Staying fit for a wedding: pitfalls and solutions

With quite a few of my friends getting married with a huge emphasis on the wedding ceremony I have observed lots of great habits... and lots that could be done better. Members of the bridal party are definitely not excluded in this! There are so many days in between to "slip up," so much food to sample, and such a packed schedule it's no wonder this is a big pre-wedding stressor. I have come up with a few practices to avoid and ideas on what could make your life easier and happier.



Going on a strict diet
This is an awful idea. You're getting ready for a big event in your life or supporting someone in theirs and it should be as full of fun and good memories as possible. Besides, being strict with yourself sets up a bad mentality. Slip up once and now you've "fallen off the wagon." For many people this is a fatal defeat and leads to the mentality that the whole diet is ruined and you may as well give up. An approach that would work better is to choose certain kinds of foods overall and if that includes a brownie here or an extra slice of potentially-the-wedding-cake that's fine too. You could follow the rule of thumb to eat a varied diet and keep your plate colorful. You could also follow the Paleo "diet" which simply refers to eating as few foods as possible that cave men did not have available (processed foods, artificial ingredients) which I've mentioned before. In either case you are not counting calories but are following healthy eating habits.

Focusing on weight

Wedding Photos (c) Katsu Nojiri
CC Attribution 2.0 License

This is one of my little fitness pet peeves. Healthy does not mean skinny. I have been skinny all my life but only recently began eating healthy, balanced meals and working out regularly. Also, losing weight can mean you are losing muscle if you diet too much. Alternatively you may become more healthy and have a better body composition while actually gaining weight. Your percentage of fat would be going down but because muscle weighs much more than the same size piece of fat you could look and be more fit but the scale will reflect the muscle weight you've picked up. The wedding photos will not come imprinted with your weight on them, after all. They will show how healthy your muscle tone looks and how well your dress fits, which brings me to my next point.

Emphasize fit instead
Want a good measure of the progress you're making? Ignore your scale and try on some clothes. The definition in your waist and tightening of your belly are good examples of body changes clothes will reflect. You could also take before and after pictures or measurements in key areas (waist, middle of upper arm, calf, mid-thigh).

A few other pointers
Another guideline is to be prepared, always. You are already juggling wedding plans as the future bride, bridesmaid, maid of honor, or other member of the bridal party so you will be used to preparation. If you know you are going to be sampling wedding foods have a healthy, satisfying meal like salad with grilled chicken or legumes and rice--something that will be well balanced and give you enough energy with not much room to overeat. Have an errand-filled day? Stuff a mini bag of baby carrots, almonds, or another portable healthy snacks in your purse. When you run out of time to get something healthy you'll be able to resort to munching on something good instead of fast food. Add a fitness regular fitness routine no matter how small scale, just keep it consistent. Choose something you enjoy: learn to love running or if you are new to this blog you may want to look into pole fitness. Get other members of the bridal party in on your healthy habits; having other people to motivate and hold each other accountable will help immensely. Besides, you may just have a little fun keeping each other healthy :)








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