8 Tips for Brides to Stay in Shape Post Wedding
Brides naturally want to look their best on their wedding day, so it’s not uncommon for a future bride to hire a trainer and begin a new fitness regime to help them lose weight, tone-up and look and feel their best on their big day.
Unfortunately, research shows that most brides regain the weight they lose between their honeymoon and their first anniversary. What’s more is that research also shows that after this first year, married women are twice as likely as single women to become obese - YIKES!
Here are 8 strategies and points to keep in mind when it comes to staying in shape after your wedding, and/or getting in shape after your first anniversary.
1. Enjoy your honeymoon on your honeymoon: just like for holidays, enjoy your honeymoon on your honeymoon, and get back into normal, healthy living and routines as soon as you get back.
2. Agree on rules for your kitchen: for better or worse you all will be the biggest influence on how your partner eats – make it for the best. Be clear with each other on what needs to be in the kitchen, and more importantly what you need to not have in the kitchen.
3. Get the TV out of the bedroom: when it comes to health and weight loss, sleep is huge, and having a TV in your bedroom can easily cost you 30min to 2hrs of sleep per night. Use your bedroom for sleep and *cough* that other thing… don’t let the TV get in the way of either!
4. Have regular physical adventures together: if you all don’t workout together, then having regular fun and physically active things that you do together (vs. TV as a default) can be great for your marriage and your fitness. It doesn’t have to be running or biking – you can hike the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls, go to a Water Park and play like a kid, go golfing, etc.
5. Fill the void in your schedule: now that planning a wedding isn’t eating up a big chunk of your life, fill it with something other than TV. This time can easily be used to resume your workout schedule.
6. Shop and cook together as a couple: If there’s nothing consistently healthy and ready to eat in your house then you’ll end up living on take out and delivery. Besides being very expensive, this will likely lead to weight gain and low energy levels. If you shop and cook as a couple it can be part of your quality time together and it ensures that you all have food in the fridge and prepped for the week. For recipe ideas, take a look here.
7. Set up post-honeymoon accountability before you leave: the best time to set up your accountability appointment (we do On Points for all of our members) is before you leave. Vacations have a way of getting everyone off track and having a set appointment for when you get back helps to force you back on track sooner rather than later.
8. It’s not about the dress anymore – shift your motivation: now that you’re married, an aesthetic focused goal may not provide enough motivation for you to follow through on good nutrition and exercise habits. That works for the wedding day, but generally not afterwards. Now it’s time to focus on quality of life, health, being there for your partner, etc. Don’t worry, these goals still require regular exercise and good eating, so you’ll still get the aesthetic results you enjoyed earlier, but focusing on quality of life, health and energy will help you better tap into your motivation now that your priorities are different.
Whether you are about to get married, or you've already tied the knot, our 14 Day Trial might be a great idea for you and your spouse to do together to kickstart your fitness.