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Bridal Fitness Plan: The Wedding Diet DOs and DON'Ts

From six months ahead of your big day to just six weeks to go, here are the bridal rules for getting wedding-ready with a time limit

Weddings can be stressful, schedules to follow, finding the perfect dress, venues, seating plans… the list is endless (like, really endless).



What shouldn’t be stressful - but is probably the most stressful of them all - is the way you look.

From crash diets with two weeks to go to two-year plans and endless diet schemes, every bride has felt the squeeze of 'white lace pressure' and the endlessly ticking clock.

And with wedding season already in full swing, we've enlisted the help of personal trainer to the stars, Scott Laidler, to come up with concise plans for every stage of your prep.

Scott told us: "Everybody wants to get in shape and look their best for their big day but leaving it just 4 weeks to go just won’t do.

"The key to a stress-free bridal fitness is to start early and make it habitual. Know where you could fall down and how to counteract the effects. Preparation is key."

Here are his tips for getting in shape ahead of your big day....

Make sure you plan ahead of your wedding - crash diets and brides do NOT mix. Copyright [Rex features]
Make sure you plan ahead of your wedding - crash diets and brides do NOT mix. Copyright [Rex features]

6 MONTHS TO GO: GETTING FITTER

Six months to go is a great time to start as there is very little you can’t achieve. However, you need to make sure you don’t get complacent as the time will go very quickly, but by starting early it should take the pressure off and help to create long-term healthy habits, rather than a short-term quick-fix.

DO: Decide what is a comfortable amount of weight to lose in that time frame. What will get you toned but NOT skinny?
Weight loss needs to be steady and comfortable, remember you want to lose body fat not just arbitrary weight as, although a lean toned physique may weigh more, it will look much better than a ‘skinny fat’ one.
Try to focus on achieving body changes rather than just what the scales say. (Remember: you want your muscles to be firm to the touch on your honeymoon, not skinny but flabby. There's nothing sexy about that)


DO: Count Calories (sensibly!)
Calculate a sensible calorie deficit. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. If done correctly, the numbers will almost guarantee success.
To determine this, work out how many calories your body needs to function, how many you will be burning through exercise, and how many you are consuming. A good guideline is that you should have a 500 calorie daily deficit.
Based on this, you could sensibly lose over 1lb per week. In 6 months, that’s 24lbs!!

(Tip: A good way is to only drink water. It’s great for your skin, will keep you hydrated for exercise and contains no calories, so you’ll be able to allocate more for food.)

DON'T: Jump straight into fad dieting.
Most people can’t stick to diets so it will only lead to disappointment. Plus, if you do lose weight, it won’t be in the right places and you’ll lose muscle tone – definitely not the effect you want!

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DO: Make sure you work the whole body.

Sticking to one exercise might seem easy but for optimal results that will burn fat and tone your whole body, you need to exercise all the muscles.

DON'T: Panic. Prepare for cake tasting and hen parties/celebratory drinks - knowledge is power
With the wedding preparations underway, it’s inevitable that you’ll have cake tastings, wedding menus to try etc. but this doesn’t need to set you back or stress you out. As long as you eat healthily 90% of the time, the other 10% you can relax.

EXAMPLE EXERCISES:
Firstly, decide on how you are going to incorporate more exercise into your schedule, what do you enjoy, what’s convenient location-wise, and are you more/less likely to stick to it if you go with friends. Most importantly, everybody’s goals are different - you need to pick something that will work for your goals (e.g. body shape, areas of improvement etc.)

The key to success is consistency. You need to be exercising at least twice a week so ensure it’s something you CAN do and that you WILL stick to.

There are lots of options available: the gym, outdoors activities, fitness DVD’s (Davina McCall and Rosemary Connelly’s DVD’s are really effective, and convenient as you can do them at home), personal training etc. Although, if you want the support, without the cost, online training is brilliant.

You can get a highly qualified personal trainer from anywhere in the world who will give you one-on-one attention at a fraction of the cost. This will help to keep you motivated and ensure that your fitness plan is working for you.



Bicep curls, tricep presses and squats are all important moves to incorporate into your fitness regime. Copyright [Rex]
Bicep curls, tricep presses and squats are all important moves to incorporate into your fitness regime. Copyright [Rex]

Fat Burning
Try to do low intensity activity at least 2-3 times a week (e.g. walking, cycling and swimming. Try to aim for 20-60 minute sessions). This will keep your heart-ate in the ‘fat burning zone’ so you’ll burn a higher proportion of calories from fat at this level (105-120BPM) than when working harder or at rest

Arms
Most wedding dresses have the arms on show so, to keep them tones and great to the touch, incorporating resistance training for the arms into your workout is key.
For your biceps (front of the arm), use dumbbell curls.
For the triceps (back of the arm) try doing tricep dips using a bench.
(For each exercise, aim to do 3 sets of 12-15 reps, 2-3 times per week.)


Thighs and Bums
To achieve a toned, pert bum, there is no escaping fundamental weight lifting exercises. You will need to incorporate squats, lunges and deadlifts into your workout regime. Try to lift heavy weights, but make sure you are shown good form beforehand to avoid injury. These will promote muscle gain in the bottom, making your glutes, thighs and hamstrings become strengthened and toned, and creating that lifted effect.

(Remember: Most wedding dresses draw heavily on hip to waist ratios so the more you can accentuate yours the more amazing you will look in your dress.)

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Stomach
The problem with stomach training is that getting a flat stomach is actually done by lowering your body fat percentage - this means your time would be better spent with heavy weight training and fat burning activity. Work your stomach once a week but don’t spend too much time on it. It’s not going to be sit-ups that give you a flat stomach - trust me on this!

(Tip: Don’t spend too much time on this area. Incorporate some cale rotations, planks and oblique curls to generally work and tone the area. Do this once per week.)


6 WEEKS TO GO: MAINTAINANCE

DO: Inform your dressmaker of your diet.

Tell the dressmaker your plans. Otherwise your added body composition change could make the dress look loose - or tight - on you on the wedding day.



DON'T: Get complacent or give up
With 6 weeks to go you will already be looking good and probably be thinking to yourself that even if the wedding was tomorrow you wouldn’t look bad in your dress. This is great but, if you’ve come so far, why stop now? Remind yourself that this is a once in a lifetime countdown, keep going and get the best results you possibly can.

DO:
Reward yourself at particular intervals. Don’t go for weight loss goals as these are arbitrary. Reward habits. For example, if you have trained and eaten perfectly for the first 4 weeks of your program, treat yourself to a new top or a massage. They’ll make you feel great and encourage you to stay motivated.

DON'T: Let your diet ruin your hen do.
This is pretty much a write off. We could discuss how to pre-load protein the morning of the event etc. but, realistically, just have fun and let your hair down. You’ve earned it!

DON'T: Stress about cheat meals. Don’t stress if you have the odd cheat, it’s ok, the key is to start your fitness regime in good time and to remember that, if you cheat one day, it’s not the end of the world, just make sure you don’t continue to for the rest of the week. Don’t fad diet, be realistic and stick to your plan. You will get there!


ON YOUR WEDDING DAY: RELAX!

Remember, your partner loves you the way you are, getting fitter and looking your best is great, but the most important thing is that you feel confident on your big day. Enjoy!


Relax and enjoy your big day! Copyright [Rex]
Relax and enjoy your big day! Copyright [Rex]


For online one-to-one training with Scott, visit www.scottlaidler.com / @Scott_Laidler. Starting at £150 for 6 weeks.

About Scott:
Over the past decade, Scott’s reputation as a leading personal trainer and nutritional expert has gone from strength to strength, and his services are sought after across the globe.

Known by media insiders as ‘Fitness’ Best Kept Secret’, Scott's clients include everyone from Hollywood Actors (inc. Owain Yeoman, NBC’s The Mentalist) to Global TV Personalities (inc. Natalie Imbruglia) and Media Moguls. He regularly features on TV shows including 'Access Hollywood' and 'Sky News', and is currently working with Kate Hudson on the launch of her new fitness brand 'Fabletics'. 

He also writes a weekly column for TheTelegraph.co.uk and is a regular contributor on Sky News and Access Hollywood.





Scott Laidler has trained Natalie Imbruglia and is currently working with Kate Hudson.
Scott Laidler has trained Natalie Imbruglia and is currently working with Kate Hudson.