Hi beautiful. You’re gorgeous exactly as you are! But if you’re looking to lose some unwanted pounds, tone up, and have radiant skin for your big day, you’ve come to the right place.

Being a bride is an exhilarating experience, but it can also be stressful! Not only are you expected to plan everything to the last detail, but you have to involve many new and old family in the decisions, keep up your social life, and, let's not forget… go to WORK!

What you also don't want to fall by the wayside is your health and your body - after all, all eyes and cameras are on YOU the entire day, and you'll have those memories forever. You want to feel amazing - you want confidence and happiness to just shine through you!

Whether your goal is to lose a little weight (before looking at those gorgeous wedding dresses) or simply stop the stress (and stress eating) from adding any extra pounds, I have 6 tips to help you stay healthy and reach your goals while planning a wedding.

Pre-wedding dieting doesn’t have to be hard - it can just include eating more fruits and vegetables, less processed food, and working out (strength training, HIIT, cardio, pilates, etc.). Your weight loss journey shouldn’t cause you stress before your big day!

6 Best Wedding Diet Tips

AVOID OVEREATING AT PARTIES

Engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, and bachelorette parties all have one thing in common - FOOD!

It is easy to lose track and over do it on snacks and sweet treats. Overeating + stress = bloating and weight gain. Neither of which are what you want leading up to your wedding day. Pay attention to how much you are eating, and carry a glass or bottle of water around with you. Drinking water regularly will help fill you up and keep your hands full (so you are less tempted to grab treats).

For more helpful tips on keeping up healthy habits during this time, read my posts:

AVOID FAD DIETS AND MAKE A SUSTAINABLE PLAN

Fad diets almost never produce real, lasting results, and often result in a boomerang effect (gaining it all back quickly) as soon as you stop the diet. General healthy eating is usually much more effective and easier to keep up long-term.

As I already mentioned, your wedding diet plan can just consist of eating more fruits and vegetables, less processed food, swapping some ingredients for healthier ones, eating healthier carbs (whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.), drinking water and not sodas, etc.

For information on popular diets and what might actually work for you, read my post Popular Diets to Follow to Get Ready for the Wedding where I share all the info on some of the most popular diet plan as well as pros and cons.

It is important to focus on making a plan that will help you stay on track, even after the wedding. No matter if your wedding is 1 year away or just 3 months away, having a plan for healthy eating will have you walking down the aisle feeling great!

Check out each of these posts, depending on how far out your wedding is:

CREATE SPECIFIC MEAL PLANS WEEK BY WEEK

Determine how many calories you need each day, and set up a meal plan to help you hold to that. How do you determine the correct calorie amount for your weight loss plan? I honestly have found that app algorithms and calculations based on your height, weight and gender are pretty inaccurate - because they don't take into account your metabolism!

So I recommend tracking what you're eating normally for 3-5 days (without restriction!) and then subtracting 100-250 calories from that average. This way, your new calorie goal will suit your metabolism, and will be doable for the long term (it makes no sense to follow a 1200 calorie diet only to go back to your "normal" way of eating later on, and gain the weight back, right?)

For meal plan ideas based on calorie intake, look at theses posts:

AVOID FOODS THAT CAUSE BLOATING LEADING UP TO YOUR WEDDING

The week of your wedding may end up being one of the most stressful weeks of your life. It is SO important that you don’t let the stress derail you when you are so close to your wedding day.

While I don’t believe any food is “bad”, there are certain foods you will want to avoid this week. Loading up on fast food, processed food and highly processed snacks and sweets will leave you bloated and feeling lethargic. You need all of your energy for all of those final pieces for your big day. Instead, I recommend eating lean meat, non-starchy vegetables, healthy fats, and overall more fruits and vegetables. You want every meal to be a healthy meal that will give you the nutrients you need.

My posts Foods to Avoid Before the Wedding that May Cause Bloating, Foods to Keep in the Bridal Suite, and Healthy Eating Tips for the Week Before and the Day Of Your Wedding will help you navigate what to eat in those final days leading up to your wedding.

HYDRATE

This is probably one of the easier aspects of your wedding diet plan - just drink lots of water! Not only does drinking more water help you feel more full and avoid overeating, it is also a tool to help you lose weight. You should be drinking about ½ of your body weight in ounces of water every day to stay well hydrated and to really have a healthy lifestyle.

For some tips and tricks on staying hydrated during wedding planning and on your big day, check out this post Hydration Before Your Wedding.

THINK POSITIVE AND EXERCISE

lumped these together for two reasons. First, because neither specifically have anything to do with dieting. Second, because they both impact your confidence and the way you carry yourself, and as a result will have a major impact on how you look and feel as you walk down the aisle.

During stressful times, one of the best ways to keep our thoughts positive is to have a list of quotes, or mantras that we repeat to ourselves, especially when we are feeling down. My post Wedding Weight Loss Motivation has a list of quotes that will help you think positive AND stick to your goals.

The best (and most natural) form of stress relief and confidence building is exercise. Not only that, but toning your muscle will make you appear leaner, even if you haven’t lost any weight. So, strength training is an amazing thing to include in your pre wedding dieting plan! When our muscles are strengthened we stand taller and straighter and appear confident. It is also good for your skin. You will love the glow, and you will be able to reach your goals! Before you start worrying about ONE MORE EXPENSE during your wedding planning, keep in mind - you don’t have to hire a personal trainer, you just need a plan! Not sure where to start? Read my post The Ultimate Wedding Nutrition and Exercise Countdown to get some ideas.