Our bride blogger, Alicia, is back for installment 5 on the Modern Wedding blog. In this post she writes very honestly about her pre-wedding fitness campaign.
Are you on a pre-wedding fitness campaign? When I recently tried on wedding gowns and realised that dresses are made for the female form, I also realised I could quite happily walk down the aisle just the way I am. But then, when I started planning our honeymoon I was repeatedly ambushed with daydreams of myself toned and fat stomached, lithly draped across a sunbed in a Thailand resort. So with some trepidation I have decided to go for that uber flat tummy through fitness and diet.
There are many great fitness options out there which, if I’m moderately committed and disciplined, should give me results. I have to admit it, I do have vices, and with a few small adjustments I should get some improvement in the way I look or feel.With our wedding budget in mind I decided to tighten up and utilise the free outdoors around me. I chose the online fitness and food program Bride Body and in five weeks I lost four kgs. This was a big surprise to me because I’ve tried numerous fitness programs and those last 3-4 kgs have never shifted before.
My mistake was that I thought: “I can eat chips and have a few wines because I’m good most of the time and I do heaps of exercise.” Na ah. I started weighing myself daily and the truth was revealed. The weight would go down after 3-4 days of eating healthy and having plenty of herbal tea and water, but then one bad day or a big dinner involving chips or dessert and pow, I was back where I was. One step forward, one step back, one step forward, one step back. I was sabotaging myself…
I won’t deny it is really really hard to be disciplined all of the time. I never get through the week without doing something naughty. But I have found that if I am good 95% of the time then I get 95% of the results… and that’s enough.
I’m also trying for as naturally flawless skin as possible. We’re getting married in the steamy humid month of February and I don’t want foundation sliding down my cleavage! I’ve had a long, sad history with my skin and I’ve tried topical creams, exfoliation, microdermabrasion and dermatology. By my engagement party my skin was red and raw. Now I’m going for the gentle loving approach and I’m using organic skin care products. I am also seeing a naturopath to help me nourish my skin from the inside. It has taught me to be a lot kinder to my skin, and kinder to myself in general.
Finally there are my hands. It’s been horrible showing off my beautiful sparkle on dry cracked winter hands. I’m using paw paw treatment to heal my dry weathered skin and a cortisol cream to get rid of a weird dermatitis that I picked up doing my ‘burpees’ exercises one day in the park. Come to think of it, can I now say that I’m allergic to burpees?!
That’s my bridal fitness regime. What about you? Do you have a fitness and beauty plan leading up to your big day or are you relaxed and happy not needing or wanting to do a thing in that area of your life?
Alicia x
About Alicia: Alicia is a water scientist by day and a blogger/jogger/home cooker by night. She is madly in love with her fiancé Shane, Pinterest and her fitness program. Check out her Pinterest board and lifestyle blog.
Alicia is guest blogging for the Modern Wedding blog leading up to her wedding day. She resides in Manly, Sydney, and is a Victorian country girl at heart. Swing by Modern Wedding Facebook or Twitter and ask Alicia a question.