The Wedding Dress Diet

I Said "Yes"! 

That's right! It finally happened, and I can't wait to start the rest of my life with my best friend. There's most definitely a wedding website coming with our story, so I won't go on and on just yet. However, I have to say how excited and blessed I am to have met this amazing person I call my fiancé. From loving him to loving his caring family with whom I'm living this summer, I am the luckiest and happiest girl in the world. So, what now? It's wedding planning time!

If you know me, you know how much I LOVE weddings. If it was up to me, I'd be a professional wedding planner as my career (and I still haven't given up on that dream!). But what many people forget about when it comes to planning a wedding is planning your diet leading up to the wedding. Almost every bride wants to look back on her pictures and feel like she was at her most beautiful - her dress, her hair, her makeup, and her body. Well, I'm the exact same way. In fact, I'm excited to step up my game, perfect my diet, and hit the gym leading up to the day of the wedding.

So What's the Wedding Dress Diet?

 When I think of the perfect wedding dress body (which mind you is different for everyone!), I imagine myself thinner and more toned. SO, what does reaching these goals entail? Here's my plan:

• Follow a diet plan that allows for ALL food groups while limiting foods high in saturated fats and sugar, limiting highly processed foods, and increasing the amounts of lean proteins, veggies, and fruits. 
• Log food daily, whether it be by calories, macros, or a "Points" system. Allow for a cheat day or cheat meal once a weak (this keeps yourself happy and allows you to look forward to your favorite foods while also allowing your metabolism to rev up. Cheat days are O K A Y!)
• Follow a fitness plan that includes full body workouts. This means 3-4 days a week of cardio and muscular training. For me, this means toning up my arms and legs while thinning out my midsection. 

What am I giving up?

These are the main rules, but what's the catch? Surely I must do some sort of diet that strictly limits carbs or is entirely organic. Why don't I cut out red meat and bread altogether? Well, I'll tell you why. One thing I want for myself is not not only be thin and toned, but to also be happy. To me, happiness is bread. Happiness is occasionally indulging in a bacon cheeseburger with french fries. And that is OKAY. Not only because I want an occasional special meal that I love, but also because diets that entirely restrict your food choices and never allow for a cheat day (such as the keto diet) train your metabolism to only digest certain foods and to reject others - a.k.a. make yourself sick or gain weight back immediately after indulging after a long time period without a cheat meal. Having a reasonable cheat day every week or two weeks keeps your metabolism and your body in check. For example, when I went to the beach this spring and had nothing but fried seafood, pizza, and ice cream for nearly a week (and gained a couple pounds in the process), I came home and dropped 4 to 5 pounds in two weeks simply because once I reverted back to my dieting habits, my metabolism was kicked into high gear.

Time to Get Cookin'

You all know by this point that more than anything, this blog is a platform for me to share my best recipes, product reviews, and diet tips that help me stay happy and healthy while also losing a few pounds in the process.

So my new theme and my new journey is now 100% geared towards my big day. Really and truly, I think it's great to have this mentally going into any diet!

I can't wait to start sharing even more of my ideas and recipes with you all. Stay tuned for more recipes and engagement adventures, and feel free to send me any suggestions!