5 Best Ways to Get In Shape for a Wedding

If you wait too much on starting your weight loss plan, you’re risking taking an unhealthy path, over-exercising and starving in order to reach your goal. That’s a huge red flag—you need to be healthy for your day.

So, start early. If you wish to lose ten pounds, set aside three months. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see the results and have more motivation to get in better shape.

Nutrition is the most important thing if you want to lose weight—it goes like this: 80% diet, 20% exercise. Even if you want to tone your muscles, you must lose that fat first in order to notice results. Even if you’re happy with your body and just want to feel stronger, saner and more energized you need to reexamine your diet.

Make sure to fill your plate with plenty of veggies and protein and stay away from overly-processed foods and sugary snacks (check out Mediterranean diet). And don’t think that you’re giving up something that’s a huge part in your life—this will only make things harder. Tell yourself that you’re choosing a different and healthier path!

If you think you need to lose some weight for your wedding, you’ll need to sweat it out! If your end goal is to fit into that dress, add some tone to your muscles and lose a few inches, why not join a Pilates class? This will certainly lean you out.

However, that’s not your only workout. In order to really bust that fat, you need to make that fire burn stronger and raise your heart rate higher. With at least 45 minutes of cardio a few times a week you’ll see amazing results! And the good thing about cardio is that you can do it anywhere. You can go running in the park or at the beach, you can swim in your local pool, you can hit the elliptical or just jump some rope and do mountain climbers in your living room.

Want something really effective? Try High-Intensity Interval Training on your bike. Models like Assault air bikes are perfect for all kinds of HIIT and interval training and are built to be sturdy and survive all sorts of workout abuse. Put one in your garage, find a kickass spin program and get ready to burn some serious calories!

Many brides completely go into cardio in order to lose weight and ditch strength exercise altogether. Why? There’s no way you’re going to look “too muscular” for your wedding just because you did some push-ups or lifter a few weights. However, what will happen is your arms will look divine and your legs will be powerful! If you’re wearing a nice gown that shows your arms and back, you’ll feel so much more comfortable if you’re not showing those flappy underarms. So, find a good weight program and pump some iron.

You can choose from doing exercise with just your body weight (push-ups, pull-ups), opt for free weights (kettlebells and dumbbells) or pick a machine. See which one feels the best for you and don’t hesitate to go heavy. If done correctly, women can reap all sorts of benefits from lifting weights like improved posture, reduced risk of injuries, faster metabolism, more energy and a nice and curvy figure. It really takes a lot of time and effort (and even supplements) for women to put on a ton of muscles, so you have nothing to worry about—you’ll just get beautifully toned!

Your pre-wedding routine might focus on looking amazing in your dress walking down the aisle, but don’t forget to pay some attention to your mind. If you follow a complicated workout routine, try to eat healthy and have all sorts of wedding preparations to handle, your brain will need a break.

So, in order to de-stress, try yoga or meditation. Massage is also a great way to unwind, reset your blood flow and kill some of those painful stress-created knots in your body.

As you can see, you don’t have to change your lifestyle completely in order to get in shape. You can always find some free time to squeeze a workout into your schedule and squeeze out some junk food from your diet. The results are guaranteed!