If your big day is approaching and you need to lose some
pounds to fit into that wedding dress, you’re going to need a
spectacular diet. Of course, the sooner you start on your wedding day diet the
better the results, and the following tips will help you to slim down
and feel your best.
The Paleo diet is one that takes your eating habits back to basics. The rules are simple, you can only eat what cavemen used to eat.
This means no:
- Grains (bread, rice, pasta, oats)
- Potatoes
- Legumes (peas, beans, peanuts)
- Processed foods
- Dairy (unless from grass-fed animals)
- Eggs
- Meat
- Fish
- Oils – Coconut, avocado and olive oils are all great
- Fruits – Go easy on these. Even though the sugar in fruit is natural, it can hinder weight loss if you have too much
- Nuts – A small handful makes a great snack
- Vegetables – Although you’re not allowed regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are considered paleo
If you eat paleo, there’s no need to count calories and once you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy to stick to. The benefits aren’t just fat loss but also increased energy and you
won’t get so bloated. This means that you’ll appear slimmer even before
you lose any fat!
This is good advice regardless of whether you have a wedding dress to
get into or not. When your body doesn’t get enough water it stores it,
this leads to water weight. Drink enough throughout the day and the body
no longer has to hold onto it.
This is a great way to detox, lose some inches and shed a few pounds in the run up to a wedding.
It’s also worth knowing that the brain has difficulty telling the
difference between thirst and hunger. If you’re hungry try drinking some
water, you may just be a little dehydrated and your hunger pangs will
diminish.
Look at portion size
Although there’s not really any need to count calories on the paleo
diet, that’s no excuse to overeat. A plate of food should be made up of
the following:
- A quarter protein – This is meat/fish/eggs, about a palm-sized portion.
- Two thirds carbohydrates – Vegetables and fruit. Approximately the size of two fists.
- The rest should be made up of good fats – Nuts, oils, nut butters, avocado or grass-fed butter
Exercise
Fat loss is mostly down to your diet but it’s the exercise that helps
you to tone up. If you’re trying to get into a wedding dress,
incorporate some strength training into your routine.
The quickest way to do this is with HIIT (high intensity interval
training). These are short blasts of cardio bodyweight exercises, mixed
with periods of rest. Because you are working at your absolute maximum,
the workouts are generally quite short.
YouTube has plenty of HIIT videos you can do at home but if you need
someone to push you, enlist the help of a personal trainer or sign up
for some boot camp training.
This diet is down to common sense, it’s okay to treat yourself once
in a while but don’t eat bags of trail mix or ‘healthy’ cereals. Take
everything in moderation and cut out those nasty processed foods!
This article was written by Amanda Walters, an experienced
freelance writer and regular contributor to Huffington Post. Follow her
here: @Amanda_W84 - dotcomwomen.
