First off, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! Once the glow of being engaged to (hopefully) your perfect soul mate wears off you'll be faced with the fact that you will be in the spotlight, in your dress, for an entire day.
More importantly, you'll be thousands of photos taken by your guests and a professional photographer to commemorate the special day...
talk about incentive to look your best! Up to 70% of brides-to-be want to lose weight and tone their bodies for the big day.
Unfortunately quite a few that fall into that 70% category seek out drastic methods when searching for the best way to lose weight, and end up harming their bodies.
So before you start your pre-wedding weight loss plan set your end goal and work backwards.
The more time you have to plan, the better.
So if you've got 6-9 months to work with, there is no reason you need to cut drastic measures.
First tip: Don't buy a wedding dress that's too small.
You don't need any added stress on you and quite often, that plan is setting you up for failure.
You might not be the only one looking to lose pounds for the big day.
Your soon to-be-spouse might also be wanting to look their best on your wedding day and it's always more helpful to reach your goals when working with a partner.
So make sure to talk to close friends/family that will be involved in your wedding and get everyone on board! Find a training partner for your workouts and you will help keep each other accountable.
Even a lunch buddy at work will help you make smart choices if you eat and snack out.
If you're aiming to lose 1-2 pounds a week (which is the best way to lose weight) you're going to need to eliminate approximately 500 calories from your daily diet.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the first thing you need to do is track your eating.
Begin a dietary journal immediately and write down everything you eat and drink.
Once you have done this for two weeks add up the calories and see how much calories you consume on average each day.
You may notice that you eat a lot more sweets & fatty snacks and drink a lot more alcohol & sugary drinks than you originally thought.
These are first and best places to cut empty calories.
Replace most of the bad drinks with water.
Get some diabetic chocolate for your sugar cravings and replace the majority of those bad snacks with fruit and veggies.
Now you need to look at these rich, sugary snacks and notice when you eat them so you can begin control your appetite at peak craving times - like mid afternoon.
Be smart and plan in advance what you're going to eat that will satisfy your mouth, and not your waistline.
Do you often dine out for lunch or dinner? There are so many hidden calories in restaurant food, so your best bet is to aim for protein and steamed vegetables (skip the creamy sauce) and/or split your entree in half and put it in a doggy bag OR split with your dining companion.
Commit to not eating late as your body just tends to store those calories.
Set a cut off time around 6pm or 7pm if you are awake typical hours.
Eat a good filling dinner prior to this cut off time and drink water to help stave off late night hunger cravings.
Keep a track of what you eat in your dietary journal.
Allot yourself 2 cheat meals and 2 cheat snacks a week.
Be sensible with the portions as a major binge can sabotage all your efforts.
Now monitor your progress.
If the weight is coming off, stick to your current plan.
If it's not adjust the plan slightly (removing calories or reducing cheat meals/snacks) until the weight starts to come off.
Of course a workout regime must be added to this plan.
Its best you find a weight lifting program you can do consistently 2-3x a week along with cardiovascular exercise 2-3x a week as well.
You never know, you just may adopt this new healthy lifestyle after the big day and go on to be in a perpetual state of utter hotness.
Something to consider.
More importantly, you'll be thousands of photos taken by your guests and a professional photographer to commemorate the special day...
talk about incentive to look your best! Up to 70% of brides-to-be want to lose weight and tone their bodies for the big day.
Unfortunately quite a few that fall into that 70% category seek out drastic methods when searching for the best way to lose weight, and end up harming their bodies.
So before you start your pre-wedding weight loss plan set your end goal and work backwards.
The more time you have to plan, the better.
So if you've got 6-9 months to work with, there is no reason you need to cut drastic measures.
First tip: Don't buy a wedding dress that's too small.
You don't need any added stress on you and quite often, that plan is setting you up for failure.
You might not be the only one looking to lose pounds for the big day.
Your soon to-be-spouse might also be wanting to look their best on your wedding day and it's always more helpful to reach your goals when working with a partner.
So make sure to talk to close friends/family that will be involved in your wedding and get everyone on board! Find a training partner for your workouts and you will help keep each other accountable.
Even a lunch buddy at work will help you make smart choices if you eat and snack out.
If you're aiming to lose 1-2 pounds a week (which is the best way to lose weight) you're going to need to eliminate approximately 500 calories from your daily diet.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the first thing you need to do is track your eating.
Begin a dietary journal immediately and write down everything you eat and drink.
Once you have done this for two weeks add up the calories and see how much calories you consume on average each day.
You may notice that you eat a lot more sweets & fatty snacks and drink a lot more alcohol & sugary drinks than you originally thought.
These are first and best places to cut empty calories.
Replace most of the bad drinks with water.
Get some diabetic chocolate for your sugar cravings and replace the majority of those bad snacks with fruit and veggies.
Now you need to look at these rich, sugary snacks and notice when you eat them so you can begin control your appetite at peak craving times - like mid afternoon.
Be smart and plan in advance what you're going to eat that will satisfy your mouth, and not your waistline.
Do you often dine out for lunch or dinner? There are so many hidden calories in restaurant food, so your best bet is to aim for protein and steamed vegetables (skip the creamy sauce) and/or split your entree in half and put it in a doggy bag OR split with your dining companion.
Commit to not eating late as your body just tends to store those calories.
Set a cut off time around 6pm or 7pm if you are awake typical hours.
Eat a good filling dinner prior to this cut off time and drink water to help stave off late night hunger cravings.
Keep a track of what you eat in your dietary journal.
Allot yourself 2 cheat meals and 2 cheat snacks a week.
Be sensible with the portions as a major binge can sabotage all your efforts.
Now monitor your progress.
If the weight is coming off, stick to your current plan.
If it's not adjust the plan slightly (removing calories or reducing cheat meals/snacks) until the weight starts to come off.
Of course a workout regime must be added to this plan.
Its best you find a weight lifting program you can do consistently 2-3x a week along with cardiovascular exercise 2-3x a week as well.
You never know, you just may adopt this new healthy lifestyle after the big day and go on to be in a perpetual state of utter hotness.
Something to consider.