In case you missed it, I got engaged a few months ago. We have a wedding date set for just under a year from now. With so many friends in the midst of wedding planning, and as someone now consuming bride content via social and magazines, I am seeing the pressure to look your best, be thin, and lose weight, everywhere. Crash diets, restrictions and eliminations run rampant in bride-to-be content.
I talked to and polled married, engaged, and un-engaged friends and followers about their thoughts on weight loss before their wedding. My engaged or single friends unanimously said they are trying to or intend to slim down for their big day. Former brides sang a different tune. They said: no way don’t try to lose weight for your wedding, its overrated, it will make you feel bad about yourself, and the time is stressful enough without pressure to lose weight. Many brides said they did it and wouldn’t recommend it. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
While I cannot be the one to tell you what to do. I want you to consider these things: Have you tried to lose weight before? Was it sustainable? Crash dieting always backfires...always. And don’t discount the stress sudden weight changes can have on attire/ alterations.
I believe in loving yourself where you’re at, but I also know there is a way to work on yourself in a positive way, if you choose. After all, whether it is your wedding, a big holiday party, or a momentous birthday, we all want to look our best and feel confident. But, we deserve to feel good without the exhaustion of trying to control everything we eat or the stress of trying to workout every single day.
Here are 5 tips to look and feel better without removing every food you love from your life. These tips should help you fight bloat and water retention, and decrease cravings.
Get active. Move that butt at least three days a week. Find a friend and hold each other accountable. Get a trainer together, attend fitness classes, or go for walks. Prefer a solo motivator? Spend money on your fitness goals. This might be new gear, a trainer, a new membership, or some studio classes or online subscription.
Eat greens 2 times per day. You don’t need a crash diet to tel you you’re not eating enough veg. We are all guilty. Greens fight inflammation and help digestion. Focus on getting in more of this good stuff and worry less about what you must be eliminating. Some tips: add greens to your eggs in the AM, a smoothie, and include a salad at dinner
Cut down on added sugar. Identify where you habitually take in sugar, like your coffee or oatmeal. Feel addicted to sugar? Try a one week break. It isn’t so long that you will fee deprived and end up overeating, but it can help you recognize where you are eating sugar out of habit. There are some fun replacements like dried fruit, fresh fruit, and dark chocolate.
Cook at home more than you are now. Again, you shouldn’t need some quick fix diet to convince you that planning ahead and eating at home is important. Plenty of posts on planning and prepping here and here and here.
Drink smart. When we are in celebration mode there is also an excess of outings, happy hours, dinners, and more. It can be hard to juggle social happenings with your goals. Drink responsibly by sticking to non-sugary cocktails and simple drinks like dry wine, light beer, vodka or other liquor of choice with soda water. If you really want a specialty cocktail, ask them to replace the sweetened soda or juice in the drink with seltzer water.
Remember: getting married, or attending any other big event, is a time to ENJOY and celebrate with loved ones. Don’t let unnecessary preoccupation with your body prevent you from absolutely loving life.
