He just proposed. Congratulations. One of your biggest concerns is looking your best on your wedding day. Eating right and exercising is the best way to help you, your significant other or anyone in your bridal party look your best.
Here are some things to remember as you begin.
1) During this stressful time, you want to be sure that you are eating enough. Anything less than 1,200 calories per day is unhealthy, and will cause your body to go into starvation mode.
2) The American Dietary Association states that anything less than 2,000 calories per day is a dietary restriction and therefore causes weight loss.
3) If you are looking for a program, Weight Watchers is best, because its point system allows you to eat what you want within a certain number of points and allows you to flex points if there is a special occasion. This is something you can do by yourself, with your fiancé or with your bridal party.
4) If you want to lose 20 pounds give yourself at least 3 months to do it. If you want to lose 50 pounds give yourself 6-8 months to do it.
5) Exercise – cardio burns fat through increased heart rate. Strength tones the body. You want an equal balance of both.
6) Surround yourself with support. There are great websites and magazines out there to keep you motivated, and provide you with information. Spark People, Fitness magazine, and Self magazine.
7) Tip – to feel full longer and not have cravings you want to eat foods that are higher in protein and fiber. Read nutrition labels to find these foods (make suggestions). Note: point system for weight watchers is based on calories, fat, and fiber.
The first thing you may want to do is a fitness assessment. Any local gym will have one to offer. Or if you wish, there are several available online. Fitness magazine has an excellent one. You can retest every 6-8 weeks and see how much you have improved with regular exercise as a way to keep you motivated. The best way to get calorie burn is to do interval training either by walking or by running. If you have a hard time running, it is recommended that you do your intervals walking and then running. As your body gets used to it you do more running and less walking. Outside of exercise there are other ways to burn calories. Having a pedometer can increase the amount of activity that you do. Walking 10,000 steps is the equivalent of walking 4 miles. Fitness magazine also has 12 sneaky ways to burn 250 calories. If you have already come down to the last minute, Fitness Magazine has a Bikini ready workout that works in 4 weeks.
To maximize your weight loss, you should consume between 1200 and 1550 calories per day. Here are some helpful tips to keep you on track. Try switching from 2 percent milk to 1 percent milk. There is not much taste difference, it is better for you, and best of all it is cheaper. Instead of regular potato chips, try buying low fat or baked chips. They actually taste good. For dessert try light ice cream. Edy’s Slow and Churned is excellent it tastes just like ice cream. Instead of mayonnaise, use mustard on sandwiches. 100 calorie snack packs are an excellent way to control the amount of snack foods you eat. Plus, it is easy to keep a stash of them anyplace, at the office, in the car, or at home. Be sure to drink at least 8 cups of water, because that will boost your metabolism. Also, take a daily multi vitamin to supplement what you need on this reduced calorie diet.
If money is an issue, a great free alternative to Weight Watchers is Spark People. It is a free website, that you can track your calories every day, you can pick exercises that you want do both strength and cardio or you can have them picked for you. You can create a team and together be ready for your big day.
You may want to consult with your doctor before starting any diet regimen to be aware of any health risks. With the right diet and exercise you can look fabulous for your wedding.
