Your wedding day gives you some extra motivation to be your most healthy self. Photographs will make your wedding day immortal, so polishing your physical and mental health into something you’ll forever be proud of makes sense, right?

Forever Bride has asked one simple question that’s on all bride’s (and bridesmaids) minds: What is the best advice for a bride trying to lose weight? Some of our health & fitness vendors have answered this question all while being mindful of the unique context of the bride-to-be.

DIET
Jina of The Happy Healthy Truth tells us, “Start slowly by picking one meal or snack each day to make healthier. Aim for fewer ingredients and more nutrition. Pay attention to how that food makes you feel in one hour, one day, etc. Foods that make us feel best are the foods we should be eating to maintain a healthy weight, the most confidence, energy and inner peace we can get.” We asked our Forever Bride fitness experts what their favorite healthy snack is and they all agreed, fruit and veggies! To make boring foods more appealing, combine them with something else. Lois of LTK Fitness suggests adding almond butter to celery and eating your veggies with some tasty hummus.

EXERCISE
Jina of The Happy Healthy Truth has you covered! Follow her advice to start your workout journey: Move your body for at least 60 minutes each day. If you want to get fancy, let me break down what I believe would work best based on my 12+ years in the field and helping thousands lose weight and grab life by the balls. Every week, aim to get:

“¢ 4 Hours of Cardiovascular Exercise. This is heart-pounding, sweat-inducing exercise. Think of a very brisk walk up a hill, a run, fast bike ride, rollerblading, swimming, a roll in the hay, etc.
“¢ 1-2 Strength Training Sessions. These are exercises that focus on working specific muscle groups. This can be done with or without weights or by doing strength-based yoga. Your heart rate will elevate, but not as much as it will during cardiovascular exercise.
“¢ 2 Hours of Light Activity. These activities should be light in effort, enjoyable and geared towards hobbies or an active lifestyle such as an easy walk, taking the steps instead of the elevator, gardening, paddling a kayak or canoe, an easy bike ride, gentle yoga, parking in the back of the parking lot, you get the picture.

TOOLS
Jen of Knockout Bodies tells brides-to-be, “When you’re trying to lose weight, keep a food diary and workout journal. We like the “˜My Fitness Pal’ App for tracking calories and workouts. Keeping track of your progress and goals will help you zone in on what works best for you.”

image found on fitnessmagazine.com

NO NOs
Louis of LTK Fitness warns brides to stay clear of fad diets! And don’t think 30 days of working out and dieting will do the trick, you’ll need “90-180 days of commitment to be the best bride on your big day you can possibly be; mentally, physically and emotionally!” It’s easy to get mesmerized by the numbers on the scale, but Jen of Knockout Bodies reminds us to “instead look at the changes happening to your body. When you start a new workout routine, you will probably see noticeable changes in the mirror long before you see a dramatic change on the scale.”

image found on fitgirlsdiary.com

Remember, you may not be there yet, but you’re closer than you were yesterday!