For Weddings in Ireland.

If you have just celebrated your engagement, you are about to embark upon a new chapter of your life. You will want to walk down the isle radiant and with a super model figure admired by all, so how do you achieve this?
In an ideal world your prince charming proposal would have swept you off your feet (which it probably did) from here on everything would go exactly to plan, there would be absolutely no hitches, all the venues and service providers would have dates available to suit you, there would be no squabbles between any of your attendants. Unfortunately the reality will be somewhat different, unless you pace yourself, get fit (if you aren't already fit) stress and the extra workload that you will be trying to cope with will take its toll.

If on your wedding day you feel fit healthy and in peak condition, the confidence that you derive from this knowledge will make you positively radiant. Are you happy with your height weight ratio and confident that you will maintain this and your fitness until your wedding day and beyond, if so then you really needn't waste your time with this page. If this isn't the case, we may be able to offer some help and advice.

Lose Weight Safely.

Whatever we are led to believe, there is only one healthy way to your ideal wedding day weight. This is a combination of diet and exercise which will promote gradual weight loss. We all know exercise plays a key role in weight loss, but it is generally accepted that if you don't exercise when you diet, you may end up losing mostly lean tissue, which is exactly what you don't want to happen.

So if you are serious about this start off by cutting down on you intake of sweets, replace them with fruit and vegetables, choose lean cuts of meat, avoid fatty foods, forget about the Ulster fry for breakfast, and drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day.

What you have to bear in mind is that even if you exercise daily, and don't keep a check on your calorie intake you may not, and probably won't lose weight, what is probably a very simple analogy of this is the fuel tank of a car, if you try to put too much petrol in the tank, it will simply overflow, evolution has equipped us to store this extra fuel, so to speak as fat, intending us to use it up at times when the food supply is less plentiful, which doesn't happen in the western world. Not yet!

The aim is to lose body fat not body weight. Studies in America have shown that dieting without exercise, encourages your body to use the lean muscle mass for its daily energy requirement, but if you add exercise to the equation the body will, realising the muscle is needed turn to the store of fat for fuel.

Our Formula.

RFI+E=HHB

RFI = Reduced Food Input
E = Exercise.
HHB = Happy Healthy Body.

The simple formula for weight loss is Calories used must exceed calories consumed. So begin your new lifestyle with a sensible healthy eating plan, aiming to lose 1 or 2 lb. (say 1/2 to 1 kg) per week, which depending on your stature (more about that later) would mean a calorie intake of 1200 per day. When you start your diet will depend on how much weight you have to lose, if you have a significant amount, then you may need six or seven months. It may be worth adding at this point that maybe you should consider this as a lifestyle rather than a diet, a diet implies something that is short term, which it is, but what happens when you stop the diet? are you going to regain the weight? You really don't want that to happen! do you?

Prepare Yourself.

So you have decided to do it, where do you start? First of all get your self organised, for a few days before you start keep a food diary and record in it what you eat, at what time, and if you wish your thoughts and emotions. Try to make this diary as comprehensive as possible if you can recognise what is triggering your cravings, you will be better equipped to combat and overcome them.

Organise you kitchen, get yourself a set of kitchen scales, liquid and dry measuring jugs, and a set of measuring spoons. Empty your cupboards of the foods considered as unhealthy, and restock with the healthy options. This done you are ready to start, pick an auspicious date to begin on, and if I may offer a few words of advice approach it with a positive mental attitude "I can and I will." And don't forget it is important to maintain your diary fully throughout the entire period of your diet.

How Fit Are You Now ?

It is important to determine your level of fitness, if you are a member of a gym then this isn't a problem they will have the necessary equipment in house to carry out the necessary tests, which may consist of a cardiovascular fitness test (which accesses your fitness level on a treadmill or step machine) You may be given a body composition test (which analyses the ratio of fat to muscle) as well as a joint flexibility test, and a muscular strength test.

If you aren't a member of a health club, you will just have to access yourself by doing the tests below and recording the results.

1. How long it takes you to run a mile.
2. How many sit-ups you can do in one minute.
3. Record your weight and height.
4. Record your waist, thigh and chest measurement.

It is important to have this data available to track your progress.

What Type Of Exercise?

The best exercises for weight reduction and to improve fitness are the so called big muscle exercises. These use large muscle groups in a continuous or rhythmic manner, they include walking, swimming, cycling, hiking, and running.

You should choose one of the activities above that you enjoy, and start with sessions not lasting much more than 15 minutes at a time, and at least three times a week. You will find that after a surprisingly few of these sessions your endurance will have improved considerably. Don't push yourself too hard initially if you find it difficult to carry on a conversation whilst you are exercising you need to slow down a little.

As your endurance level improves increase the length of the session and also up your exertion level. Remember the effect of these exercises are cumulative so if you can only manage 15 minutes in the morning, at lunch time and in the evening, the benefits will be just as good as one long session.

Resistance Training or Pumping The Lead.

Most women believe that weight lifting and resistance training will leave them with body looking like Charles Atlas, well this isn't true women don't have enough of the male hormone testosterone to enable them to build large mussel mass. If you need to lose a lot of weight or even if you don't there is nothing better to tone up the body and increase the feel good factor than resistance training.

You will find that resistance training perfectly compliments your aerobic exercises, it will sculpt your body and increase your bone strength. As with the aerobics start with low weights, don't push your self too hard stop before you become too exhausted. As your endurance builds up add more weight or more resistance and increase the number of repetitions.

Improve Your Flexibility.

Flexibility is something that isn't talked about much, and of course it is very important. Doing stretching exercises will have the manifold effects of increasing your flexibility, helping to protect you from muscular injury and will improve your overall fitness level. As with all the exercises don't overdo it initially ten seconds to start with working up to one minute.

Targeting A Problem Area.

We all look at our selves in the mirror an think if only I could flatten my tummy, reduce my thighs, exercises can be tailored to target these areas and they will tone the muscles, resulting in noticeable improvements. Target these areas certainly but remember the results will be much better if you start with a program of exercises that will benefit your whole body.

Feeding The New You.

So when you are engaged in your workout routine with beads of sweat covering your body, are you going to think that you are entitled to stop on the way home for a big Mac ? The answer is naturally No! The crucial thing to remember is that to lose weight you must expend more calories than you consume. Naturally with all that extra exercise that you are not used to you are most likely going to feel hungry, you must resist and eat sensibly, the end result you achieve will be if you up your calorie input in line with the exercises.

The secret is to strike a happy balance, when you are taking regular exercise you need to take special care that your body receives the nourishment that it needs, it will have become more efficient, and will be relying on the vitamins and minerals in the healthy foods that you should be eating, to fuel itself and to develop your new healthier body.

It is probably a good idea to supplement your diet with a multivitamins

Change Your Life.

The solution to staying healthy and maintaining your new slimmer self, is to make healthy eating and exercise a way of life. Are you going to give it up as soon as the wedding day is over ? letting your weight creep up and your fitness level slip down. It certainly wouldn't be a sensible thing to do.

Start your married life as you mean to go on, if you haven't involved your spouse by try to involve him now and make it a joint effort, don't forget in the fullness of time you will have children you owe it to them to show them a good example health wise.

A Healthy Diet.

You are what you eat so if your diet is less than perfect this will be inevitably be reflected in your health and well-being, remember your body has to last you the rest of your life, maltreat it at your peril.
So what is considered to be the ideal diet to keep you in peak condition both physically and mentally to cope with life's ups and downs?

There are conflicting schools of thought here, one advocates a balanced diet of proteins and carbohydrates.

The other holds that carbohydrates disturb the body's insulin and glucose balance, resulting in the pancreas excreting high levels of insulin to support the glucose levels produced by carbohydrates, which leaves you feeling tired and inclined to redress the balance by consuming even more carbohydrates.
This school of thought maintains that the diet should consist of high quality fresh fruit and non starchy vegetables, along with organic meat and fish.

Exercise Together.

If you and your partner have outdoor interests in common then you are fortunate, put this to good use to improve your fitness, by making regular dates to engage in your chosen activity, and setting realistic health targets. If possible take a walk each evening, a brisk walk is vastly superior to a leisurely stroll, exercise is much more effective if you keep taking your self to your limit, not of course to a state of exhaustion.

Beauty Sleep.

How many times have we heard the saying "Get your beauty sleep" well it really is true. Sleep is a time of regeneration, a time when your body in effect sends out the repair gangs to make good the damage that your body has sustained during your stressful day

Effects Of Stress.

The liver is the organ that is effected most by stress, its energy level is weakened leaving you feeling fatigued. If at the same time you have embarked on a pre wedding diet then this will exacerbate the situation even further, by eating less you will have even less energy. All the food you eat is converted into energy, in order to diet and not to feel exhausted it is important to reduce your overall food intake but eat more often.

Body Wraps.

Body wraps have been promoted as the instant answer to slimming, well the bad news is that they aren't, they offer a short term weight loss. It is essentially a muscle toning treatment that uses galvanic electrodes to help the active ingredients work further into the skin, and faradic electrodes which tone the muscles, the thermal clay and algae help to detoxify the body, and improve skin texture.

How Often.
A normal course would consist of five treatments. There are not usually any side effects although the treatment is not recommended if you have any of the following conditions hyperthyroid, heart conditions, kidney or liver disorders, thrombosis. Do not have a treatment too soon after waxing or if you are pregnant.

How much may I loose?
You may loose one inch perhaps even two after the first treatment, to keep the inches off you will need regular treatments. You will see an improvement over time but remember it isn't permanent. Regular exercise and a healthy diet will give you much better results in the long term, and at a lot less cost.

Tricks to boost your energy levels.

Use Smell.
There are several uplifting aromatherapic up lifters, there are peppermint, lemon eucalyptus

Dietary Substitutes.

Whatever claims the purveyors of miracle slimming potions (if that is the right term) your fitness and well-being are inextricably linked to diet and exercise. Your body will react to what you consume, and how you treat it, if your calorie intake is excessive then this excess will be stored as fat, with inevitably weight gain, your once trim and enviable figure almost imperceptibly changes to one which may be, lets say " less than perfect."

We won't be popular in some quarters by this piece of advice we proffer to you. Forget about the quick fix chemical solution's, they may well work but probably only in the short term, and at what cost to your body it is unnatural to feed your body with appetite suppressing chemicals.