H ealth, beauty, spas and fitness
Weight Loss
BRENDA LADD PHOTOGRAPHY
for the bride BY LEILA KALMBACH
A
Almost every bride wants to lose a few pounds before her big day. But when you’re planning a wedding, weight loss can seem next to impossible. All your free time is spent working on the
wedding, you’re sampling all sorts of decadent foods for the reception and you’re dealing with tons of stress.
Don’t despair. Losing weight doesn’t
normally exercise, keep this in mind.
you just won’t feel right if you miss a day.
have to be a losing proposition. In fact,
Those first steps you take, those first few
When you do get out there and move your
weight loss can even be easier when you’re
times you go out running or biking, those
body, it’ll feel amazing both during and after your workout.
planning a wedding than it would be oth-
first yoga classes will be the most difficult
erwise. Whether it’s five pounds or fifty-
ones you ever do. If you can get through
So if starting is the hardest part, where
five pounds you’re after, start early enough
the first steps, it’s all downhill from there.
do you begin? You won’t get anywhere with-
After a month or two of regular exer-
out the proper motivation to exercise. But
wedding day and beyond.
cise, your body starts to get addicted to it.
as a bride-to-be, you’ve already got a ready-
This is an example of a positive addiction,
made source of motivation: You want to
Getting started
not like addictions to cigarettes or alcohol.
look good on your wedding day, both for
It’s so much harder to get started exer-
This is an addiction that you want to cul-
your guests and new husband, and because
cising than it is to continue. If you don’t
tivate. Once you’re addicted to exercise,
you’ll be looking at the photos for the rest
and you can get in great shape for your
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H ealth, beauty, spas and fitness
of your life. Don’t accept that you’ll always
self. In fact, you’ll find that weight loss is
ty exercises are better for weight loss, right?
be in the shape you’re currently in. You can
so much easier if you keep eating – and your
Actually, no. While high-intensity exer-
change your body. Keep imagining how you
body will thank you for the nutrients.
cise is very important for cardiovascular
want to look on your wedding day, and use
The only catch is that you have to eat the
health, low- to moderate-intensity exercise
the strong motivating factor of your wed-
right things. In terms of how much they fill
is better for helping you to lose and keep
ding to help you take those first steps and
you up, a calorie is not always the same
off excess weight. The reason for this is that
say no to empty calories.
however it’s served. For instance, one full-
high-intensity exercise uses easily available
sized carrot contains the same number of
energy in your body that then needs to be
Set a realistic goal Another good thing about losing weight
calories as two teaspoons of sugar, but
replenished when you’re done exercising,
which one do you think fills you up more?
while low-intensity exercise actually pulls
for your wedding is that you have a specif-
In general, try to avoid drinking your
energy from your fat stores. In other words,
ic date in mind to have accomplished your
calories. Fruit juice, sugary coffees, sodas
if you go for a brisk run that keeps your
goal. This is good because it will help you
and alcohol are high in calories but won’t
heart rate up the whole time, you’ll be so
leave you feeling full. On the other hand,
hungry when you’re done that you’re like-
On average, a healthy amount of weight
foods high in water content, such as fruits,
ly to eat back all the calories you burned.
to stay on track. loss is one to two pounds a week for
vegetables and broth-based soups, often will
On the other hand, if you go for an hour-
women. This doesn’t sound like much, but
leave you full on few calories. For this rea-
long walk, you’ll be able to satisfy your
remember that extra fat is something of a
son, choose fresh rather than dried fruits
hunger with a light snack or your normal
security blanket for your body – if we
and vegetables.
dinner, and wind up with a calorie deficit
encounter a food shortage, this supply could
Foods high in protein also fill you up
for the day.
keep us alive. If you lose weight too quick-
quickly. Choose lean beef, chicken, fish,
This is good news for brides because it
ly, then, your body will panic that its sup-
low-fat cheese, lentils or beans. Accompa-
means you can work on your wedding at the
plies are running out, and will slow your
ny this with complex carbohydrates, such
same time as you’re getting some exercise.
metabolism down. This means that every
as whole-grain bread, and fresh produce.
calorie you eat will be even harder to burn
It’s hard to eat right when you’re trying
You’re able to walk and talk in a way that you couldn’t do while sweating through a
to choose a wedding cake and a menu for
kick-boxing class. Instead of meeting for
Figure out what a healthy weight would
your reception. But don’t think that you
coffee to talk about wedding arrangements,
be for a woman of your height. There are
can’t participate in this selection just because
go for a walk around the neighborhood to
than before.
Internet sites that can help you with this,
you’re trying to lose weight. Just keep in
talk things over. If it’s possible, try to walk
or if you’re a member of a gym, you may
mind that you’ll be eating more calorie-
or ride a bike to your appointments with
be able to get a free assessment from a per-
heavy foods on the days you’re sampling,
your caterer, florist or wedding coordinator.
sonal trainer. From there, look at how soon
and compensate by eating a salad full of
Look through wedding magazines while
your wedding date is and determine a real-
veggies and lean protein for dinner, and
you’re on the elliptical machine at the gym.
istic amount of weight you’d like to lose,
spend some extra time moving during the
Or take dance classes in preparation for your
keeping in mind that you should stick to
day. In fact, this is important any time: If
first dance at the wedding reception.
one to two pounds a week. It’s important to
you eat something unhealthy one day, don’t
Don’t shy away from weight-lifting,
start early. Aim to reach your goal weight
give up. Just pick back up with your healthy
either. Many women are afraid that lifting
by a month before your wedding so that you
eating habits and exercise as soon as you can
weights will bulk them up, but because
have time for final dress alterations. Make
and you’ll be back on track.
women are built differently from men, lift-
a calendar showing exactly where you’d like to be each week, and keep track of whether you’ve accomplished your week’s goal.
Eat!
ing weights will give you muscle definition
Exercising right
without extra bulk. Lifting weights may
High-intensity exercises like spinning
cause you to gain weight at first as your
can burn as many as 800 calories per hour,
muscles grow, so don’t worry if you’re not
while low- to moderate-intensity exercises
making your weight-loss goals when you
The good news when it comes to weight
like walking only burn around 250 calories
start lifting. Soon, though, you’ll see that
loss is that you don’t have to starve your-
per hour. Logically, then, the high-intensi-
weight-lifting will help you to lose weight
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quickly, and because muscles take extra
date you can order it and still receive it on
wedding is over? Unfortunately, many brides
calories to maintain, you’ll lose more
time for your fittings. When you do put in
who lose weight for their weddings aren’t
weight without even doing anything if you
your order, order the dress to fit you as you
able to keep the weight off after the big day.
have a few extra pounds of muscle. Try a
are. The dress can always be taken in if you
This is why you need to find other moti-
weight-lifting class if you’re not sure what
lose more weight, but can’t be expanded if
vators to keep you going. Pay attention to
to do, as lifting the wrong way can cause
you don’t lose those last few pounds you’re
how great you feel when your body is in
serious injury.
hoping to get rid of.
good shape and when you’ve got a post-
If you’re creative about it, just about any-
Make sure that you schedule more than
exercise endorphin rush flooding your sys-
thing can be weight-lifting: carrying wed-
one dress fitting. Let the dress shop know
tem. Try to incorporate the changes you
ding presents up the stairs or lifting up
that you’re losing weight so that they can
made for wedding weight loss into your everyday lifestyle.
heavy floral arrangements ... you can even
take this into consideration when making
lift and lower the phone book while you’re
your fittings schedule. If you’ve stuck to
When you get married, you start a whole
on the phone with your vendors.
your weight loss plan and reached your
new chapter in your life. This is a perfect
goal weight by a month before your wed-
time to make other changes to your life too –
Don’t stress
ding, you should have no problems with
the perfect time to become who you’ve
With so much on your shoulders when
your dress.
always wanted to be. Make your wedding a jumping-off point for the new you. Even if
you’re planning a wedding, it’s natural that you’re more stressed out than normal. Many
Beyond your wedding day
you started losing weight so that you’d look
people turn to food to comfort themselves
The motivation to look good on your
good, keep up the healthy lifestyle so that
during these times, but exercise is one of the
wedding day can be a powerful factor to get
you and your husband can spend many
best stress-fighting techniques there is.
you moving. But what happens after your
happy, healthy years together.
AWD
If you can retrain yourself to think of exercise as stress-reduction instead of another item to squeeze onto the to-do list, you’ll wind up enjoying it more and probably doing more of it. And be creative – any sort of movement burns calories and helps you to de-stress, not just the activities we commonly think of as exercise. For instance, gardening is a great way to keep your body moving. Even walking around potential wedding venues will contribute to your weight loss and stress relief.
Fit into your wedding dress You’ve found the perfect dress and you want to get it fitted to your body, but you’re not sure what size you’ll be when the day comes. This can be a big problem if you don’t get it right. Don’t worry, though. Weight loss is common among brides, so dress shops and tailors are used to dealing with this issue. Choose the dress you want ahead of time, but talk to your dress shop about the latest
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