Guest Blogger: Will I fit into my dress?

This week My Guest Blogger is Claire from Integrate Nutrition. Here she has given you all some fab advice regarding your diets….and the best ways to help you look and feel great on your wedding day.

Will I fit into my dress?

There are two things that weddings bring- stress and diets! There are many worries and exasperations a bride has to face, one of which being- will I fit into my dress! Unfortunately for brides, the combination of stress and diets normally means one thing, increased weight gain. Yes really! Both dieting and stress affect your body’s metabolism in a way that encourages adiposity. That is the storage of fat.

Eating the right sources of foods means that you are giving your body the right fuel to work properly and you will naturally maintain a healthy weight. Ever put diesel instead of petrol into your car? The results are not good! The same principles apply to you. Many “diets” involve regimes that make you feel so hungry that you end up craving all the wrong sorts of foods- cake, biscuits, huge bacon butties! You enter a cycle of frustration- you diet, you crave certain foods, so you eat, then you get angry with yourself and the diet begins once again. This cycle makes weight loss become harder and harder as your body fears starvation and stores fat more readily.

Here are three guiding principles that will keep you both fuelled correctly and keep you in balance.

1. Cut out refined and processed carbohydrates. Replace white bread, white pasta, white rice with wholemeal, brown, granary. These are complex wholegrains which release energy more slowly, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. Other complex grains include oats, rye, quinoa.

2. Watch your sugar levels. Unfortunately sugar is a primary evil! Excess sugar is converted into fat by the body. Also, the need to keep your blood sugar levels balanced is major. The results are balanced mood and energy levels plus reduced stress. Principles 1 and 3 will also help stabilise blood sugar levels. Watch out for hidden sugars in cereals, sauces and even weight loss products! Cutting down on all processed foods is the easiest way to do this. Try replacing biscuits with oatcakes and humus. Eating protein (nuts, seeds, humus, fish, meat, low fat diary products) with every meal also helps stabilise blood sugar levels.

3. Reduce your caffeine levels. Replace tea/ coffee with herbal teas or hot water & lemon. Green tea still contains caffeine but at a much lower level, helping to reduce the pain of caffeine withdrawal! Excess caffeine affects your stress hormones and increased stress = Fat. Hormones released by your body in times of stress create chemical changes to occur within the body which promote fat storage, particularly around your middle. (If you are really struggling to loose weight, this could be an indication of a hormonal imbalance.)

In a snap hot- eat complex carbohydrates, eat protein with all meals including snacks, reduce caffeine, eat seeds, nuts & fish and increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Eating good food isn’t as hard as you think as long as you keep some essentials in your cupboard for when munchies attack!

On your big day, you not only want to look great but you want to feel great. By following these principles your body will begin to be able to cope with the demands that planning a wedding brings, keeping you in shape and enabling you to be both a beautiful and serene bride!

Integrate Nutrition is a nutritional therapy consultancy offering personalised nutrition programmes and health plans. Our aim is to educate people so that they understand how powerful the relationship between what they eat and how they feel really is. Our clinic specialises in stress and fatigue related issues.

Contact Integrate Nutrition: Health Solutions For Increased Vitality and Well-Being.
www.integratenutrition.co.uk
[email protected]