Every bride wants to look her best at her wedding. As all the eyes are on her, it takes a lot to soak in the attention, slide away the hesitation and appear unnerved. Of course, if you know that you are looking good, you'll be naturally confident. They say 'happy brides are the prettiest'. We say, that is true. If you are set to tie the knot soon, and want to look like a dream at your fairy-tale wedding, do the best that you can. Losing weight is totally a personal option and not a pre-wedding mandate. Yet, if you are sure you want to look fit at your wedding and lose those extra kilos, we have rounded up some handy tips that you can incorporate in your diet to achieve better and faster results.
Have you been putting in your best efforts to lose weight but the digits on your weighing machine don't seem to drop? Perhaps you are not getting the basics right. Get over your wedding jitters. Here are some diet tips that can be useful to prep for your wedding and manage your weight in the right way.
Diet Tips To Help You Lose Weight:
1. Stay Hydrated
We are sure everyone must have already heaped your head with this tip but here it is, topping our list as well. Apart from keeping you hydrated, water keeps the metabolism running high and keeps your skin healthy. So, here we go again - drink lots of water, at least 2 litres a day. If you get bored of water, you can have other hydrating drinks like coconut water, fruit juices, smoothies, green tea, lemon water, herb infused water and so on.
(Also Read: 4 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Water And Why You Should Skip Cold Water)
Drinking plenty of water will help you get rid of toxins
2. Say 'No' To Sugar
Sugar is all empty calories. And, you really don't want more of it right before your wedding. Please don't substitute sugar with artificial sweeteners. Push your sweet tooth under the covers for a while and give sugary foods a break, at least till your wedding.
3. Throw Away Packaged Food
Give up on processed and frozen foods or anything that comes in a pack, replete with preservatives and harmful chemicals. These packaged foods with their excessive calorie and salt content might also lead to weight gain. You really don't want to stuff your body with that stuff, right?
4. Eat Healthy
This one is a no-brainer. Eat more of fresh fruits, green vegetables, nuts, seeds and protein-rich foods to get over the energy hump. All that running around takes away a lot from you, so replenish your body with these foods.
5. Reduce Or Eliminate Fat From Your Diet
Go for low-fat dairy and avoid fats in the form of cheese, excessive oil, butter and more such fattening foods. Try to replace fattening foods that make your food tasty with healthy alternatives. Replace cheesy dips or with chickpea-based hummus or curd dip, stuff your sandwich with hung curd instead of mayonnaise, use whole wheat or multigrain breads instead of white bread, add sweet fruits and honey to your cereal instead of sugar, ditch regular noodles for healthy noodles like zucchini noodles; and so on.
6. Go Easy On Salt
According to health experts, excessive salt consumption may lead to water retention while a low-salt diet may flush out extra water from the body and fuel in glow and sheen in the skin.
(Also Read: How To Lose Weight Fast: 10 Tips to Shed Kilos the Healthy Way)
7. Limit Alcohol Intake
We know it's celebration time and your happiness knows no bounds. But, if you are hell-bent on looking great at your own wedding, please hold it off for wedding and post wedding celebrations. Better still, limit it to few drinks per week, if you must drink.
8. Include Weight-Loss Friendly Foods In Your Diet
There are many foods with zero calories or even negative calories that will not add extra calories; in fact, the negative calorie foods may actually help you lose some. Try to add foods like cucumbers, chia seeds, coconut water, to your diet. You won't even have to compromise on taste!
9. Keep Healthy Snacks Ready To Eat On-The-Go
Living on your toes before your wedding? Story of every bride-to-be. We are sure while running around for all the pre-wedding chores and loads of shopping, you must not have access to home-cooked food all the time. When out of home, you might have to rely on junk snacks to keep hunger at bay. You can be smart about it and have healthy portable snacks ready that you can eat on-the-go whenever hunger strikes.
(Also Read: 7 Protein-Rich Snacks You Can Eat On The Go)
You can incorporate different seeds in your diet by creating your own trail mix.
10. Cut Down Food Portions
We know you must be losing your mind worrying about the D-day but that doesn't mean that you have to stuff your stomach mindlessly. Eat light and you'll feel fresh and not stuffed; that might eventually make you lethargic. Watch what you eat and how much you eat. Start limiting your meal portions gradually taking each day at a time. After few days you will get used to a lesser amount of food and you will also feel sated.
11. Have Your Cheat Days
You are a bride-to-be and you deserve all the happiness. So, follow a healthy diet but when your temptations get the better of you, go ahead, and enjoy your occasional cheat days. Your tummy deserves it after days of adhering to a deprivation. But, remember not to go overboard with your loved pizzas and fries. Have some of it to satiate your taste buds while keeping your fitness goals in mind. After all, you only get married once.
Remember, there are no quick fixes or shortcuts, and last-ditch efforts don't really work. Amid all the commotion of wedding preparations, you may not have much time to slog in the gym for hours. So, follow these genius diet tips and work your way into a leaner body for the D-day.