Lack of motivation and moral support is the number one reason why most women cannot lose weight and keep it off.  Your wedding is the perfect opportunity to finally lose those extra kilos that you’ve always wanted to. But don’t just lose the kilos to gain them again on the honeymoon; I will show you how to keep them off for life!

Reaching your ideal body weight will not happen overnight.  The information in this post will get you motivated to help you embark upon your mission of losing weight.  I will regularly provide innovative ideas and tips on how to get those kilos off and keep them off.

Atkins diet, Grape diet, Fit for Life, Blood type diet, Fat trappers and Ephedrine….

Some of you may recognise these well-known diets and may even have tried them before.  Yes, they work, but 99% of the time you will gain more weight after stopping the diet than you lost in the first place.  These diets are not sustainable and therefore  do not result in long-term weight loss and very often lead to major complications if followed for too long.

For those of you who only have a few kilograms to lose (less than 10), it will be harder because you are closer to your ideal body weight. Losing weight is not easy, but it is most certainly not as difficult as some like to think. Send me a message on the community if you want me to calculate your ideal body weight.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when embarking upon your weight loss mission.

• It’s neither healthy nor sexy to look like a runway model. Ask yourself: “Do I need to lose weight or tone?”.You don’t want to stare at your wedding photos thinking “who is that skinny bride?”.
• Make sure that you choose a wedding dress that fits your body type, losing weight will not change your body type!
• Healthy weight loss is ½ - 1 kg per week, so start early.
• Base your weight loss on a healthy, balanced lifestyle that includes healthy mind, body and soul.
• You will need support, so get your bridesmaids or hubby-to-be involved, or communicate with me!
• Exercise is essential. My husband and I started walking together 3 months before our wedding, this was the perfect time to finalise the wedding plans and it gave us time to be alone without any distractions.

What to do first?

Start by limiting the intake of animal products.  It is however important that you eat enough meat.  It will be of no use to lose the weight, when you are pale and tired on the day of your wedding because you suffer from iron deficiency. Meat contains iron that prevents one from becoming anaemic. I have seen a few brides that developed anaemia because of dieting.

Secondly, cut out animal foods that have a high fat content.

Examples include:

• Cream (including that delicious Alfredo pasta sauce),
• Butter,
• Chicken skin,
• Processed meats,
• Full cream milk,
• Cheese,
• Bacon and liver spreads.
• Sorry girls, no KFC for a while.
• Do not skip meals, especially not breakfast.
• Finally, cut down on fatty foods. It is not so much the carbohydrates that make us gain weight, but rather the fat content.

And that’s all it takes to get you started to lose weight before your wedding day! Good luck!

Continue the discussion in the community…

My next post will delve deeper into the foods you should try and avoid and alternative foods that you should base your diet on and we will also be looking at the ketogenic diet.

“The information explosion in the science of nutrition very often creates the impression that available information is contradictory. Consequently, it is no longer easy to distinguish between fact, misinformation and fiction.  This post is based on research and science done by professionals through correct research methods”. ..Nicus