Wedding Wednesday: On Dieting

Shortly after getting engaged, I had a few different people ask me what "wedding diet" I was going to go on. My initial reaction was to be upset by their question and the implication that I even needed to go on a diet prior to getting married. However, the question was usually followed up by the statement "not that you need to go on a diet or anything, but I just figured you would since everyone else does".

Here's my two cents on that. "Diets" are terrible ideas (sorry if you thought you were going to be getting an analysis of the different, popular wedding diets in this post. You aren't). Most diets produce results that are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. And long-term, constantly going on and off diets can actually be bad for your body.

Now, that isn't to say I'm against people wanting to look their best at their wedding. I totally understand that these are pictures that you will (hopefully) cherish for the rest of your life and you want to look good in them. But ideally, you'll want to look good after them as well. Personally, I think I would get upset looking at my wedding photos if they were images of a much slimmer me that I had lost shortly after getting married. I feel like the pictures would "taunt" me with an image of what I could look like, and make me feel guilty for how I currently looked.

The solution? (Yes, I do have one. This isn't going to be a total Debbie-Downer kind of post. Although I'm sort of in that mood today which maybe explains my choice of topic.) Find a lifestyle change that will work for you. Lifestyle changes aren't easy--but the results and benefits are much longer lasting than a 30-day juice cleanse diet. Start small if you need to--cut out one fast food meal per week. Go for a 30 minute walk one night per week. Switch your afternoon soda to a glass of water. Pack a handful of carrots with your lunch. Sure, you may not see results as immediately as you would if you jumped on board with an extreme diet plan, but trust me, you will see results. And they will be much easier to maintain because you've built the habits into your daily life--not into some crazy liquid diet that you'll drop immediately after the wedding.

It's one thing to look your best on your wedding day. But to be able to maintain that change and continue to look your best (and even continue to fit into your wedding dress) five, ten, even fifteen years down the road? Now that's an accomplishment to be proud of.

Food for thought.