who knows what they’re doing and of course! You’ll eventually see the pictures.

The funny thing is that because of that whole conversation, I’ve actually become someone who actually cares about the wedding planning. I’m actively involved in looking at venues, negotiating color palates, picking dates, and stress aside… I’m happy that for the next year, I have some guaranteed hangout time with my fiancé!

Now!

Here is my issue. 

While reviewing our engagement pictures, I realized something… Regardless of how beautiful the moment was and how amazing and grateful I feel to take this step with my partner, there is this deeeeeeep deeeeeep feeling of sadness and disappointment.

I genuinely hated how I looked in the majority of them. 

I just look bad.

I’m not hiding the fact that I’m obese online nor am I trying to trick my family and friends via socials with super crazy edits. 

Sure, there are pictures I like and we’ve shared a lot of them, and I wouldn’t trade these memories for anything in the world.

The thing is… I don’t want this issue to steal any more joy from me.

I want to look at my wedding pictures and love the people I see in them.

Not shooting silent jabs at myself for being such a “gross loser…” among other far more creative insults that the little devil inside conjures up. 

Bro is, legit, a top tier hater.

All this to say that I’ve come up with a plan! 

Let’s start with the baseline stats:

I’m a 31 year old, 5’7” male that is 295lbs (170cm | 134kg) living a sedentary lifestyle.

Calculated for a sedentary, 5’7” 31 year old at 295lbs

My goal weight is somewhere in the 170lbs, which I think is still considered overweight by some medical metrics of height & weight, but I don’t think those are factoring in body composition at all… In any case, it’s still leagues healthier than 295.

That’s a 125 pound difference!

Now… how much time do I have?

Between now and January, 2026 there are approximately 58 weeks. Why January? Cause custom suits take time and money and I want to make sure that I give myself and the tailor/designer enough time to fit it and adjust between iterations. A solid window for that is about 3 months. So for now, January it is! (Side Note: it’s critical that I pivot to full maintenance at that point to avoid MAJOR alterations or complications last minute... Up or Down.)

How much weight can I lose between here and then?

• 1lbs a week     =   58lbs lost total    =   237lbs at the time of first fitting. 

• 1.5lbs a week  =   87lbs lost total    =   208lbs at the time of first fitting.

• 2lbs a week     =   116lbs lost total  =   179lbs at the time of first fitting.

Obviously, any amount of healthy weight loss is welcome, but the 2lbs a week is especially enticing because it puts me right in range of my goal weight. A genuine happy accident since apparently 2lbs seems to be the agreed upon maximum healthy amount of pounds to lose per week and I have just enough time to get to where I’d like to be.

So, that’s where I’m at… a mix of nervousness and excitement as I gear up for one of the most important days of my life.

While I have the caloric math down for sedentary weight-loss, I’m still working on a physical plan to help boost my efforts to be able to make it to the day just that much more confident in my own skin.

I don’t know if it’ll be a regular gym, calisthenics, sports, yoga, walking to Mordor and back, or whatever yet but I’ll let you know once that’s all sorted. What I do know is that this journey won’t be perfect, but I’m ready to tackle it with intention and a bit of humor (it’s how I cope with life)

For anyone out there with their own big goals or personal battles, just know: it’s okay to start wherever you are. Don’t be a stickler of things having to be exactly perfect at the perfect time. Incremental progress will beat perfection in the long haul. Also, feel free to share them down below and subscribe so we can both follow along with each others journey.

I’ll keep you updated on my plans, progress, and everything else that happens along the way. Whether it’s wedding planning chaos, fitness victories (or struggles), or maybe even a deep dive into papier-mâché … you’ll hear about it here.

Let’s do this together. 💪✨

And seriously… pray for me and the hobbits. 😂

Photo by Bence Kondor