Your wedding day is approaching, and among the flower orders, seating charts and keeping your normal daily tasks in order, you might feel you don’t have the time to take care of your body. You want to not only make it to your special day, but make it there in top shape! Let’s explore a few pre-wedding healthy diet ideas to ensure you have the energy for a vibrant wedding day, and the pictures to go with it!

It’s important to start off any health-forward decisions and life changes in an organized and positive way. Getting a check-up is a great way to give yourself a health-baseline as you start your diet off. This will help give you peace of mind about your overall health, give you a chance to run your diet plans past your doctor. Make a note of your vitals like your weight and blood pressure, and compare them the next time you get a check-up to see how far you’ve progressed.

2. Clearly define your goals

Once you have a handle on your health baseline, it’s time to clearly define your goals. This will help you stay focused on your goals in the long-term. For example, if your goal is weight loss, it will greatly affect the rest of your diet plans. If toning or general well-being is your goal, you may focus more on other elements of your diet.

3. Make a meal plan that suits your lifestyle

Don’t cut out every unhealthy thing you love!  Instead, moderate your meal plan to include more healthy foods, high in nutrients, and a greatly reduced amount of “comfort” foods. Many dieters experience flu-like SIBO symptoms when they start a new diet, as all the toxins in their body die off. Never fear! These symptoms last only a few days, before you’ll rebound stronger than ever!

4. Keep your meals simple

Keep your meal plan simple by specifically planning out all your meals for weeks in advance. This makes it easier to shop and stay stocked up on healthy foods before your wedding. This is a stressful time for most brides, but meal planning can take the pressure off, to decide what healthy foods you will be eating before the wedding.

5. Avoid processed food

Processed foods are not only unhealthy, they tend to cause bloating that could complicate things like dress fittings. It’s a busy time, but eliminating processed foods is as easy as substituting veggies or hummus for your normal snack foods. Or invest a little bit more in organic meats and veggies, often found at local farmers markets, to ensure you get the freshest foods, with the least amount of supply chain, refrigeration, freezing or chemicals.

6. A full colorful plate of nutrition

An easy way to quickly size up the nutrition of your chosen meal is to look for bright colors. A rainbow of colourful food means more vitamins and less preservatives. Consider cutting down on meat in the weeks leading up to your wedding, and substitute beans, greens, fruits and veggies for each meal for extra energy and increased weight loss.

7. Drink lots of water

Being dehydrated means more than a nagging headache. The more dehydrated you get, the less energy you will have, and the more aches and pains will increase. Drinking half your body weight (ounces) in water every day will help you lose weight, feel energetic and will keep your skin glowing and vibrant for the big day.

8. Enough rest

Your wedding won’t happen without you, so take some time, and get some rest before your wedding! Your diet should be doing its job at this point, and now you take over to give yourself enough time to rejuvenate. Eating the right combination of healthy foods in this period will help you rest peacefully, while your body heals and fortifies itself.

9. Take time to disconnect

Just as your body needs a chance to relax, so does your mind. Make sure to schedule time to focus on things outside your wedding plans, to ensure normal tasks don’t pile up, waiting to hit you after the wedding. Can’t get away? Try investing in a pair of wireless earbuds, to easily and imperceptibly cut down on ambient noise in your environment, and help you relax to your favourite podcast or playlist.

Your wedding day has the potential to be both the most stressful and most wonderful day of your life. It’s critical that you care for your body and health before a wedding, in just the way you watch out for your partner, family and friends. Implement this healthy diet today, for a more energetic and fulfilling wedding day!