Reaching Fitness Goals For Brides

 by Dennys Passeto, CPT

The countdown begins as soon as you decide on the date of the  wedding and start planning. 

The ceremony is 365 days away so  you think to yourself, 'I have plenty of time to lose this weight'. It's true!  You do have plenty of time.  But, if you don't begin  planning right away, you will find that each day that passes, it  will be harder and harder to reach your goal. 

Think about it, you want to lose 20 lbs. in 365 days. 

Don't tell yourself it's easy  and that you can do in the last eight weeks before the wedding.  

Your procrastination might have led you to even gain a few more  pounds by that point with all of the stress of the planning you've  been doing.  Therefore, my first point is PLANNING. 

Set a realistic  goal such as losing one pound of body fat every 1-2 weeks.  This is  very realistic.  You can achieve this by creating a caloric deficit  each day.  You can do this by decreasing the number of calories taken  in and by increasing the number of calories burned. 

If you eat 400  calories less and burn 300 calories more per day, you have just created a 700 calorie per day deficit. 

Over a 7 day period, that is 3500  calories which is equal to one pound of body fat.  A 700 calorie  per day deficit is not hard to achieve.  Just have some Splenda and  skim milk in your latte and that's probably good for 250 calories right  there. 

30 minutes at a moderate pace on the Elliptical Crosstrainer  is good for another 300+ calories. 

My second point that will ensure your success is CREATING A LOG of  your nutrition and exercise. 

This will create accountability and  keep you on track.  Whether you are working out with a Personal Trainer,  or are taking on the fat-loss game alone, the journal is important. 

Not only does the journal open up your eyes to the quantities and food  choices that you are making, it also makes you accountable to yourself  or the Personal trainer that is helping you reach your fitness goals. 

You don’t have to carry the journal under your arm all day long. What  I recommend to all of my clients is to leave it on your nightstand next  to your bed and spend 10 minutes recapping everything you ate that day. 

Once you're finished, take a look at the day and think to yourself how  you’d like to do it differently the next day. Or, what could you change  to improve your comsumption the next day.

This is also a good time to  plan where you’re going to be and what food will be available where you  are. That will help you make smart choices that day and not get caught  up starving at the McDonald’s drive-thru. Also, doing this at night  before falling asleep, will actually help you relax as it will distract  your mind from all other things that went on during the day.

Additionally,  it will put your subconscious mind to work throughout the night on how to  improve your food intake the next day.

Remember, start early and stick to your plan because you know those last couple of weeks prior to the wedding will be full of stress and  last minute headaches that will demand your attention.  If you're  almost at your fitness goal by that point, you'll really want to finish losing that last pound or two instead of just giving into  the stress eating and anxiety. 

For more details, please check out Fitness For Brides.   There you will find a very detailed manual to walk you through the  challenge you are about to embark on.  It will give you nutritional  guidance as well as workout plans and strategies. 

Good luck and Congratulations!