Your wedding day. You worked so hard to get to that day looking your best. You munched on salads, tried crazy diets and avoided sweets for months to drop those pounds. Maybe even a slight stomach flu to help you drop those last 5 pounds.

After all of that, you looked amazing. The dress fit flawlessly and you pranced and danced all night, glowing in your new marriage and hot body. Because you are supposed to drop weight to be beautiful, hot on your wedding day, right? But after the wedding, after the pounds make their way back, comes a new body image struggle.

First, the honeymoon comes and all you want to do is eat carbs, french fries and all the fruity drinks. Your honeymoon is a celebration, a different universe where calories and pounds don't count. You worked hard for this body and a few days of bad eating habits won't change that.

Until the scale alarms you that you added those last 5 pounds back on when you return. You gasp. You cringe. Then remember, Mr. Stomach Flu helped you get there. In your eyes, it's a basic zero out. Still the same weight and you feel great. There is no way you can lose that amazing body that made you feel so amazing on your wedding day. But just in case, you go on a 3 day juice cleanse just to be sure.

Flash forward 4 months. Before you know it, you are up a good 6-10 pounds and that dress barely zips past your waist. You aren't quite sure if you want to try to make it fit by not eating or grab the nearest plate of brownies. And yes, I've tried mine on multiple times this past year to judge my weight gain. It was a good time to do a 7 day diet to lose a few pounds again.

The year anniversary rolled around. It was a tough pill to swallow that just a year later I had packed on a few extra pounds that were not welcome and not sitting well on my barely 5 foot frame. It made me feel gross, not pretty and beautiful. I felt gross for letting myself get to this place.

These are the pounds I see when I pull at my love handles. Pounds I see when I look at my floppy stomach. Pounds I see when I pour my now plumper booty into my jeans.

This past year, I have agonized over my weight. My new frame that I am fitting into as a new wife. I have tried new diets, tried new pills and just plain tried to kick these pounds away. All I could think about was how unhealthy I had become and what kind of wife that made me all because I had gained a few pounds in the wrong places. I didn't feel like my pretty wedding day wife self. And looking at these pictures, that's all I wanted back.

Wait just a minute.

Who gave these few extra pounds the power to make me feel not hot or pretty? Who gave these extra pounds the power to make me feel think I wasn't that happy wife from a year ago?

Instead, these pounds are because I cooked homemade meals for my husband most nights the past year. And the nights I didn't cook we ordered in and watched our favorite shows over some laughs. These pounds are because we spent less time exercising and more time enjoying each other. These pounds are the signs of a good first year of marriage where we enjoyed nights out with friends, yogurt dates and lots of sushi.


After you struggle for a year trying so hard to look your best on your wedding day, it can be hard to look back a year later and see the pounds have come back. Especially, when most of the time it was more crazy diets, crazy workouts instead of a healthy lifestyle. You feel like you failed yourself, your new husband and the future. It seems like an uphill battle from here on out.

Instead of looking back a year ago at your supposed "hot" self with the whittled waist and barely there love handles, look at yourself this year. After a year of marriage and how you sacrificed a few pounds for a happy, comforting first year of marriage. A marriage you had to nurture in the first year and that meant with date nights and skipped gym appointments. And for the record, I am sure your new husband still thinks you are beautiful even if all you see are flaws.

Look at those few extra pounds from the past year as a sign of a healthy start to what will be a wonderfully fulfilling marriage. And enjoy all the margaritas and sushi that you want.


Linking up with Juliette from The Other Juliette and Amber from Mr. Thomas and Me for body talk.

My Skinny Jeans

Talking about my weight or body image is not something you see on here often. What you do see me talk about A LOT is what new diet or healthy eating kick I am on.

My weight isn't something I'm obsessed with but I will admit, I think about it a lot. It was a constant reminder growing up when my family would mention how skinny I was and didn't fit in with the family. I was blessed with a high metabolism I guess. Where did that go?

Prom 2005

Always being the "skinny" family member definitely contributed to my concern over any and all weight gain. I saw a pound creep up and I instantly became concerned. I went through diet pills, weight loss strategies and ran like a fiend just to keep the pounds off back then. Not smart, Krista for your college self who did none of those things.

My sophomore year of college was my heaviest I've ever been. That weight won't be disclosed as I am still a little embarrassed that the number got up that high without it being contributed to a new life being inside me.

I was in love, just joined a sorority that I loved and was happy with my life. There was a kitchen downstairs where it was easy to indulge in pizza rolls and chicken fingers. I definitely did not have a scale to monitor the weight gain. I saw pants getting tighter and I loved my sweatpants but it was ok. I was happy.

In the same dress, 2010

Then, I ended up with a knee condition in the spring of 2010. For 3 months, I was a medical mystery. 3 MRI's, physical therpay for no reason, 4 X-Rays. No one knew why my knee was the size of a basketball and I couldn't walk on it. Turns out it was that tricky meniscus. Had some surgery, physical therapy and somehow the weight just fell off.

That summer, I lost 20 pounds. Typing that I still can't believe that I was that heavy to be able to lose that much and not even be near the 100 mark. (not saying that is EVER my goal) I felt absolutely amazing and my blood pressure was under control again. I could run and workout and I actually wanted to.

Naturally, I had to go on a shopping spree. I was a whole new person coming back to college my junior year. I felt free and had to battle some things and new clothes would help me take on the world. Cue my "skinny" jeans. As we all know as, the jeans that linger to a period when you were at your "best" weight.

Skinny jeans!

Since I put on those skinny jeans, I have obviously not kept up with that weight. It has been a constant fluctuation with ups and downs, ups and down some more. It creeps up then I realize and do something about it.

Put some back on. Spring 2009.

Christmas 2009. Weight off again.

Engagement Pictures 2012. Up again.

On our wedding day. Way down. Thanks stomach flu!

As you can see, after college, I lost another 10 pounds. Not as much booze I think. But then I moved on my own, got engaged and loved my job. It was the happy weight you see in my engagement pictures. That then came off during operation wedding weight loss and stomach flu.

And those skinny jeans? Those jeans still sit in my closet. Circa 2010. I can't say they just sit there and collect dust because they don't. I pull those jeans out on a regular basis. They are how I know I am gaining weight or losing weight. Or might be carrying a little extra in the love handles.

It might seem like I am obsessed with my weight. And I would say yes and no. Carrying a few extra pounds, no big deal. But too many of those pounds look and feel different on a 5 ft. 2 in. person than someone taller. It also affects how I feel overall. I feel more tired and just overall blah.

It's part of why I keep the skinny jeans. I felt like I could take on the world when I first bought those skinny jeans. I felt sexy. My blood pressure dropped, my skin improved. I was living life and really enjoying it. Those skinny jeans are more about how I FELT in them rather than what I looked like.

If I gain a few pounds, I don't stress or worry about it. I hardly get on the scale after operation wedding weight loss. But I do get concerned when I start to feel the weight gain. My blood pressure, my skin, my overall well being.

I might opt to toss those skinny jeans come spring cleaning time. Or I might still hold on to them. Still haven't made the full decision if I really still need them around. I have put on some of the newlywed pounds but I will call that my happy weight and I won't let my skinny jeans tell me any different. 

Do you have skinny jeans? How long have you kept them?