Many people only really think about getting in shape when they’re faced with a major event in their life. Perhaps there’s a wedding on the horizon or they’re thinking about starting a family and want to lose some pounds before the hoped for pregnancy. 

There are lots of reasons but we’re going to focus in on getting in shape for your wedding. We don’t advocate crash dieting or starting fad diets that aren’t sustainable but read on if you’ve left yourself plenty of time and want to look at a few options to help you get in the shape of your life and stay healthy.

In this article we’re talking about combining resistance or strength training with a high protein diet that will give you the shape you’re after and won’t put you in diet torture.

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How to Start

You need to start off by figuring out the amount of calories your body uses throughout the day. This is likely to be somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500. It will depend on several factors, including your height, current weight and level of activity.

Use a trusted macro calculator to make this calculation. It will also determine how much of a deficit you can safely create to start losing weight. It’s tempting to create a huge deficit and drop down your number of calories dramatically. While this might lead to faster weight loss to begin with, it almost always backfires. Hunger kicks in and you find yourself eating more and more to keep up with the additional exercise and to stave off those hunger pains.
The key is to create a sensible deficit and one that you can work healthily within. If you just stick to this alone, logging your calories on an app, you would see weight loss but combine it with a couple of other factors and you’ll change more than just the number on the scales.

Protein

When you eat more protein in your diet, it’s almost inevitable that the quality of your diet changes for the better. More lean meat and vegetables, more fish and eggs. Protein is effective at building muscles and for filling you up. If you’re struggling to get enough protein in your diet then a protein shake (not a meal replacement shake) is an ideal supplement and protein powder is readily available from grocery stores and online.

Think about upping your protein levels as you also begin the final piece in the puzzle: training.

Training

If the idea of a gym leaves you feeling worried and stressed, then don’t worry. There are plenty of moves you can carry out at home that leverage your body weight or only require something as simple as a resistance band or set of dumbells.

Forget the debate about whether cardio or weights are better, they’re just different. One thing that’s true though, you will almost certainly see quicker results from a regular weight training session.

Plan to train three times a week, fitting in any extra cardio around those sessions. To get started, you’ll need to create a plan for yourself. While, as was said up post, the gym can feel intimidating, if you want to learn to lift correctly and safely, then having a qualified trainer really is the best place to start.

Think about creating a programme that has you training your whole body. You’ll probably learn a mixture of bar work, deadlifting, some bench presses and some free weights. You may even combine these moves with some of the machines to shake things up a big.

Your goal is always towards a progressive overload, which simply means that over time you’ll be able to lift heavier weights and perform more repetitions.

Common Fears

One of the most common fears, particularly among women, is the fear of becoming too big, too muscley. With the right programme this just won’t happen. What weights are particularly effective at is burning fat, even more so than cardio. The fat burning quality of weight lifting also carries on even after you’ve finished your session as your muscles work to repair themselves and get bigger.

With the combination of a great training programme and staying in a calorie deficit you’ll be able to burn fat and build lean muscle that’s going to transform your shape.

Your arms will become more toned, your bottom more pert and your legs a shaplier size. All that with a few changes to your diet and a commitment to training. It might seem like a lot but once you fit it into your lifestyle and make it a habit, it will soon become like second nature.

Outside the gym you can walk, run or swim as an added bonus and to keep your heart and respiratory system in tip top shape.

Wedding Ready

Give yourself at least three months to reach your target goals and expect setbacks along the way. Don’t beat yourself up about going slightly over your calorie goals for the day, it happens. Don’t worry too much if you can’t get all the protein in your diet, it’s not the end of the world.

Set realistic expectations for yourself and your body and take that transformation one step at a time. If you’re planning a wedding around your health and exercise goals than there are times when training will have to come after you’ve seen a wedding venue or browsed Pure invitation wedding invites.

Anything worth doing takes time to establish, whether that’s setting and forming great eating and exercise habits or working on a relationship that you know will eventually lead you down the aisle. Be patient but set your goals high. With luck, you’ll only get married once so make a commitment to your body and to your health to make sensible, sustainable changes that are going to make big differences. Then walk down that aisle knowing you’re in the best shape of your life and ready to make a brand new start with the one you love.