There may be many women out there that are perfectly content with the way they look, but I know I wasn’t one of them the day I got engaged.  Don’t get me wrong, I was nowhere near being overweight.  I was 5′2″ and weighed 105 pounds, but I had gotten it into my head that dieting before I got married was the ‘thing to do’. 

Unfortunately, many brides feel that same way.  Now, nearly 33 years later, I’ve hopefully gained a little more wisdom.  As long as you’re healthy and are not experiencing weight-related problems, dieting is not ’standard operating procedure’ before a wedding.

That being said, if you really want to drop a few pounds before walking down the aisle, here are a few do’s and don’ts.

DO:
~ eat balanced meals.  Divide your plate in quarters; fill 1/4 with protein, 1/4 with starch and 1/2 with vegetables.
~ eat smaller portions.  Most people can drop a few unnecessary pounds just by cutting back a little on their portion size. 
~ drink plenty of water.  Sixty-four ounces a day is recommended by most doctors to continually ‘flush’ and hydrate our systems.
~ exercise 3 - 5 times weekly.  A 30 minute aerobic workout or brisk 2 mile walk will do wonders to burn calories and strengthen your heart.
~ set some time aside to pamper yourself.  Take a bubble bath, get a pedicure, etc.  Taking time to notice and appreciate the positive effects of your healthy eating can be a great encouragement to you.
~ talk to your doctor before you start your diet.  Set a reasonable goal weight. 

DON’T:
~ give in to fad diets, drastically restricting what you eat to one or two main items.
~ try to falsely increase your metabolism with pills; this can really mess up the natural working of your body, especially when you try to come off of the pills.
~ starve yourself.  This will throw your metabolism into starvation mode, burning fewer calories and making you gain more weight once you stop dieting.
~ go nuts exercising.  Making an exercise routine difficult, time consuming, and overly strenuous is the perfect way to make it fail.  If it’s too hard to stick to, you won’t.
~ get easily discouraged.  Fast weight loss is temporary weight loss, and many times leads to gaining additional weight later on.
~ start your diet without speaking to your doctor.  Setting an unreasonable goal weight makes for an unhealthy diet, and probable failure. 

Remember the purpose for dropping a few pounds is not just to become a skinnier you; it’s to become a healthier you.  Losing weight slowly helps that weight loss to endure the test of time, builds a healthier lifestyle, and allows you to more easily stick with it.  One last helpful hint:  Once you have your final fitting on your wedding dress, work at maintaining your weight.  Additional fittings can cost a bundle.

Have a happy and healthy married life!