Hello brides and bridesmaids and people who care about wedding things! I paired up with BridesMadeEasy and we discussed some ways to tackle some of your questions about how to be the best version of yourself by your wedding day and on your wedding day.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel your best on your wedding day and for some brides (and bridesmaids, hey, you’ll be in these pictures too), that might mean paying extra attention to your body leading up to the big day. This might include some behavior changes and even some diet modifications but it’s important to note there is a way to accomplish your goals in a healthy way and an unhealthy way. Lets talk about the Healthy way, WITH the foods you love!

What are some steps you can take before the big day to make sure you are your healthiest and most confident on it?

ALL FOODS PROVIDE NOURISHMENT There are no “good” or “bad” foods. If any diet has you cutting out food groups, severely restricting calories, or telling you what to eat instead of teaching you HOW to confidently choose how to eat — it’s a diet. ALL foods have a place in our life, and we need protein, fat, and carbs for healthy hormones, metabolism, strength, energy, “tone”, injury prevention, and more.

NEGATIVE TO NEUTRAL No one else is you, own that! Instead of “shoulding” on yourself, try shifting to a place of body neutrality and acceptance by writing down the things you already like or love about yourself. When it comes to those attributes you don’t appreciate yet, shift the mindset — instead of “I don’t like my legs”, if it’s true for you, try “I appreciate my legs allow me to walk around, exercise, and move.” Instead of “I don’t like my stomach”, try “I appreciate my stomach for its ability to send fuel to the rest of my body”.

SUCCESS BEYOND THE SCALE There are so many other benefits and wins on this journey than just a number on a scale. Focus on your energy levels, how are you feeling during and after workouts? Have your moods improved? What about your focus and clarity? How do your clothes fit? And how are you feeling over all? This also may mean focusing on sleep and stress management (something that is definitely paramount when planning a wedding), and other lifestyle factors you may have ignored or paid less attention to in the past.

RESTRICTION DOES NOT EQUAL POSITIVE OUTCOMES View food as Fuel! That fad diet you feel like you HAVE to try as the only way to be successful out of desperation Is actually SLOWING your metabolism, not fixing it. Don’t try pills, shakes, restrictive diets that so severely restrict your calories that your body then holds on to that fat to survive. Instead, learn your nutrition foundations and how to incorporate all foods to OPTIMIZE your metabolism. You’re doing all this hard and good work to prepare for your wedding day — don’t you want it to last after the honeymoon?

LIFE IS GREATER THAN A CALORIE DEFICIT! Think of habits you want until you’re 95, not just for 95 days. If you don’t see yourself skipping the bread, ice cream, pizza, and wine forever and ever — the quick diet and crazy workout program you were going to try to “lose weight fast: for the wedding is probably not the one for you. You can learn how to incorporate these foods AND crush your goals so you can enjoy the process fully!

Now you’ve done all of this work and met all of these goals and finally the wedding day arrives! You feel amazing and look beautiful — how do you maintain that throughout a very busy, very emotional, very exciting day?

Make sure you are eating! This was touched on the first post about wedding day diets. Do NOT do a crash diet day of. No cutting out food groups and definitely no “detox” teas unless you want to spend your wedding day in the bathroom. INSTEAD fuel your body! Eating beforehand is essential to feel your best, have enough energy to get through a long day, and not being hangry. Eat. Your. Cake. And your dinner. But don’t be afraid of your dessert, whatever it may be. You spent so much time planning and so much money catering. Enjoy it! Bridesmaids, pack your bride a to go bag! You need to eat the next day just as much. You don’t need to “correct” your diet the next day. You didn’t do anything wrong by enjoying your food at your wedding. Enjoy it all without food guilt.

If you feel you want to fuel your body, learn how to optimize your metabolism, lose fat/gain muscle, love to eat carbs and chocolate and AGAIN reach your health goals, the Strong Over Skinny Nutrition Bootcamp is the program for you!

Go to www.EnergizeNutritionRD.com/Strong-Over-Skinny to read more and sign up for the Strong Over Skinny Nutrition Bootcamp!