About Me

Hi, I’m Brie, aka The Fit Bride.

Fitness/Weight Loss

In 2008, I looked like this:

I weighed 200 pounds.  This picture, combined with an unfortunate weigh-in at the doctor’s office (I previously avoided the scale like the plague) spurred me to make some changes in my life.  Initially, I didn’t work out–I just started tracking my calories, drinking more water, and incorporating more fruit, veggies, and lean protein into my diet.  The weight started to come off pretty quickly.

In July 2008, I started to work out seriously.  I adopted the philosophy, “Go to the gym every other day and just do a little bit more each time.”  Adding one minute to my time on the elliptical or running on the treadmill added up fast, and by December 2008, I had lost 50 pounds and felt great.  (150 pounds works for my frame.  I’m 5’6″, so it is on the high end of “healthy” by most BMI charts, but I have real curves and like to keep it that way.)

I then realized I was kind of “skinny fat,” as in, I was skinny, but I didn’t have any muscle.  I bought the book “The New Rules of Lifting for Women” and followed the program to a T.  Since doing this program, I have so much more strength and power than I ever imagined.  I gained five pounds of pure muscle.

In May 2009,  I graduated from law school and moved to a new state with my fiance.  We began to study for the bar, and stress and lack of time took it’s toll.  I took about a month off the gym due to the test and following vacations, and didn’t really think too hard about what was going into my mouth.  I’m now weighing in around 163 pounds, which is a little higher than I’d like.

My mission is to be happy and healthy in my body.  I want to get back down to about 150-155 pounds for my wedding in May 2010, so I have about 8-13 pounds to lose.   That said, I don’t deny myself.  I’m currently eating about 2000 calories a day, and about once a week I’ll go out to eat and enjoy myself without considering calories.  I work out hard, and my body needs fuel.  It’s my mission to find the perfect balance of food, exercise, and mental health to get me looking fantastic as I walk down the aisle!

This is me in May 2009, at about 155 pounds:

I believe that healthy does not mean skinny, and think that confidence is the key to looking great.

Personal

I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  After college, I headed to the great state of Iowa for law school, where I met the wonderful T.  We got engaged on New Year’s Eve of 2008, and moved to Kansas City in May 2009.  T and I are both licensed attorneys.  Both of us work in the legal field, but neither of us work as lawyers per se, although we both enjoy our jobs very much.

I have three blog helpers.

Southpaw enjoys sleeping draped over my stomach while I blog, and licks my hand when I write something she likes.  She suffers from IBS and stress eats.

This is Buckley (and T).  Buckley enjoys biting me when I write something he doesn’t like.  Beneath his crusty exterior, he enjoys being scratched under his chin and eating hairball gel.

This is Milhouse, our two-year-old beagle.  His favorite healthy treat is peanut butter and canned pumpkin and he enjoys hiding our shoes.

All of our animals were acquired from various animal shelters, where they developed various neuroses that make them all the more lovable.