Every bride wants to look her best on her big day. When you look good, you feel good, and your confidence and happiness are important on your wedding day. The best time to start a weight-loss program for wedding is early-on, so get into healthy exercise and eating habits as soon as possible!

Exercise

Regular exercise is an essential part of your weight-loss program. The benefit of exercise is that it increases your heart rate, oxygen intake and ultimately your metabolism. Running, aerobics, swimming and even brisk walking are all great ways to get your heart pumping and shed excess kilos. It’s important to remember that you can’t target any ‘problem’ areas with specific stretches or exercises, so an aerobic work-out is the best approach.

If you’re not used to exercising or have trouble finding motivation, join a gym or consider hiring a personal trainer who can tailor a plan to suit your fitness level and weight-loss goals for you wedding day. Regular appointments with a personal trainer before the wedding will force you to get motivated. Furthermore, you might like to start an exercise program with your partner or a friend. You can plan to go for a daily walk together before breakfast or after work. Having someone else with you will help encourage you to exercise consistently.

And don’t forget to pamper yourself. Reward yourself for sticking to your exercise plan with a professional massage, manicure, hot bubble-bath or whatever you consider a treat!

Diet

What you eat before the wedding is just as important as how much your exercise. You should aim to eat healthily, rather than simply cutting portion sizes. When you eat very little you can actually gain weight because your metabolism will slow down. Don’t eat less than 1,200 calories a day and don’t force yourself to feel ‘hungry’ all the time. Remember that how much you need to cut your calorie intake depends on your age, size and current eating habits.

We’ve compiled a list of some simple things you can do to improve your diet and calorie intake:

Little Things You Can Do

Radical changes to your diet are difficult to sustain. If you usually eat poorly you will find it hard to ‘change your ways’ overnight. Resolve to make some key changes you can incorporate into your current diet, for example:

• Switch to ‘low-fat’ groceries – particularly dairy products. Many of the products you currently buy will also be available in a ‘diet’ or ‘light’ version.
• Stop drinking soft drinks and sweetened fruit juices and drink water or sugar-free diet drinks instead. Sugary drinks contain empty calories and do nothing to fill you up.
• Aim to eat more at the beginning of the day and less at night. This means a full, nutritious breakfast and less snacking after dinner.
• Change the way you prepare meals – this means less frying and roasting and more grilling and boiling.
• Snack on fresh fruit and vegetables instead of biscuits, chips, etc.
• Consider walking or cycling to work and take the stairs instead of the lift!
• Try to incorporate high-fibre foods into your diet. Fibre helps ‘fill you up’ and will stop you snacking on junk food throughout the day.
• Reduce your alcohol intake.

Weight Loss “Don’ts”

We’ve also compiled a helpful list of “Don’ts” to keep in mind.

• Don’t embark on any fad diets prior to your wedding. Rapid weight loss as a result of ‘crash’ dieting is not a healthy long-term solution. Even if you do lose weight, you’ll put it back on the moment you stop, and often you’ll gain even more weight afterwards.
• Don’t starve yourself in the days or weeks leading up to the wedding. You need a balanced and nutritious diet to look your best. Healthy-looking skin, hair, nails and eyes all need nutrients to flourish. Starving yourself may leave you looking pasty and dull, and it will also ruin your mood and energy.
• Don’t lose so much weight you no longer fit into your wedding gown properly.
• Don’t buy a tight-fitting gown in the hope you’ll lose weight.

Weight Loss Services

Often we eat poorly simply because we don’t know what we should be eating. Information about nutrition, dietary requirements and fat and calorie intake is easy to find and published widely in many books and websites.

The weight-loss industry offers variety of services with different approaches to weight-loss. Some offer classes and information about diet and exercise, while others deliver pre-prepared meals to your home. Preparing nutritious meals can be an effort, especially when it comes to shopping and creating new and interesting recipes. A weight loss service will take into account all of your nutritional requirements and do all the ‘calorie counting’ for you. This is an ideal solution for time-poor brides caught up in their wedding-planning process!

Most Importantly

Above all whilst it’s important to eat well and exercise regularly it’s also important to accept that women come in all shapes and sizes and it’s not possible to lose weight beyond our natural limitations. No matter what your natural body type, a well-fitted gown and expert hair and make-up will ensure you glow with beauty on your wedding day. Remember your smile and radiant happiness is what your guests will really remember!

Remeber to check out the Bride Online Directory for health and fitness specialists in your area.