"Get Ready...."

In one year, my son and daughter-in-law-to-be are getting married. To say I’m beyond thrilled is an understatement! I love them both so much and we love her family and can’t wait for the fun times together! And although I’ve never been an advocate of “event” fitness, and I’ve preached that everyone should have a consistently healthy lifestyle, THEY”RE GETTING MARRIED, and who doesn't want to look and feel good!!

A 2007 Cornell University study by Lori Neighbors and Jeffery Sobal found that 70 percent of engaged women and their mothers said they wanted to lose weight, typically 20 pounds. So brides are increasingly going on crash diets. One woman in New York prepped for wedding gown shopping by spending eight days on a feeding tube. The diet, under a doctor’s supervision, offered 800 calories a day while she went about her day, with a feeding tube in her nose.

I was not that extreme when I got married (many years ago), but I did spend three months basically subsisting on a diet of lettuce, cottage cheese, coffee and cigarettes to try and look skinny on my wedding day. Of course, by the time our first anniversary rolled around, I had quit smoking, started cooking, and gained back the starvation weight I had lost (and then some). Soooo….not exactly the healthiest way to prepare for an event.

If you know well in advance that you’d like to get fit for an event, be it a wedding, reunion, graduation, or new job, you can work on developing your healthy lifestyle; not frantically trying to drop three sizes in a month.

If you do have over 50 pounds to lose, it’s best to get started as soon as possible. If you’re OK losing a pound or two each week, then a program like Weight Watchers or the Eat-Clean Diet can be a great place to start. I like these because you prepare your own food and focus on the health benefits of what you eat. However, for some people, it’s discouraging to see such a slow loss. In that case, talk to your doctor about a more restrictive eating plan like Medifast, South Beach or Atkins. Seeing the quicker weight loss can be motivating and it can encourage you to create a healthier lifestyle. Once you’ve gotten closer to your goal, you can branch out to foods that will help you maintain and energize your fitness level.

Some basics to remember no matter where you are on the fitness/weight loss meter:

You need to eat. Maybe not as much, maybe different foods, but if you consume too few nutrients, your body will rebel. Get the right mix of carbs, fats, and protein. The most effective combo for dropping pounds fast is one that is high in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, contains mostly unsaturated fats from olive oil or nuts, and provides a healthy dose of extra-lean protein from dairy, legumes, soy, fish, and lean meat. Look for "real" (i.e., unprocessed) foods. You need fuel for energy and to keep your mood stable and positive.

You don’t NEED to drink alcohol. A celebratory drink can cost you 150 calories or more. And that's if you only have one! Even if you're in the habit of having just a few drinks a week, cutting back on alcohol can save you hundreds of calories in the end. Save the cocktails for the special occasions coming up and sip water instead, or try alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages so you won't feel left out of the festivities

Drink lots of water to flush your system. The body has a filtration system in place that will excrete toxins from the body. Without proper hydration, however, this system cannot function optimally. Make sure you consume plenty of water to dilute and flush unwanted toxins and waste products from your body.

Avoid excess salt. You want to reduce your salt intake to decrease your body's water retention. Table salt and other processed foods are loaded with sodium and alter the way cells handle excess water. When there is high sodium, cells absorb water as a result of osmosis. You can reduce excess water weight and decrease bloat by cutting back high sodium foods.

Exercise. Work Out. Train. Lift. Whatever you call it, a combination of cardio and strength training is best. This is an obvious one, but do something (anything!) to get moving. Twenty minutes of exercise a day will do wonders to boost your energy and kick-start the calorie burning process. Choose a time of the day when you usually feel motivated and energetic -- that way, you'll be more likely to stick with it.

Interval Training involves alternating short, fast bursts of intense exercise with slow, easy activity. Interval training works both the aerobic and the anaerobic system, and it results in improved conditioning of the cardiovascular system. It also helps prevent injuries often associated with repetitive exercise by allowing you to increase training intensity without overtraining or burn-out.

Cross Train-Alternating exercise is a great way to train effectively. Not only do you develop overall muscle conditioning, but you allow muscles to rest and recover without losing your fitness and get a mental boost from alternating activities

Strength Train-Building strength is one of the fastest ways to improve your physical condition and shape and train more efficiently. You can spend hours running, cycling or playing your sport, but a few weight training sessions each week will add strength, power, and also help reduce your risk of injury.

Get a Personal Trainer-Following a program written by someone else can take the pressure off and give you new ideas. It can also assure that you are doing the exercises correctly and efficiently. Opt for a few sessions when you start your fitness program to make sure you are getting the most out of your workout and schedule additional sessions as you get closer to where you want to be weight and fitness wise and closer to the event.

The thing is, if you can start to work on a healthy lifestyle now, the closer you get to the event, the more relaxed you’ll be. Whether you're in the wedding party, the planning committee for the reunion, or getting ready to start a new phase in your life, all of the planning can take its toll on you. But if you’re eating right and working out, you’ll be in a better mood and be better able to cope with the decisions you need to make.

As you get closer to the event, there are things you can do to tweak your fitness and push yourself harder (we’ll go over those in a future blog) , but if you’ve got the time, get yourself on the road to health, so you’ll be around for all of the life events yet to come!!