Wedding Blog: Don’t Be A "Bulging Bride"
If you watch Slice, there is no doubt at all that you know who Tommy Europe is. For those of you who don’t know, he is a former professional football player, now a personal trainer and the star of Slice’s The Last Ten Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides. He takes brides on a 6-week journey to toning up, shredding the fat and looking fabulous in their wedding dress.
Every bride want to feel their prettiest on their wedding day. Tommy is there to help, focusing on a strict exercise schedule and training with brides-to-be 3 times a week and 2 times a week, on their own. With help from his partner, nutritionist expert, Nadeen Boman, this duo kicks brides’ butts into shape and have them looking and feeling spectacular in their dress.
Common sense is eating well and in right quantities and following your exercise plan as well. Tommy Europe says that people who are healthy, or try and follow a healthy lifestyle, do commit “5 stupid things” that do not help them reach their goals. You probably stay away from sugar, never ever eat fast food and exercise regularly, but are you guilty of any of the following 5 weight sabotagers that Tommy warns about?
You don’t drink enough water.
Tommy says that 75% of the population is chronically dehydrated and dehydrated people suffer from fatigue, irritability, headaches, nausea, rapid heart rate and even death. In terms of weight loss, dehydration slows down your metabolism and hinders weight loss. Solution: Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water every day. Have a glass with every meal and carry a water bottle everywhere you go.
You eat out too often.
Most people eat out one of every 4 meals and snacks, which is an average of once a day. Because food from a restaurant is made to taste great, there is an alarming amount of sugar, fat and salt in every menu item, therefore, packing in many unnecessary calories. “Healthy” items, like salads ordered in restaurants are usually ruined with all the fatty and sugary dressings and will never compare health-wise to meals prepared at home. People eat out often because it is convenient and they are pressed for time. Take the time to plan your meals for the week, make a grocery stop and pack your lunch and snacks every night for the next day. This will keep you from grabbing anything that is fast and probably not good for your weight-loss efforts.
You are deprived of sleep.
More than half the adult population is suffering from a lack of sleep and not getting your 7-8 hours is harmful to your immune system and interferes with proper hormone release and repairing of cells. This, in turn, leads to weight gain and sickness. Combat this by setting a scheduled bedtime and your body will eventually develop a consistent sleeping and waking routine and get all the rest it needs. Also, stay away from caffeinated drinks after lunch and very importantly, stop eating for at least 3 hours before turning in, thus eliminating indigestion and super-charging your weight loss.
You are stressed out.
Stress makes you fat. Almost everyone is stressed and some are so stressed that this affects their health and weight. Imagine the stress of a bride-to-be especially closer to her wedding. Stress of money, getting into that dress, details for the wedding… Stress leads to an increase in the hormone, cortisol, and chronic stress leads to a chronic increase in cortisol. This in turn, slows down your metabolism, leads to cravings and is linked to greater levels of abdominal fat. Not what you want in your wedding pictures. How to resolve this? Write down what is causing you stress. It can be about what still needs to be done, issues that have been weighing on your mind (MOH conflict? Issues with future in-laws?), budget or anything else that is stressing you out. Once this is all written down in front of you, organize a to-do list and start resolving these issues and this will get the stress off your mind and propel you towards revolving each issue.
Your exercise routine is the same day-in and day-out.
Performing the same routines every time you exercise at the same pace and same duration will be comfortable, but your weight loss efforts will plateau. It isn’t about increasing the amount of time you work out, but about challenging your body. Increase he effectiveness of your exercise routine by increasing your pace and intensity. Vary your speed and intensity to keep your muscles guessing and adapting. This has led Tommy to creating his HITZ (High Intensity Training Zone) system. You can see this put to work on every episode of Tommy’s “Bulging Brides” and “The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp” on Slice.
Another way to break through the plateau is to do something entirely new and different. Tommy is a huge promoter of functional training, which he defines as, “working smarter and not harder”. So, make your cardio more interesting and if you normally jog on the treadmill, start using the bike, or include interval training into your routine. Use your imagination and mix things up, like joining a kickboxing class, go swimming or trail running. Breaking a plateau will take your routine to the next level and get you back on track, getting you easily into that wedding dress.
Written by Rita Wong, Rita Wong Events http://www.ritawongevents.com
Rita Wong is a wedding and events planner and owner of Rita Wong Events. Based in Montreal, Rita also plans many weddings every year for brides living in Toronto and abroad. She is a dedicated follower of new trends and her goal is to give each bride a wedding that is fresh, unique, and a personal reflection of who they are. She now shares her professional insights with slice.ca.
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