8 Ways to Shape Up for Your Big Day

Whether you’re walking down the aisle in a fitted gown or standing at the altar in a tailored tux, we all have an idea of how we want to look on our wedding day. Whatever your wedding workout goals, they are entirely your choice and valid. For some, a weight loss deadline that runs in line with wedding planning can cause too much stress and lead to crash dieting, missed goals, or even further weight gain. For others, a healthy diet and regular workouts can help manage wedding-related stress, boost your confidence, and maybe even help you commit to a more daring wedding fashion style. A weight loss deadline this important can be a useful incentive to adapt a fitness routine with a partner and stick with it.

Whatever your wedding day fitness goals are, be sure that you’re following through with them for yourself. Doing it for someone else or as a result of external pressures defining how you should look for your big day is a surefire route to failure. Here, we’ve gathered a few tips you can follow to meet your goals, big or small, before your big day.

Follow a Defined Timeline and Set a Plan

In the midst of wedding planning, you’re probably not wanting to add another task to the list, but planning is key to ensuring you’re not adding even more stress to the tasks ahead. For the most part, if you have a bigger weight loss goal in mind, start planning out regular workouts well ahead of your wedding date. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a safe rate at which to lose weight and keep it off is about two pounds per week or eight pounds per month. Consider your realistic weight loss goal and plan accordingly.

You should also take into account your need to reach a fairly stable weight by the time of your last suit or gown fitting. Ensure you book one last appointment with your tailor at least a week before the big day to accommodate any minor last-minute alterations. Wedding stress can make some lose a couple extra pounds just before the big day, so take this into account and do your best to sustain your weight with healthy meals, snacks, and stress-reducing workouts in this last week, rather than high-intensity fat-burning workouts.

Journal Your Progress

Keep track of your plans and progress with a journal to help you better reflect on what is working and what needs to change. Find a journal that suits your personality and writing style, whether that’s ruled, plain, or dotted pages. Take note of what you enjoy in your workouts or healthy meals, what you’re struggling with, what you’re getting tired of, and where you think you might find a little more enjoyment. If measurements are a concern, track that in here as well, but try taking measurements every two weeks at most—more often than that can lead to discouragement and setbacks if you’re not seeing significant results.

Each month, use your journal to do one big check-in with yourself. Assess how the last month went based on the results you’ve seen, your mindset and mental health, and any roadblocks you faced. Use this assessment to revise your plans for the next month to ensure you’re always working towards healthy habits you can maintain well after the big day.

Learn Some Relaxation Techniques That Work for You

Meditation and yoga are two of the most popular methods for encouraging relaxation and calming pre-wedding nerves. Both methods help to cut stress, so you’re less likely to crave fast or processed foods, overeat, or skip meals when your body needs the calories to keep active. In many areas, meditation classes are available to introduce you to techniques you can use at home while instructional videos for restorative yoga sequences that can encourage improved rest are available online. Some yoga moves can even help to encourage weight loss and detoxification. Explore these and other options, such as journaling, a digital detox, or even scheduling in regular baths, to ensure you’re in the best mental state to follow through with your workout regimen and nutrition plan.

Snap a Picture of What You’re Eating

Take a quick picture of each meal and snack. It doesn’t have to be staged or fit for posting on Instagram; just having a track record of what you’ve enjoyed or indulged in can help you see the bigger picture of what you’ve been consuming. Create an album on your phone for easy access and note any patterns between good and poor eating habits and what’s happening elsewhere in your life. Don’t allow this task to prevent you from enjoying a cheat treat every now and then—just stick to moderation. As well, by taking pictures of all your food, you might be better able to recall particularly delicious and healthy meals that you can enjoy again. Finally, if you’re working with a nutritionist, fitness coach, or partner, ask if you can send pictures to them for encouragement or constructive feedback. Who knows, they might know a clever but healthy way to make those vegetable sticks a little more appetizing.

Master Morning Workouts

For those looking to lose more weight before walking down the aisle, opt to work out in the mornings. In the a.m., your level of cortisol, a hormone that encourages fat metabolism, is higher, meaning your morning workouts are likely to burn more fat, particularly if you delay breakfast to afterward. Further, because your body burns calories while you sleep, your stores of carbohydrates for energy will be lower, meaning your body has to dig into fat stores for energy. So, set your alarm for a little earlier and aim for a solid 30 to 40 minutes of activity. And for those who rely on their morning java, go ahead and enjoy a quick black coffee before lacing up your runners.

Narrow Down Your Goals

For those who are tight on time, prioritizing goals can be useful. Narrow down your body shaping goals by considering the following three factors:

1. What types of workouts do you enjoy that will fill you up with energy and excitement rather than leave you dreading your gym dates?
2. What will you be wearing on the big day and how might that accentuate or conceal certain aspects of your body?
3. What are your assets and trouble spots? If your arms are already well-toned, you can maintain them but don’t waste extra time on targeted arm workouts.
4. What are you currently able to do? Consider your endurance and fitness levels and don’t let your ambition skew your view. Starting with too steep a goal will set you up for disappointment.

Use the answers to these questions to create a fitness and nutrition plan that is unique to your aesthetic goals.

Drink More Water to Beat Bloating

Not only can drinking enough water beat bloating—an absolute must on the last couple of days leading up to your wedding—but it can also help keep you hydrated as you work out and prevent overeating and sugar and salt cravings. While the eight cups a day is an easy general rule to follow, not everyone really needs this much and some may need more. Instead, follow this rule of thumb: Take your current body weight in pounds, divide it by two, and the result is the number of ounces of water you should be drinking each day. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should be drinking 70 ounces, or nine glasses, of water each day. For those who need a little extra encouragement, consider investing in a water bottle you love that you’ll happily carry with you everywhere you go!

Consider Seeking Out a Little More Support

According to one survey, brides and grooms can expect to make 177 decisions, on average, while planning for their wedding. That’s a lot of choices! If planning out a fitness plan seems like a little too much to handle at the moment on top of all of those decisions, consider opting into a custom skin tightening or radio frequency-based body shaping treatment plan to support your wedding aesthetic goals. Cutting stress and finding a method that works with your own personal limitations can significantly improve your overall wedding experience, allowing you to enjoy the process rather than wish it away. 

Utilizing radio frequency energy to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin for a smoother silhouette, skin tightening treatments target sagging skin that’s difficult to firm up with diet and exercise alone. For those looking for a little slimming effect, body contouring treatments also utilize targeted radio frequency energy to heat and shrink fat cells deep below the skin’s surface while also increasing collagen production, reducing circumference and resulting in a firmer, slimmer-looking figure. Whether you’re targeting fat and loose skin on the arms, abdomen, thighs, back, and more, both skin tightening and body contouring treatment plans can be customized to meet your aesthetic needs. Plus, you don’t have to worry about creating a plan yourself; instead, a certified treatment provider can craft a comprehensive approach that includes pre- and post-treatment tips for optimal results and a seamless experience for you—it’s just one less thing to stress about before your big day. Get started today by locating a provider near you using the search field below.