Prenuptial diets

Three new brides discuss their weight-loss success stories

By Jennifer Piurek

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Lots of little girls dream of meeting their Prince Charming one day and having a big wedding complete with a big reception and big bunches of flowers.

A big butt isn't part of the fantasy.

It's not surprising that people gain weight during dating and courtship; lavish meals and eating out together seem to go hand-in-hand with falling in love.

But for some brides, knowing they'll be the focus of dozens or hundreds of pairs of eyes and that their image will be preserved in a memory book for their grandchildren, the only solution is a pre-wedding diet.

The three women I spoke to -- Krystal Faller, a media production specialist at IU; Laura Nolan, an opera singer; and Mary Ann Bough, a chiropractor -- shared their engagement stories and subsequent experiences with Atkins and Weight Watchers, two of the most popular diets on the market.

Here comes the bride

Krystal Faller met her husband, Ken Spencer, at a party -- and tried to set him up with her friend. But Ken wanted to date Krystal, and when she and her boyfriend broke up a couple of months later, Ken was waiting in the wings to ask her out.

"We've had a standing date Saturday night ever since," said Krystal.

In May of last year, after they'd been together just three months, Ken surprised Krystal by placing an engagement ring atop a plate of sushi he'd fixed her for dinner.

Initially speechless, Krystal finally said yes and the two burst into tears of joy.

"I was pretty happy with my weight at the time, but then he moved in with me, and Ken is a fabulous cook," said Krystal. "So now all of a sudden I change jobs to an office job, from being a news photographer. There I was out in the field carrying 40 pounds of gear every day, now I have an office job and a man who cooks for me. I gained 20 pounds in about 4 months."

Krystal almost burst into tears again when she went to the doctor and saw her new weight on the scale. The final blow was seeing photos of herself at a family gathering. "I saw some pictures of myself and went 'Uh-uh. I did not pay several hundred dollars for wedding pictures to look like a big cow.'"

After unsuccessfully trying Weight Watchers, 1,200 calories a day and a low fat diet, she asked a body-builder friend for advice. Her friend suggested a high protein, low carbohydrate diet.

"So I started on Atkins in December, and I joined the SRSC, and I was swimming three days a week." She lost 15 punds in about 8 weeks, and then started dropping inches.

"I'm still losing," said Krystal, when we spoke just days before her May 10 wedding. "I can't lose any more pounds or the dress will be too big!"

After gorging on bread and pastries on her honeymoon in Paris, Krystal will go back on to the diet and exercise regime she's become accustomed to over the past year.

"It's hard to do, because it is a lifestyle -- it's not an event, it's your whole life," she said. "And I'm sure I won't be as strict on it as I have been. But I didn't want it to be 'Here comes the bride, all fat and wide.'"

Back on track

Laura and Todd Nolen went to high school together in Texas, but the two weren't friends. Fate brought them together at Texas Tech when Laura recognized Todd's name on a high school alumni Web site she was browsing just before graduation. They arranged a meeting, and were engaged within two months.

"I was already on Weight Watchers then and I just continued to do it the whole year leading up to the wedding," Laura said.

After graduation, Laura returned to Dallas while Todd stayed in Lubbock. She stopped going to Weight Watchers meetings, but continued the diet and counting points, also walking and playing tennis. Laura lost 20 pounds before the wedding.

"Before my marriage I was doing pretty well, because I had a goal," said Laura, who has had trouble sticking to a diet since becoming a graduate opera student at IU three years ago . (She and Todd moved to Connecticut earlier this month after finishing their respective programs.)

"And then it all went downhill. Got married, stopped dieting and I've gained all the weight back!"

Laura recently went back on Weight Watchers after a failed attempt at Atkins.

"I love carbs so much that I couldn't handle it," she said.

She anticipates being more disciplined with diet and exercise when she doesn't have the constant teaching and rehearsal requirements that regularly push dinner hour past 8 p.m. "I've noticed that since I've gotten a little older it's harder to lose the weight," said Laura. "But I've lost 6 pounds on Weight Watchers already, and I'm going to keep it up this time."

With this ring, I thee … Ow!

Mary Ann Bough of Ellettsville and Walter Holt of Shoals met on a blind date in January of last year. It was a love connection from their first official date, Valentine's Day 2002. By Christmas, Walter proposed, and Mary Ann was overjoyed to say yes.

The problem? Although Walter had sleuthed out her ring size, Mary Ann had gained 30 pounds since they met, and her ring size had increased. An elated Mary Ann used lotion to slide the stubborn ring into place and the two proceeded to have a seafood dinner and lots of water, leaving her even more bloated.

"Later that night when he went home, my finger was turning purple and starting to swell up. And it wouldn't come off," Mary Ann said laughing.

"My dad said, 'You have three choices: We can cut the finger off, we can go to the emergency room and get them to cut the ring off, or I can cut it off.' So my dad had to cut the ring off that night," Mary Ann said. "That was a big warning that it was time to begin dieting again."

She spoke to a friend who'd lost 40 pounds on the Atkins diet and began the two-week induction phase. "It went pretty well, except from the way I had been eating, it was too much of a shock to my system," said Mary Ann, who suffered migraine headaches from caffeine and carbohydrate withdrawal.

"I'm sure it would work really well if you could survive it, but given my job (as a chiropractor in Bloomington), I couldn't take that much of a hit to my lifestyle. But it made me very aware of carbohydrate addiction and sugar and how much you can crave that stuff."

Her friend, a doctor, recommended she modify the diet, which excludes sugar and white flour and is heavy in meat, eggs and cheese, adding some more fruit and vegetables and lowering her caffeine intake without canceling it altogether.

Since the modification, Mary Ann has lost 10 pounds, and hopes to lose a total of 30 to 40 pounds before her October wedding. She walked a mini marathon early this month and even formed a "chubby club" with some friends who will support each other to keep walking. The next race is in October — after the honeymoon. "Once I get it off, I don't want it back again," she said.

Steak au Poivre

Serves two

2 tablespoons crushed peppercorns (see hint)
2 boneless sirloin shell steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsweetened ketchup (available at natural-food stores)
1 tablespoon cognac
salt to taste

Spread peppercorns on work surface and press both sides of steaks into them so both sides are coated. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add steaks and cook for 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm.

Add cream, ketchup, cognac and salt to skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring, and making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Lower heat and simmer sauce for 2 minutes. Pour sauce over steaks and serve immediately.

Carbohydrates: 4.7 grams per serving.

Hint: To crush peppercorns, place in plastic bag and flatten with rolling pin or knife.

From Dr. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook.

Contact Jennifer Piurek by e-mail at jpiurek~heraldt.com. Food Fare partner Christine Barbour will be visiting with Dave Tallent and Kris Brittan, the new owners of Flora, on starting up a dining enterprise.