Top Fitness Tips for Brides-To-Be

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every bride wants to look amazing on her wedding day.

If you’re a bride-to-be, and you’re worried about not looking your best on your big day, then don’t fall into the trap of pursuing a quick-fixes to help get in shape for your wedding. Often a quick fix diet can be risky to your long term health and wellbeing, so we want to put forward a more sustainable solution for girls looking to slim, trim and feel beautiful on their wedding day. 

The following fitness tips highlighted below - along with the right attitude and determination - can help you lose fat, tone up and get you in shape for your wedding day. I  (Nicole, the chief admin lady at Who Dares Slims) will be backing up these tips with some of my own ‘shed for the wed’ story, sharing my experiences as a bride, seeking by ideal fitness and shape!

1. Set Your Main Goal 

The step you have to take first is decide exactly what you want to accomplish before your wedding and what timeline you're working with. Whether you want to lose excess weight, target specific areas of your body that need toning or a combination of both, you need to build a target from start to finish. Make sure your timeline is realistic, start planning further out than you think as you’ll need to allow for set-backs and the dreaded weight-loss plateau. 

Bride: “I decided to set a double goal; firstly to lose my back-roll and also to get my weight below 80kg (and a stretch goal of under 77kg!) My starting point was 86kg and I made sure to take ‘Before’ photos so that I could visualise my progress as I went along. 

<— I wanted to fit into this beauty of a wedding dress with fancy feather bottom! (in ivory, of course!)”

2. Be Practical 

You need to be rational to avoid disappointment. No bride wants to feel let down before their wedding - and fitness goals are no different! If you set the bar too high, the likelihood of hitting it is negligible.  There's nothing wrong with challenging yourself, but if you've never been a gym-goer, you’re not a fan of the gym or hard exercise, or if you've a lot of excess weight to lose, then don't put yourself under pressure by going for the impossible. Remember, Your weight loss journey in the lead up to your wedding should be fun!

Bride : “My weight fluctuates (a lot!), and unfortunately I had let it get away from me while I was enjoying the dates with my now husband (Let’s be honest, it was so much fun being wined and dined like a princess!). I knew I could reach my goal wedding weight, but I knew it would be hard, so I needed a kick up the arse to get in shape for my wedding. The biggest goal for me was going to be the visible improvement in physique and tone - I wanted to feel amazing in my dress on the day.”

3. Set Smaller Goals In Between 

If your target seems too far, it's all too easy to feel like you're not going to get there. Creating smaller goals between the starting point and the end goal will not only help you track and remember your success, but will also divide the overall goal into manageable chunks.

Bride: “Week by week I would set a specific goal for my food intake (tracking it in MyFitnessPal app). If it was an additional goal of getting an extra bit of exercise, even if it was breaking into a sweat while hoovering the house or taking a long walk with the family. My digital scales that tracked my weight in a graph really helped me visualise my weight loss!”

 4. The Bridal Exercise Plan 

The most important part of getting ‘bride-ready’ is changing your exercise routine. A mix of routine workouts in aerobic, strength and flexibility would work perfectly. Try a new sport, join a running club, test out your local swimming group or even your local spinning class - cycling is great exercise! If you don't want to join a gym, there are a number of multi-function equipment you can purchase to use at home such as the TRX. You don’t need a gym membership to go outside and hike! You just need a good pair of hiking boots! Consider doing something you love; you're much more likely to keep things up that way!  If you need a helping hand, get yourself a personal trainer, go on a fitness holiday or sign up to online fitness coaching!

Bride: “As soon as he proposed, I started my get fit programme! I signed up to my local gym and make sure to sign up to as many fitness classes as I could. I need a bit of healthy competition, so classes were the best way for me to keep my bride-fit plan on track! I also made a point of booking on to a week-long weight loss boot camp in Spain in the month leading up to the wedding so that I could ensure I had met my pre-wedding weight loss goals.” 

5. Eat Well and Track It!

You are what you eat, so if you want to be a fit and healthy bride, you should make some healthy changes to your diet. Even in small diet changes you might see a big difference in your physique! Cutting the main perpetrators, such as caffeine, chips, processed food and alcohol, will have an effect when it comes to losing weight. Don't be fooled by all the' low-fat ' labels in the supermarket, most of them are packed with sugar and salt, which will only make your body hold on to more fat. Lean meats, healthy fats and lots of fruit and vegetables should be the foundation of your diet. Clean diet and plenty of fluids will also leave you with glowing skin and healthy hair. Upping your protein intake will give your muscles the nutrients they need to tone up and get strong!

Knowing how much of each food type is important - this is called counting macros (macronutrients). There are a number of websites where you can input your height/weight and some other details and be told what breakdown you should be aiming for. The MyFitnessPal app then helps you track calories, but it can also track your macronutrients. If you need a little bit of help here, you can work with a nutritionist. Our partner nutritionist Louise offers 1-2-1 Skype consultations for just £40 (usually £45) - click here to book one.

Bride: “I wanted to get lean and tone up for my wedding,  as I had picked a dress that had a low-cut back and was quite figure hugging. For my body-type I had to reduce my carbohydrates and up my protein. This way when I trained at the gym to get my bride-bod my body had the right fuel to repair itself and reach those goals.  Check out some of our healthy recipes on our recipe blog here!”

6. Sleep Well

It's a proven fact that when we're exhausted, not only do we prefer to consume more, but our muscles find it harder to function. Getting enough sleep will help you maintain your diet and also avoid the urge to miss exercise.

Bride: '“I had rest days to recover from the hard gym sessions pre-wedding, but I also made time for ‘pamper days’ so that I could prepare for the big day. Things as simple as having a day where I slept, did facemasks and just sat around and called my friends on the phone to discuss the hen-party, seating plans, wedding music etc. It was great to rest, but also to feel excited about the journey I was going on.”

7. DO NOT GIVE UP! 

This might be the most important tip of all in the lead up to your wedding: Don’t give up! We all feel disheartened from time to time and that’s okay - but even if you have a set back, a bad week or just really struggle for a few days, you have to remember that you can’t undo weeks of good work in one meal! 

Bride: “It was a hard slog at times, but I made it! I reached my stretch goal weight of 77.2kg and I was stronger than ever before! I felt FABULOUS in my wedding dress and that made me feel so confident. Was it worth cutting out the cookies - absolutely!”

And here are a few snaps from the wedding day itself! :)

If you’re looking for your perfect wedding dress, but don’t want to spend the world on it. There is a huge number of second-hand wedding dresses on Still White (mine included!).

Who Dares Slims is a fitness and weight loss boot camp for women of all sizes, shapes and abilities. There is no such thing as ‘too big’ or ‘too unfit’ - as we can adapt all our activities to your individual needs. You’ll be getting fit and losing weight with a group of likeminded women at our fitness holiday in Spain or boot camp in Scotland. Hill walking, boxing, circuits, yoga, pilates, adventure games and swimming are just some of the activities you’ll be taking part in daily - with all your meals and snacks provided by our boot camp chef. Our food-ethos is healthy, balanced and nutritious meals designed to help you burn fat and never to feel hungry. We have helped countless women get fit and lose weight  - let us be the boot camp who help you achieve your goals. Our ex-elite forces fitness instructors can’t wait to meet you! Why not book yourself onto a pre-wedding fitness holiday or get your girls together for a fit-hen-party never to be forgotten!