Losing Weight for the New Year/Your Wedding

We’re several weeks into the new year now and if you’re like a majority of the population, you resolved to lose weight in 2013; either in preparation of your upcoming destination wedding, or just to be a better, healthier you. If you’ve stuck with your resolution so far and have started to make changes to your diet or fitness routine you’re already ahead of the curve as studies show most people abandon their resolutions early on. Go you! For anyone who’s looking for a little inspiration or some tips and support, look no further than our guide!

Be Specific!

Set a specific goal. You already know you want to lose weight. Do you want to lose inches? Pounds? Fit into a specific dress size? If you take the time to consider your desired end result it helps focus your overall plan.

Be Realistic!

Make sure your goal is reasonable. Are you starting this new plan with only a couple months to go? If so, you might want to adjust the goal you have in mind to fit the time constraints. Or does your preferred method cost money you may not have now that you’re saving for a wedding? If you have your eye on gym memberships, personal training or boot camps that can be expensive, consider purchasing weight loss DVDs or finding streaming workout options on Netflix or Amazon and working out in your own home. To get started, here are some of our favorite workout DVDs at various price points:

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred ($8.15 on Amazon)

Jillian Michaels 6-Week Six-Pack ($7.72 on Amazon)

Gaiam Resistance Cord Workout ($19.95 on Amazon)

Crunch Fat-Burning Pilates ($6.49 on Amazon)

Lauren Brooks Kettlebell Lightning ($34.95 on Amazon)

The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Weight Loss Yoga ($7.72 on Amazon)

Billy Blanks' Tae-Bo - Instructional Workout, Basic, Advanced, 8-Minute Workout ($58.18 on Amazon)

Be Proactive!

Make a plan for how you are going to accomplish your goals. Are you going to count calories? Cut out carbs? Join a gym? Sign up for boot camp? Buy and do workout DVDs? Whatever you decide, make sure you form a plan that takes into account both diet AND fitness. Doing one without the other won’t yield nearly as much results as doing them both at the same time. If you’re the type of person who does better planning everything out to the letter, make yourself a calendar and slot out your workout days and meals. Be sure to have plenty of “safe” foods like fruits, veggies and whole grains on hand so you can make healthy choices when hunger strikes.  If you’re short on time or just aren’t big on cooking, frozen foods can occasionally be healthy. Stick to frozen veggies or brown rice. For full meals, here’s a list of 20 healthy frozen dinners, with included nutritional information.

Be Accountable!

Now that you have specific, realistic goals, and a plan, STICK TO IT! We all slip and miss a day of working out, or a cheat meal turns into a cheat day or couple of days. But if you fall off the program don’t beat yourself up about it—start fresh the next day and try to do better. Make sure to track your progress with regular weigh-ins. It helps to say motivated when you start seeing results!

And if possible, get yourself a workout or weight loss buddy so you can keep each other honest. Or, even better, get the support of an entire weight loss community and join our Biggest Loser contest!

Join Our Biggest Loser Contest!

Prefer your tips in quick bullet form? Here are some highlights and additional tips in do/don’t format. Let us know if we missed any!

Do:

• Set specific, realistic goals
• Make a solid plan and stick to it
• Keep healthy foods on hand
• Watch portion sizes
• Drink plenty of water
• Get plenty of sleep
• Track your progress
• Get a workout/weight loss buddy

Don’t:

• Drink your calories
• Skip meals
• Beat yourself up if you temporarily get off track

Need more motivation?

Join our Biggest Loser contest for a chance to win some money!

Connect with other users in the official P90x support group thread!

Connect with other users in the official Insanity support group thread!

Good luck!!

Tip:  You can read this in article form here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/a/losing-weight-for-the-new-year-your-wedding and you can subscribe to articles by clicking the "articles" heading/button right below your Best Destination Wedding Activity window on BDW main.

This is sooo helpful! I don't have a wedding date set, but these tips are always good to keep in mind. I am going to be headed back to Hawaii in 6 weeks.... so READY, SET, GO! 

great tips Alexis!

Excellent tips, Alexis!  You have motivated me to give the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred a try. I am a bit fed up of the gym and want to try something different to possibly drop another 10lbs before my wedding in April so why not?  

Awesome! Good luck!!

Great advice, Alexis!   My greatest advice is to do a food diary with a calorie count.  And, to help, I highly recommend Calorie Counter website, http://caloriecount.about.com/.   I have been logging everything I eat for about three weeks, which helped a lot with monitoring what I eat.  Then, in the last week I have been writing down my calories and, wow, it really opened my eyes.  I found that I had been eating 1000 + calories just for dinner!   And, it wasn't even keeping me full!  I just didn't realize how many calories breads and pasta have.  I have really changed my eating habits and now my dress is already fitting a lot better!  

Good luck, ladies!

Court

p.s. The food diary is even better if you do it with a friend.  I am doing it with a friend through Google Docs.  

Originally Posted by CourtandMatt 

 

Great advice, Alexis!   My greatest advice is to do a food diary with a calorie count.  And, to help, I highly recommend Calorie Counter website, http://caloriecount.about.com/.   I have been logging everything I eat for about three weeks, which helped a lot with monitoring what I eat.  Then, in the last week I have been writing down my calories and, wow, it really opened my eyes.  I found that I had been eating 1000 + calories just for dinner!   And, it wasn't even keeping me full!  I just didn't realize how many calories breads and pasta have.  I have really changed my eating habits and now my dress is already fitting a lot better!  

 

Good luck, ladies!

 

Court

 

p.s. The food diary is even better if you do it with a friend.  I am doing it with a friend through Google Docs.  

A food diary is a great tip!! And they make it so easy now with apps, as you mentioned. I too had the crazy calorie realization after I started using the My Fitness Pal app.

Good advice. Will have to start counting my calories too. Any tips as to a good (free to download) app?

Good advice. Will have to start counting my calories too. Any tips as to a good (free to download) app?

Thank you.