When I tried on gowns in August there was one in particular that stood out. It brought on immediate reactions from my mom and sister. I'd barely made it out of the dressing room and they were beaming with excitement. I stepped onto the platform and stood in front of three body-length mirrors. They both clapped their hands together and said, "Yes!"

I recently went back to the bridal shop for that dress. While I was swimming in the sample size in August -- the consultant had to grab the extra material and clip it together so I could envision how the dress would look when properly fitted to my body -- a mere two months later it wasn't quite as big. Still too big, but not overwhelmingly so.

Interesting. The dress seemed to have shrunk. But I knew the truth, and it wasn't so surprising. Here's why.

My workouts have been non-existent lately -- unless you count my time spent chasing Bentley around the house or all of the energy used trying to get him to walk on a leash in a straight line around the block. I'm often exhausted after work and can't bring myself to go to the gym. In the past few months I've gotten progressively worse in this area. And now with Bentley in my life, I've created another excuse to go straight home and stay there for the night.

To add to the lack of gym time in my life, the environment in which I work is certainly not a help. We get heaps of free food just about every day. A couple of people brought in baked goods today to bid farewell to a valued TH employee. And of course there are Halloween leftovers lingering around right now. I've always lived a healthy lifestyle and would normally not even be interested in the food piling up in the newsroom. But I find that when I'm not working out I also don't have as much care for my personal food choices.

Facebook is now targeting me with ads about shedding those extra pounds before the big day. My relationship status changed from "in a relationship" to "engaged" and suddenly advertisers are shoving info about the latest diets and bridal boot camps down my throat.

But I'm not interested in what they're trying to feed me. I know what I have to do to feel 100 percent ME in that dress. And I have no doubt I'll do it. If I want to "kill it" down the aisle (as Rachel Zoe would say), it's all about motivation.

If there are any brides-to-be or recent brides who want to share their workout tips or ideas on how to switch up a routine or get out of a slump, feel free to share!