DIET TO FOLLOW BEFORE THE WEDDING FOR THE BRIDE

While preparations and planning for the D-day start months earlier, the diet that a bride follows on days leading up to the wedding is given least importance. Every bride-to-be want to appear dazzling and elegant with glowing skin and slim and sleek body with no bloating or tiredness on the wedding day.

Here are the important guidelines to consider on days leading up to the wedding:

Opt for a planned and a healthy weight loss

If you’re considering to lose some extra pounds, it is best to plan well-ahead depending on the weight to be reduced, rather than going for a crash diet. An optimal start to a weight loss program 3 months ahead and professional consultation are integral. Crash diets or sudden weight loss programs will only cause water and muscle wastage in the body and will leave you look sluggish and unhealthy.

Eat the right foods for a glowing skin

The type of foods you put in your mouth play a crucial part for a beautiful-looking skin and hair.

• Avoid junk foods and foods that are oily and inflammatory like deep-fried foods, refined carbs and sugar.
• Include plenty of all-coloured fruits and veggies to get all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into your diet. Eat a lot of carotenoids-rich foods such as tomatoes, red peppers and carrots and green leafy vegetables. These foods improve the appearance of the skin.
• Avoid processed and refined flour foods. Include whole grains like millets, brown rice and quinoa into your diet.
• Include moderate amounts of plant and animal proteins like tofu, beans, pulses, eggs, fish, lean meat and chicken and little amounts of good fats like avocado, coconut oil and olive oil. Proteins and fats make you feel full, reduce cravings and prevent overeating, which is essential for a healthy body weight.
• Omega- 3 fatty acids are good for skin, hair and for overall health. They also prevent bloating. Fatty fishes like salmon, walnuts, chia seeds and flax seeds are good sources of omega-3 fats.

Befriend your gut

Having a healthy gut is very important to make or break your look and mood on the wedding day. If you’re intolerant to gluten or milk, kindly avoid it. It disturb the stomach and cause gassiness, bloating, burping and frequent episodes of loose stools and you will finally end up not looking fresh on your day. Wheat, oats, rice, barley, multigrain atta, bread, cookies, granola bar, biscuits and rusk contain gluten. Millets, rice, amaranth, rajgeera, quinoa, pesarattu and chana dhal flour are gluten-free alternatives.

Probiotics such as curd, fermented foods and prebiotic foods such as onion, banana, whole grains can help you get rid of the bloating and improve your gut health.

Avoid excess salt

If you wish to look stunning in your wedding photographs and photoshoots, be wary of salty foods such as pickles, chips, murukku, mixture and processed foods. Excess salt in these foods can cause water retention in your body.  Facial puffiness, stomach bloating and swelling in the body occur due to water retention. Also, opt for home-made foods than from restaurants. Outside foods are high in sodium content due to the addition of sauces and ketchups to make them tasty.

Drink wisely

Water is another important nutrient that keeps your skin hydrated and glowing, and your body slim and sleek without any bloating. By drinking plenty of liquids, you cleanse your body from toxins that makes your skin glowing. Water, tender coconut water, nannari sharbath, lemon juice, fresh fruit juices, aloe vera juice, gooseberry juice, tulasi kashayam, fruit-infused water are good choices. Try to avoid carbonated beverages and alcohol that can leave your body bloated.

Sleep to stay slim

On days leading up to the wedding, establishing a regular sleep pattern is quite challenging. A proper sleep routine is the secret behind a healthy body weight. When you lack proper sleep, the cortisol hormone present in the adrenal glands gets out of whack, which will further affect the quality of sleep and appetite. You will end up having cravings for sugar and refined carbs and will not feel refreshed after waking up regardless of how many hours you have slept. Establish a regular sleep routine of 7-8 hours per day. Go to bed at 10 pm and wake up at 6 pm. This is the ideal time where body and mental (mind) repair happens. Your cortisol levels are also kept low and food cravings disappear.

Coffee and tea

Many of us can’t live without the regular sip of caffeine on a daily basis. Drinking more cups of coffee each day can tremendously affect your sleep cycle, that can in turn increase your food cravings. Excessive consumption of tea can inhibit your iron absorption and contributes to anaemia, which has serious consequences on your wedding day. You will feel tired, less energetic, look pale, feel anxious, and will have breathlessness on your big day.

Stress eating

Getting prepared for your D-day makes you equally stressed up. The stress can make you eat more, choose wrong foods and will finally end up gaining weight and will not fit in your wedding dress. Avoid high calorie foods and opt for salads, soups, fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, meat and poultry (for proteins).

Pay attention to the portion size

Pre-wedding ceremonies are common in Indian weddings. Sweets, fatty foods, snacks, chocolates, candies are sumptuously served. Being a bride it’s quite difficult to refrain from the tradition of eating sweets. Nevertheless, you can limit your portion size. Excess intake might make you sick on your wedding day with facial puffiness, abdominal bloating and headache.

Exercise daily to destress yourself and to maintain a healthy body weight.

Food Choices

• Include native vegetables, leafy greens. Ensure that half your plate is filled with vegetables. One fourth dal or non veg for protein and one fourth of rice/ millets /roti/ wheat upma.
• Include whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds ( chia/ subza/ flax/ cucumber, melon, pumpkin seeds) , berries, gooseberry, aloevera, wheat grass juice, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish and poultry.
• Drink herbal tea like chamomile or lavender tea before going to bed.
• Avoid refined sugar and starchy foods.
• Avoid caffeine intake 6 hours before bedtime.

Eat clean and face your big day with confidence and happiness.

 

Shiny Surendran

Nutritionist.