Few things scream “I want to be the best version of myself” more than your wedding. Your wedding day is much more than just a regular day. It’s when every bride wants to look and feel her best.
But with the stress of everything that a wedding involves – finding an unforgettable venue, the best photographer, beautiful flower arrangements, delicious food, and good music – planning for this special day can easily become a tower of stressful events. In addition to wedding planning stress, you might get anxious to fit in your perfect dress you have been dreaming about.
Fortunately, having your wedding day as a deadline can help you find the motivation you need to find a nutrition plan that works for you. Had the beautiful experience of getting married myself a few months ago, I have six tips that will help you start on your goal of looking and feeling your best on your special day:
1. Replace two meals a day with a protein shake
I suggest replacing breakfast and lunch/dinner with a protein shake that provides the right balance of macro and micro nutrients to keep you full and energised. The advantage to this approach is that a well-balanced protein shake provides easy protein and calorie control, since you know exactly what goes into it. And, with enough protein to help keep you satisfied, you’ll be less likely to make poor choices throughout the day. Rather than giving up time with your friends, I suggest you have a shake before meeting up, which will reduce cravings and allow you to socialise with healthy choices.
2. Emphasise lean proteins and more vegetables
Cooking at home will give you a lot of control over what you eat and how much. If you do use the meal replacements for two meals a day, your third meal should place an emphasis on lean proteins and vegetables. Build your meal on proteins such as poultry breast or fish—and have both a vegetable salad and cooked vegetables alongside. Also, it is better to have starches at lunch rather than dinner time and keep it with healthy unprocessed sources such as sweet potato, brown rice and quinoa.
3. Have a planned, healthy snacks
A well-planned snack around 10am and 3-4pm can help take the edge off hunger at lunch and dinner time. It’s also a great time to sneak in some extra fruits and vegetables. Rather than grazing on sweets or crisps, try to eat a protein-based snack such as a a boiled egg, a small carton of yogurt, a protein snack bar, some raw veggies with hummus or a little bit of cottage cheese with fruit.
4. Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water is the core foundation to a good metabolism, general wellness and a glowing skin! And that’s what you want, especially with your big day being around the corner. You need at least 1 litre of water for every 25kg of body weight so you can do the math. Your body (and skin) will thank you for it! You don’t like the taste of water or want an extra boost? I mix this amazing Herbal Beverage in my water, either cold or warm, as it helps to boost my metabolism, gives a sustained energy and is packed with anti-oxidants. The more you drink the more you shrink!
5. Have fun exercising
It’s important to add exercise into your healthy lifestyle in order to meet your goals. But choose activities that you enjoy – if you don’t, it’s unlikely you’ll stick with your exercise plan. Ideally, your exercise program will include both cardio and strength training – but you can get your cardio by fast walking, swimming, cycling or dancing, for example. Many people rely on food to cope with stressful situations; however, stress eating doesn’t usually take away stress – and often adds weight. Since exercise is a great stress-reducer, it can help you deal with the stress while losing pounds and toning your body – and will help ensure that you’ll look your best in that beautiful wedding dress.
6. Start keeping a food diary
Logging your food intake is a good idea for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it will help you to keep your intake in check. We think twice before we eat something when we have to write it down. And it can also help you with your emotional eating as well. When you get the urge to eat, I suggest you pull out your food diary and write down how you are feeling instead. Make a ‘bliss list’ with things that make you feel great and fill yourself from the inside out rather than from the outside in by grabbing comfort food and feeling even worse afterwards.
Remember, years from today nobody will remember the food or the flowers, but they will remember you. So have fun planning your big day and take care of yourself as you prepare. Feel free to contact me if you like to get a personalised meal plan and guidance to help you in achieving your goals for your big day.
Written by Steffi Vanhemmens, health and wellness expert, coach and mentor with over 12 years of experience in empowering clients towards achieving their sustainable healthy lifestyle.
