Wedding Weight Loss for Lazy Brides-to-Be
The Tone Up and Trim Down Plan for Brides Who Hate Working Out
Feb 4, 2009
In May 2008, the New York Daily News reported that "According to a new survey of 1,000 brides by Fitness magazine, 83% wanted to shed weight before their wedding, and many were prepared to take drastic action to achieve their goal."
If you're in that 83%, but aren't quite willing to take "drastic action" to get there, relax: you're in good company. There is no need to starve, crash diet, take diet pills, and push yourself to the breaking point simply to look good on your wedding day. The keys to slimming down without overdoing it are moderation and healthy decision making. Unless your goal is to look skeletal on your big day, consider the following.
Fasting is Not a Fix
In May 2008, registered and licensed dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner told the New York Daily News, "Fasting can make brides irritable and less able to deal with stress because they're not getting a good supply of vitamins and minerals and blood sugar."
And in their book You on a Diet, Dr. Michael Roizen, Chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice-chair of surgery and professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University, write, "When you starve yourself for more than twelve hours, your metabolic rate actually goes down by 40 percent... That's the primary reason why deprivation diets don't work. Your body panics about going into a famine, so it slows metabolism into emergency-storing mode rather than a steady state of burning."
Rather than starving yourself, design a sensible, healthy eating plan that will give you the energy to stay active, energetic, and upbeat. SlimFast.com and Self.com (Self Magazine's web site) offer free online nutrition tracking programs to help you enter your weight loss goal, customize your calorie count, and look-up what the nutritional content in your favorite foods are, so that you can work them sensibly into your diet.
Work Outs that Won't Make You Groan
If the thought of a gym membership has you shuddering, there are ways to get the cardiovascular and strength conditioning you need without a treadmill. Just 30 minutes a day of good old-fashioned walking can give you a boost, so if you've got a dog, leash up and go. If your commute requires you to take a bus or a train, leave the house a little early and walk to the next closest bus/train stop instead of the closest. Get off one stop early on your way to work.
Pilates and yoga, when done correctly, can help you tone up and trim down. Pilates creates lean muscle, strengthens your core (read: trouble areas like tummy, hips, thighs and butt), and yes, burns calories. Yoga is a great alternative to dumbbells for strength-training, and also increases your flexibility.
Pair up some cardio--walking, riding your bike, a jog through the park, dance class--with some strength training and you'll start to see results with as little as 30 minutes a day.
Keep Eating Your Favorite Foods... in Moderation
Everyone gets the urge to plow through an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. But nutritionists agree that moderation, not deprivation, is the key to a healthy diet. As the East Carolinian reported: "it's really a question of balance and moderation. Almost all diet gurus agree on a central fact: The keys to weight loss are cutting calories and increasing exercise. And to keep it off and stay healthy, you need a balanced, nutritious diet that draws from the major food groups, including grains, pastas and other carbohydrates."
Cutting out all carbs will adversely impact your energy. Even your favorite foods--like antioxidant-rich dark chocolate and nutrient-loaded avocados--can be beneficial in moderation. Eating meals more slowly in smaller serving sizes offers a better indication of when you get full. Sitting infront of the TV, absorbed in a show and scooping tortilla chips straight from the bag over an hour, you aren't really focused on eating (or how much you're eating). When preparing and eating your meal is given full attention, you realize more quickly that you might be full, and that second helping of mashed potatoes may not be necessary after all.
When it comes to alcohol, switch from your regular calorie-loaded cocktail to a glass (8 oz.) of red wine every night, which promotes heart-health. Instead of boozing it up at the bar on weekends with three or four glasses, hit a wine bar and order a flight--three or four different wines served in portions equal to one full glass of wine.
Above all, remember that your fiance proposed to you as you are, not with the expectation that on your wedding day, you'd be two dress sizes smaller.
 |
