If your wedding day is fast approaching and you haven’t quite managed to hit your body goals yet, you might be starting to enter panic mode.
But instead of giving in to the stress and feeling of dread, try some of these five tips that will help you get in shape for the big day:
Look at Your Plate
The majority of fitness happens in the kitchen, as the popular saying goes. So instead of trying to maximize your workouts (we’ll get to that in a minute), take a look at your nutrition first.
Even by making slight changes, you can achieve some great results:
- Compose your meals of 2 servings of veg, 1 serving of protein, and 1 serving of healthy carbs.
- Cut out all unhealthy snacking until the big day.
- Cut out all unhealthy drinks – plain water, black coffee, and green tea without milk or sugar should be all you drink.
- Eat vegetables and fruits if you feel the need to munch on something.
However, don’t reduce your caloric intake dramatically, as that can backfire and you can instead end up holding on to each bite you eat as your body starts to believe there is no food in its future.
Drink More Water
Water will help you flush out toxins and prevent you from eating as much. Not to mention, your skin will also be glowing with your entire body properly hydrated.
Since you are drinking plain water, try to set yourself a goal for each day. Get one of those portable water bottles you can lug around everywhere, and set an alarm to remind you to drink. It might be a bit annoying, but it will help.
Sleep More and Recover Better
Sleep promotes recovery and helps your muscles grow. So if you are exercising and eating right but can’t seem to get into better shape, the culprit might be lack of sleep.
When your body is too tired and you don’t give it enough time to repair the damage you’ve caused during the day, the results will simply not be there.
Start by looking at your mattress – is it comfy enough and do you like sleeping on it? If not, find a nice one here and treat yourself to some better sleep. Then make it a point to go to bed on time, eliminate all noise and light (that means your phone) in bed, and focus on the rest.
Kickstart Your Workout
If you are working out but you’re not getting any leaner, you may have hit a plateau. Don’t panic – it can be overcome, even though it will take some effort.
Start by upping your exercise volume. You can do this by adding more reps or sets, or even incorporating completely new exercises into your routine. You definitely want to change your routine and do exercises you don’t normally do. Focus on compound movements that will activate more muscle groups at once.
You can also try slowing down your exercises, as this will make them harder. Drop sets are also a great way to add some extra tension and switch things up.
If you don’t normally do HIIT, add in a day of it to your routine. It will help you burn more calories and make you spend a great deal of energy.
Walk More
Finally, you want to add more steps to your day. Walking is a great way to get in shape, and if all you’re doing is weights and moderating your caloric intake, you definitely want to start walking more.
Do this with a friend while planning the big day, do it on your own while running errands, or you can even walk in your home. 10,000 steps is the goal you want to be hitting – and it will take you roughly an hour and a half at a moderate pace.
Final Thoughts
Remember that stress also plays an important role in muscle gain and weight loss, so if you are excessively and overly stressing about the wedding day, you’re sabotaging all your other efforts to get in shape. Try to keep your stressors to a minimum; relax, focus on the happiness surrounding you, and you will get in shape just in time.