Everybody wants to feel and appear their best on their wedding day. If you’re not happy with your weight, you may be hoping to tone up or trim down before the big day arrives.
Surely, if your weight is above healthy, these efforts are commendable for far more important reasons than fitting into your tuxedo or wedding dress.
As your wedding day draws closer, you may be feeling more motivated than ever to achieve your weight loss goal—possibly even in a short time frame. Though as the day approaches, you might feel pressure, it’s crucial to pursue your goal safely and through a method that will enable you to sustain your results.
Here are some guidelines to enable you to achieve your wedding weight loss goal in time without exposing yourself to health risks.
Getting started
Weddings can cause jitters for everybody and diving straight into a crash diet will only double your anxiety. So-called “fad” or “crash” diets are often centred on consuming far fewer calories than is sustainable. You may notice a change in the scale, but looks can be deceiving—your body may be losing water instead of weight.
If restrictions continue long enough, your body will conserve fat and start using up muscles (heart muscle inclusive) to fuel the body. Apart from being unsustainable, diets that encourage significant caloric restriction also deprive your body of the oomph it needs to function.
Weight loss resulting from extreme caloric restriction may also come with a host of unpleasant symptoms, a lot of which are the products of nutritional deficiencies (e.g., constipation, heart palpitation, diarrhoea, fatigue, and changes to your skin, nails, and hair).
Trying using the same strategic approach to weight loss as is suggested for wedding planning: set clear goals for yourself every week as you would for dealing with guest lists, venue scheduling, menu planning, and wedding party fittings. Penning it all down on paper can also assist you in staying objective.
Make sure your goals are realistic. Consider checking with a dietitian to draft out a weight loss plan based on your timeline and goals, in the same manner, that you might consult with a caterer to plan a menu based on your budget and tastes.
Cutting calories
To most people, dieting implies cutting on calories. While this may be roughly true, for you to be successful in attaining your weight loss goals, you need to figure out the sources you should target, not only how many calories to cut.
Consider calories from fat, for instance. One pound of fat is approximately equal to 3,500 calories. To lose one pound of fat each week, you would have to cut around 500 calories every day from your diet.
If you’re only looking at the figures, you might be thinking that if you cut 1,000 calories each day, you could easily lose two or three pounds per week. Weight loss is more than a simple mathematical equation or a numbers game.
Firstly, there is a minimum amount of calories you need to consume in a day for your body system to function effectively. Depending on a range of factors unique to you, such as how active you are, what you eat, the number of calories you burn per day won’t be accurate.
It’s also crucial to remember that while you can make decent approximations of the calories in the foods you consume, these figures aren’t accurate either. While the math can be used as a guide, it is not a solid directive
Women daily caloric needs | Men daily caloric needs |
To maintain weight 2,000 – 2,400 calories | To maintain weight 2,400 – 3,000 calories |
To lose 1 pound/week: 1,500 – 1900 calories | To lose 1 pound/week: 2,000 calories |
Note: the amount of calories a single person needs also depends on other factors, like activity level and age.
You should also know that if you consume too few calories, you’ll be doing more harm than good—and not just in terms of accomplishing your short-term weight loss goal.
The long-term health costs of extreme caloric deficits can have an effect on everything ranging from your cardiovascular health to fertility. If you notice that you’re eating fewer than 1,000 calories per day, you could be exposing your health to danger.
Calculating your caloric needs
When you’re ready to set realistic and safe weight loss goals, an online caloric counter can assist you in estimating the calories you eat each day.
Again, while the numbers aren’t 100 percent accurate, tracking when you eat, what you eat and even how much you eat can enable you to stay accountable.
These tasks can also assist you in curbing “mindless” eating and help you pinpoint extra added calories, such as butter on your toast, or milk in your coffee that you hadn’t thought of before.
An online weight loss calculator can also help you get an idea of how many calories you need to consume per day. These calculators use one of several formulas derived from your current weight, age and height.
Some may also add the target for achieving your desired goal (in this case, your wedding) and how many pounds you wish to lose.
If your reduced calorie ingestion approaches 1,200 per day, you’ll need to visit your physician to see if this is advisable and safe based on your current health and age.
Planning your diet
While it may seem like a great idea to cut out entire food groups, you want to makes sure your diet is still varied and nutritious. In fact, if you’re consuming fewer calories, the composition of each one will be important than ever.
Wedding planning can be nerve-racking enough without the cravings and mood swings that accompany cutting carbs, or the fatigue from nutritional deficiencies and anaemia. A balanced diet will supply you with the needed energy to stay focused, and most important of all, enjoy each moment of your day as it comes.
You can regulate the ratio of different food groups and macronutrients in your diet to encourage safe weight loss without entirely cutting them down.
Increase your intake of protein: dietary suggestions for protein generally state the macronutrient should make up 10 and 35 percent of your daily calorie intake.
If your intake of protein is at the lower end, try boosting it up by adding some quality high protein foods to your diet.
Studies have shown that dieters who eat 25 percent to 30 percent of calories from lean protein not only lost more body fat but also increased the number of calories that their bodies burned at rest.
- Reduce your carbohydrates intake: people who consume a 2000-calorie diet generally eat between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrate, including complex and simple carbs like sugar every day. Try reducing it to around 50 to 150 grams of carb each day while you strive towards your goal.
- Get enough fibre: the average suggested daily value for fibre is 25 grams per day. When it comes to preventing constipation, the benefits of fibre is well-known, but fibre is also essential to the absorption of minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients. It also helps you curb hunger, feel more satisfied, especially when you get fibre from food sources rather than supplements.
- Eat healthy fats: while “no fat” and “low fat” are an established part of diet vocabulary, fats are a crucial part of a balanced diet. However, all fats are not created equal so try switching out trans and saturated fats for healthier polysaturated and monosaturated
- reduce alcohol and caffeine intake: a single alcoholic drink can add about 100 or more calories to your daily intake. If you want to imbibe, go for a flavoured vodka with soda (0 grams carb and 96 calories) or a wine spritzer (0 grams and 75 calories) over carb-rich or more sugary beverages. While caffeine can provide energy and black coffee is a diet staple, it’s also more likely to increase the jitters and anxiety. Both beverages also contain a diuretic effect, which can lead to dehydration.
- Stay hydrated: a lot of individuals need to consume at least 8-ounce glasses of water each day. You may need to consume even more if you’re overweight to avoid dehydration. Proper hydration promotes glowing skin and good digestion, but it’s especially crucial if exercise is included in your routine.
- Don’t skip meals: if you skip lunch or breakfast, it is highly likely that you will overdo it at dinner. Plan meals ahead, if you can — Cook with ingredients that will provide all your needed nutrients and help you feel satisfied.
- Eat more frequent, smaller meals: try consuming five or six smaller meals per day rather than three main meals. This can keep cravings and hunger at bay as well as helping to stabilise your metabolism. Keep healthy snacks on hand if you have the tendency of getting hungry between meals. Measure out the portions in advance.
- Avoid eating on the go: sitting at the table and eating your meal on a plate with cutlery will give you a much more precise sense of how much you’re consuming compared to eating from a fast food bag or takeout container.
- Have treats: you don’t need to completely deprive yourself. Watching your intake of food doesn’t imply that you have to forgo sampling some chocolates for your invitees or taste-testing your wedding cake. Plan ahead for programmed treats and try not to beat yourself up about the occasional unexpected delight.
- Plan ahead: weddings comprise of many celebrations, and a lot of them involve mouth-watering food. To prevent overeating at a restaurant, check the menu outline and make up your mind on what you’ll be eating before you arrive. You can also choose healthy venues for any pre-wedding event.
Add exercise
When planning for weight loss, diet isn’t the only factor to consider. Exercise supports the process by boosting your metabolism (the conversion of oxygen and calories into energy).
You don’t have to run a marathon or spend all your mornings at the gym, but looking back to the weight loss equation, your aim is to burn more calories than you consume.
Here are four tips to remember when planning an exercise routine:
- Begin slowly
- Add more intensity to your workout week on week
- Combine strength training to build and tone lean muscles with cardio exercises to increase metabolism.
- As you would any other appointment, commit to a schedule.
If you’re new to workouts, begin with 30 minutes of exercise three times per week. Try to fit in a 30-minute work into your days off at moderate intensity (your breathing is heavier, but you can still talk).
If you already workout regularly, try switching to higher-intensity exercises (such as HIIT, interval training, or circuit training). These workouts take less time than regular workouts and stimulate weight loss.
You may opt to work with a personal trainer who can assist you in staying motivated and focused, but also guides you, so you don’t get carried away.
Just like dieting, you don’t want to over-exercise. Over-exercising won’t just exhaust you, but also to a high degree increase your risk of injury.
Preferably, find an exercise routine that includes challenging and fun activities you can stick to. Regular physical activity will support your weight loss goals, but workouts can also assist in stimulating mood-boosting endorphins and help reduce anxiety.
Manage stress
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember that between meal planning and working out, there are other vital forms of self-care that will enable you to reach your weight loss goal and survive wedding planning.
- Get plenty of rest: each night, including weekends; try to aim for seven to eight hours of sleep. If you don’t feel like you’re getting proper rest, take steps to improve your sleep hygiene.
- Manage your stress: weddings are intended to be a time of joy. If you’re experiencing more tension than you can cope with, explore mind-body therapies such as tai chi, yoga, meditation, progressive muscle release (PMR), guided imagery, and deep breathing exercises.
- Get support: you don’t have to go through this alone. Talk to a trusted family member or friend about your plans—you might even discover that someone else in your wedding party shares your goals and you can support each other.
Commit to change
Every plan – whether for weight loss or a wedding – will have its challenges. To remain calm and focused, don’t forget that weight loss is about more than looking a certain way in photos or fitting into an outfit. Do not see it as a one-time goal but rather as a lifestyle change.
The benefits of begin at a healthy weight will enable you to endure the twists and turns of wedding planning, let you enjoy your special day, and will remain with you long after you say “I do.”