Despite the claims of fad diets, powders, and pills, there is only one healthy way to achieve your desired wedding day weight -- a combination of diet and exercise that promotes gradual weight loss. So if you're really serious about getting in shape for your wedding day, you need to strike a balance between healthy eating and burning calories.
Getting Started
Plan for success by picking a good start date. Give yourself a few days to prepare yourself, your schedule, and your kitchen for your lifestyle change. Go through your pantry and throw out, donate, or give away items that could capsize your best efforts; then stock your cabinets with healthy choices.
You'll also want to determine your fitness level. You can assess it yourself by recording your body measurements, making note of how long it takes you to walk or run a mile, and doing as many sit-ups as you can in 60 seconds. If you have a gym membership, schedule a training session to discuss your goals with an expert so they can assess your planned workout regimen and help you factor in any physical hurdles, like a previous injury or asthma.
Aerobic Exercise
Start exercising in 20-minute increments, three times a week. Swimming, cycling, walking, running, hiking, and cross-country skiing are among the best exercises you can do to burn fat instead of build up muscle. As your endurance improves, increase your exertion level and your length of exercise time. Working out for 10 minutes in the morning, on your lunch hour, and at night is just as beneficial as one 30-minute workout.
Resistance Training
Whether you have a lot of weight to lose or just a few pounds, you'll feel better about your body if you tone up. Resistance training is the perfect complement to aerobic exercises like swimming and walking, and is great for improving bone strength and sculpting the body. (Women don't naturally possess enough of the male hormone testosterone to build large muscle mass, so don't shy away from hand weights.)
Stick to smaller weights but do higher repetitions. While bodybuilders enhance muscle mass by gradually increasing the weights they lift, your goal is to tone and tighten by lifting smaller weights for more sets.
Flexibility
Stretching before and after exercising will help keep you safe from serious muscular injury, and increasing your flexibility is essential to improving your overall fitness level. Start by holding stretches for 15 seconds at a time, working your way up to 60 seconds. Feeling motivated? Complement your workout with a yoga class.
Feeding Your Workout
Once you've begun your workout routine, you may feel that so much sweat and strain entitles you to a big burger with the works and a giant order of fries. Don't be fooled. Remember, the key to weight loss is to expend more calories than you consume, so if you've upped exercise only to up calorie intake too, you won't get the results you're looking for.
In fact, when you get regular exercise, you need to be even more vigilant about what you eat. Your body, having become a more efficient machine, relies on the vitamins and minerals found in healthy food for fuel to develop lean tissue. In addition to lean meats and dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, add a multivitamin to your daily diet to be certain you get the nutrients you need.
Resolutions for Life
Once you've begun your healthy diet and exercise plan, there's one big challenge left: sticking to your guns. And not just until your wedding day. The key to long-term weight loss is making healthy eating and fitness part of your lifestyle forever. So, why not start your marriage out right by dedicating yourself to a sensible diet and an active lifestyle? If you take the weight loss for life concept seriously, you'll feel as good about yourself on your 20th anniversary as you will on your wedding day!
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