Fit and fabulous

There is a reason why bridal shops don’t book brides in for their first dress fitting until six to eight weeks before the wedding, as loosing weight and toning up those wobbly bits will be a high priority for most brides before the big day.

It’s the one day of our lives when we can justifiably be the centre of attention. We can spend guilt-free hours making sure we look perfect, starting long before the actual wedding day, and, in fact, that is the key.

By starting early you can work out a realistic programme of exercise and healthy living to prevent you falling at the first hurdle.

There are plenty of resources you can call upon to help you plan your pre-wedding body beautiful programme, from diet groups such as Weight Watchers, to companies that freshly prepare, cook, pack and then deliver nutritionally-balanced meals direct to your door.

The internet is also a great source of useful information and recipes to help make the transition into the world of calorie counting easier and tastier.

We all know that eating healthily isn’t the only answer either. Regular physical exercise is essential to tone up your body and make you look your best in both the wedding dress and honeymoon bikini.

Not only will exercise make you look good, it will also make you feel good, as exercise raises the levels of endorphins (a mood chemical) in your brain, giving feelings of pleasure and raising mood. It also contributes to a sense of achievement. So if you’re feeling stressed out from wedding organisation, the best thing to do is hit the gym.

All gyms have instructors and personal trainers who can create a programme targeted to any problem areas, including a structured development to ensure you don’t get bored or lose the intensity of the exercise as your body gets used to it.

The main thing is to set realistic goals and don’t get too hung up on setting target weights, you’ll only be disappointed if you’re even a pound over and it’s more about the way you look and feel, not the number on the weighing scales.