Prom dress hell.

Okay, 3 months ago i bought a prom dress, and it was a little tight. It cost £265 and i had to beg and beg my dad to buy me it. Then i weighed about 120lb.

In the month after buying it i really restricted my calories so it would fit me nice, and i got down to 112lb.

I tried to mintain at that, but i ended up putting on FIFTEEN POUNDS.  (Partially because i went n the pill i think, part just beucase i ahve no control over my eating anymore at all- mabye beucase i went on the pill). Its disgusting, and i can't even zip the dress up right. Im about 127lb now, and my prom is in a week! What do i do?

I just can't tell my mum, but i have to do something. I'm real;y scared!

[PS I'm 16 and 5ft7]

Go shopping for one of those sucker-inner things.  They work wonders :-)  I have one that is a strapless bra-stomach-hip smoother (goes from your chest to below your rear end)  I bet something like that would work.  Good luck!

While there are some gimmick diets and advertisements that will try to convince you otherwise, you're not going to safely lose 7-15 pounds in a week - sorry.  If you try, you will seriously compromise your health - something you shouldn't do under any circumstances - and certainly not for a prom dress.

If you've lost control of your eating recently, it's possible you've had a lot of high sodium foods in there.  Try to eat a healthy amount of calories, but keep it to low sodium foods.  You may lose anywhere from 2-3 pounds in water weight (if that's what caused the gain).  In addition, drink plenty of water to flush it from your system.

As for the dress - is it possible to take it to a professional tailor/seamstress for alterations?  Depending on the design, most dresses have a little extra material that will allow for a cm or two of adjustment through the bodice and waist.   The idea above for a "figure control" undergarment is also a good suggestion - but make sure it's not so tight that you're uncomfortable. (I did that for my prom umpteen years ago, and I would have had a lot more fun if I could have breathed better.)

And, at the risk of sounding like an over-concerned thirty-something:  It's important to be healthy, but don't place so much emphasis on your weight.  At 5'7" and 127 lbs, you're at a very healthy BMI for a 16 yr old (19.9, 42nd percentile according to http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/d ieting/bmi.html )

According to that calculator, 107 is the very lower end of the healthy range for your age and height. 112 might not be bad goal, as long as you reach it the healthy way - that is, not starving yourself, and getting exercise.  That website above also has good resources on determining your calorie needs and how to lose weight the healthy way.

Good luck, and if you need more encouragement and advice, please keep posting!  :-)

Either wear a corset/girdle/body slimmer or, if that is still not enough, get it altered.  If a seamstress can't let it out, have her add a corset back. Then you will be able to control the tightness through the laces.  If you don't want to show skin through the laces, the seamsetress can add a "modesty panel" underneath.

Hopefully, this will work with the style of your dress. A corset back can be beautiful as well as practical and shouldn't cost a lot of money (much less than a new dress!).

And learn your lesson: NO MORE STARVATION DIETS. You will regain the lost weight plus some! 

Good luck!

you still have a week left, dont let that slip by while you just worry about it. show your mom how the dress fits. your mom should understand how important it is too have a nice dress at prom, she was 16 once after all. have her help you come up with a plan. you could alter it or start from scratch and either return it if it still has tags or sell it to a friend or resale shop.

That's what happens when you restrict calories -- you gain back fast and more. I don't think the pill, even if it does cause weight gain, causes it to happen that fast. Plus, I don't believe it affects your appetite. I would go for the girdle thing -- I think that's your only option. I think 120 lbs for 5'7" is almost underweight. 112 must have been frighteningly thin. No wonder your body was resistent.

If you still have the tags and receipt, take it back and buy a new dress. You haven't worn it so this shouldn't be a problem.

It's very difficult to alter a dress to make it larger. Usually it destroys the line of the garment. Chalk this up as a lesson, and move on.

I'm going to repeat a lot of what people have already said, going in chronological order:

1) see if some of the seams can be taken out (probably not, as commercial dresses have tiny seam allowances)

2) buy a body-shaper that will hold you in (but still allow you to breathe)

3) do what you can this week to healthily tone up and maybe lose a couple pounds (NO crash dieting/insane workouts!)  Avoid carbonated beverages and high-sodium foods, as these will probably cause you to get water bloat.

4) see if you can exchange the dress for one in a larger size.

5) If all else fails, do what I did for a play: zip it up as far as you can, secure the zipper with a safety pin, and wear a shrug/jumper/shawl.  It might look weird but you'll look a lot weirder without it.

Best of luck, hon.