Starting healthy, staying happy
By Sarah Basher and Erin Morris | posted on September 21, 2011 at 10:31am
Long before their wedding day, couples should consider a fitness regimen
Your wedding date is set and details both large and small are crowding your mind. Decisions are waiting to be made, and one of the most important involves getting healthy for your new life together.
Knowing that pictures and video will forever capture the event, more and more brides are working hard to look their best.
“Start as soon as possible,” advises Allie Dean, general manager of Best Fitness in Tonawanda. “Depending on the shape you are in now, the more time you put into it, the better results you’ll get.”
Adds Andrew Waters, of Terrie’s Workout Center: “All you’re doing is running around during the months before your wedding. The last thing you need is the pressure to drop five or 10 pounds right before the big day.”
But that journey toward fitness may have some bumps along the way.
“When you were in high school, you could eat salad for a week and lose five pounds,” says Brooke Cartus, personal training director at the Buffalo Athletic Club. But, the bodies of “women who are in their 20s and 30s change,” and crash diets may no longer work, she explains.
Pre-wedding fitness regimens should include more than weight-loss goals; they should focus on getting healthy. Area fitness centers provide a variety of exercise programs designed to start you on your healthy journey.
Bride-to-be boxing, Downtown BAC
Brooke Cartus’ workshop engages brides-to-be, grooms-to-be and bridal parties big and small, in boxing and conditioning exercises with the goal of toning the parts of their bodies accentuated by their wedding or bridesmaid dresses.
“Boxing is a great workout for targeting the back and arms,” usually showcased on brides with sleeveless/strapless/backless numbers, says Cartus. She asks her clients to bring in photos of their dresses so she can coach them with specific exercises that target the muscle groups needing the most toning.
“Beyond toning,” Cartus adds, “boxing is a total body workout. Strength, power, coordination, fitness and endurance will all be tested during each class.”
At BAC, Cartus offers one-on-one training and group training from the bride and a few of her bridesmaids to the entire wedding party.
Visualizing your personal best, Best Fitness, Eggert Road, Tonawanda
Getting in shape is all about setting personal goals and attaining them, and Best Fitness utilizes special software to help keep clients on track.
“We have what’s called the Visual Fitness Planner,” explains Allie Dean. “It’s a program that builds a workout plan based on the client’s lifestyle. We enter exercise history, family history, age, weight, eating habits and many other factors, and the software develops a workout plan and a meal plan based on the results.”
“Start out slow,” advises Dean. “I recommend coming three days a week to start. Don’t plan on coming five or six days a week because you’ll get burned out.”
Brides- and grooms-to-be keep busy schedules, but setting aside a reasonable amount of time each week will provide relief from daily stress and ensure you’re working toward your fitness goals.
Including members of the bridal party can increase motivation. “We offer partner personal training and group personal training,” explains Dean. “So brides-to-be, grooms-to-be and their wedding parties can all work out together in order to motivate each other.”
Wedding boot camp, Terrie’s Workout Center, Hertel Avenue, Buffalo
The entire wedding party can get in shape with the guidance of personal trainers at Terrie’s Workout Center. Call it a boot camp where you can get healthier and also relieve some pre-wedding stress.
“You can tell that brides-to-be try hard to make everybody happy,” says Andrew Waters. “Most are spending $15,000 to $30,000 on their wedding. There are a lot of decisions to be made and they just want to make everyone happy. It can be a stressful time.”
Waters recommends a three times-per-week workouts as your time to relieve stress, whether you’re the bride-to-be, groom-to-be, or a member of the wedding party.
He advises setting realistic goals. “Some brides, in an attempt to lose weight, will buy a wedding dress a size or two too small. If the woman is motivated, it’s a great way to keep the goal. There’s not much more to motivate women than their wedding day,” he adds.
While workouts are essential, Waters is also a firm believer that eating right will ultimately help brides and grooms reach their goals.
His mantra for getting on track in both exercise and diet? “If most people started working out just three times a week, they’d motivate themselves to change their diet. Small changes get great, long-term results.”
So, what kinds of small changes in your diet can help lead to a healthier lifestyle? Buffalo area trainers offer these recommendations:
Small change No. 1: Change your eating schedule
“What I find is that a lot of people are eating the wrong kinds of food at the wrong times of the day,” says Waters. “They don’t know how to eat properly due to their work schedule.”
“If you work long days, bring lots of food with you, bring snacks, bring meals,” suggests Dean. “When you plan what you are going to eat you are less likely to pick here, pick there, and then go home and have a huge meal and go to bed.”
Adds Cartus: “I go grocery shopping for my car and for my house. When you open my glove compartment, you see nuts and granola. It’s about those healthy choices. Design a plan for all of your meals and snacks for the week,” and you’ll be less likely to go off track.
Small change No. 2: Cut out the sweets
“Sweets and sugar in general tend to add on the pounds,” says Dean, who advises to “always watch what you eat, but you should also watch what you drink; everything you drink should be either diet or water. If you’re a juice drinker, eat a piece of fruit instead; you’ll cut down on the sugar and still get nutrients from the fruit.”
Cartus also advises to “always read the labels on anything you are purchasing. ‘Lite’ only means a percentage less than average. People say, ‘Oh, it’s lite! Oh, it’s low fat!’ Great. It may still have as many calories.”
Small change No. 3: Mentally prepare for seasonal eating
Summer means barbecues while winter means holiday treats. And with seasonal eating, “everything should be in moderation,” says Dean. “Don’t fast all day because you’re going somewhere where you know you’ll gorge yourself. Eat a little something that is good for you before you go to a party so that you won’t be as hungry when you actually get to the place. This will help you to cut down on the temptations.”
“You gotta toss the hot dogs. You gotta toss the beer,” adds Cartus.
Small change No. 4: Splurge once a week
But if you can’t resist the urge for beer, hot dogs or any other goody, “splurge once a week. Even if it’s that once-a-week mocha,” suggests Cartus. “But keep in mind that you can’t splurge often, even if you exercise.”
A common misconception is that exercising allows you to eat whatever you want. Calories are calories, fat is fat, and the more of them you put into your body, the harder it will be to stay healthy, the experts say.
“When people are in relationships and when people get married, they are more likely to gain weight,” says Dean. “Just try to stay consistent with your diet and exercise regimen, both before and after you get married. It is important to never get complacent – continual regimens will guarantee a healthy lifestyle.”
Why is it so important for brides- and grooms-to-be to stay on track?
“Make the rest of your life last as long as you can,” says Cartus. “Don’t let it go. It all comes down to health.”
Erin Morris is a copywriter in The News Marketing Department. Sara Basher was a summer intern.
