Summer has officially arrived and that means thousands of brides are busy planning every detail of their dream summer wedding. With so much to do before the big day, it may difficult to find the time to get into your best wedding shape. So, we at Bridal Spectacular put together a few easy tips to follow to help you get in wedding shape for your big day!
What Are Your Goals?
First and foremost, you need to think about where you want to be on your wedding day. Are you like most brides where you only want to tone and tighten up or do you want to try to sheds a lot of pounds before the big day? Once you set your goal, use an app to help you track your success, like The Daily Plate, Fitbit and MyFitnessPal. It makes achieving your goals so much easier when you can see and track your success!
Enjoy Exercising
What kinds of activities do you enjoy doing? Some people are perfectly fine spending hours on the treadmill and lifting weights, while others can’t stand the thought of being in a gym. So try to find something that is fun and you enjoy (or can at least tolerate.) If a gym isn’t in the cards for you, perhaps try going on a long hike with your fiancé, signing up for a fun 3K run with your friends, swimming, or joining a group sport. If you enjoy the gym, but don’t love spending your time on the machines, then try a class like spin, zumba, yoga or Pilates. These classes can burn 300+ calories in one hour and can actually be pretty fun. Additionally, there are a lot of websites available that can estimate how many calories you’ll burn in any given class, such as HealthStatus.com.
Also, if you know you are a person who will find any excuse not to exercise (i.e.: I have too much work to do, I’m too tired, I would rather go to dinner with friends, etc.) then schedule an appointment for yourself. If you keep seeing calendar reminders pop up on your phone saying you need to go to the gym, it will more difficult to push off. Another tip is to workout with your fiancé or a friend so you can motivate each other to go!
No Crash Dieting!
Every bride is going to look for the quickest route to achieve her goals, but crash diets are not the best course to take. They usually only work for a short period of time because you’re generally depriving yourself and/or loading up on questionable pills, but the moment you return to a normal diet you’ll put the weight right back on. The best way to get in shape for your wedding is to start early and give yourself adequate time, diet wisely, eat fresh foods (not fast foods!), be mindful of your calorie intake and exercise. Again, there are plenty of websites and apps available to help you better track your calorie consumption.
Don’t Lose Too Much After You Get the Dress
Once you’ve purchased your wedding gown, don’t try to lose too much weight afterward. Yes, you can get your dress fitted, but you don’t want to buy a size 8 dress six months before your wedding and then try to get it fitted down to a size 4 two weeks before the big day. It probably won’t fit properly and you may even have to buy a new gown — trust us, we’ve seen it happen!
Get Plenty Of Sleep
Lack of sleep is a major hindrance if you are trying to get in shape for your wedding. Getting a good night’s sleep (whatever that may be for you; some people only need five or six hours a night, while others need eight or nine) will help lower your stress levels, prevent you from skipping your workouts and overeating, and help you maintain a radiant complexion!
Keep Calm
Last, but certainly not least, simply try to relax! Getting stressed out can not only put a damper on your diet and exercise goals, but also your overall health and well-being. Higher stress levels can contribute to weight gain and make it more difficult to lose those extra pounds. And to make it worse, we also tend to snack more when we’re stressed, which will put on extra pounds quickly. To help prevent stress, take a deep breath and be sure to take plenty of time for yourself. Try a calming yoga or Pilates class with your friends or husband-to-be, treat yourself to a relaxing massage, or have a nice hot bubble bath and a glass of wine or tea!
If you keep these tips in mind and take care of yourself, you will be in your best wedding shape before you know it! For more wedding planning tips and information please visit http://www.bridalspectacular.com or follow us on Facebook, twitter and Pinterest.
And, be sure to save-the-date to attend our Autumn Bridal Show August 15 and 16 at Cashman Center where you will be able to gain even more wedding ideas and inspiration! Receive $5 off admission when you buy tickets online! Click here and enter promo code: BRIDEBLOG14