How much time should I give myself for a body transformation before my wedding? I really want to look my absolute best and dont want to unreal expectations.

As a general rule I recommend brides give themselves 12 weeks to transform their body before the wedding day. Of course this depends on what the primary changes are youd like to see. You can tone and firm up nicely with eight weeks of hard work on resistance training, but if youre looking to lose more than 10 pounds and really transform your body youll need more time.

Trying to do excessive exercise and drastically cutting calories in a rush will only lead to a catabolic state where youll break down lean muscle instead of building it. This is commonly referred to as the skinny-fat look. This is the last thing you want for your wedding day photos.

Sunken cheeks, bags under your eyes, and a lack of muscle definition will certainly not make you happy. Bottom line is must give yourself time to look and feel your best. Avoid the most common mistake of waiting until the last minute before starting a structured exercise and nutrition regiment.

What are the biggest mistakes you see brides making with their fitness and nutrition prior to their wedding day?

Without question the biggest mistake I see is brides waiting too late then rushing to try and lose weight. Theres also a tendency to crash diet and do a ton of cardio which almost always backfires. While cardio is certainly beneficial for fat loss, resistance training is essential if you want to change your body composition along with toning up.

Doing high intensity burst training and interval training will produce the best results in the shortest amount of time but you have to work up to it. This is one of the reasons why a twelve week window is so beneficial. You simply have to give your body some time to adapt to the increased workloads associated with high intensity training.

Some women like to do yoga, pilates, and other low intensity type workouts which is fine but when you really want to get dialed in for something as big as your wedding day, youll want to hit resistance training with focused effort and hard work. There simply is no substitute.

What will be the most effective type of workouts for losing unwanted body fat around my hips and stomach while getting toned and firm?

These are the two areas that seem to get the most attention as theyll certainly be noticeable in most wedding gowns. Its important to understand that spot training fails miserably in the real world. You cant do enough sit-ups to loose your belly or enough reps on that silly hip abduction-adduction machine in the gym. As a certified Charleston personal trainer Ive written extensively on this subject. See my article on The top 5 health club machines to avoid for more information.

The best way to loose fat around your belly and hips is to work the large muscle groups with high intensity effort. An exercise like free weight squats will do more to help you loose fat in those areas than just about anything else. It may sound weird but its true.

The reason is because the large muscle groups, with your legs being the largest, will require more energy when you start working them hard by applying an overload stimulus. This will cause your metabolism to increase and youll actually move stored fat from your belly and hips to those large muscle groups to be burned as fuel.

Burst training for resistance and interval training for cardio will be your one-two punch for delivering your best body in time for your wedding day.

How can brides best tone their shoulders and arms to look gorgeous in their strapless wedding gowns?

Every bride wants to have nice toned arms and shoulders for their wedding day. Once again resistance training is essential. All the cardio in the world wont help a bit here. Youll want to basic functional strength training movements for best results. Exercises like biceps curls, triceps pressdowns, dips, push-ups, and side lateral raises are just a few of the most effective movements.

As a general rule youll want to avoid the machines and either work with TRX suspension straps, free weights, or with bodyweight movements for best results. Dont neglect the effectiveness of the simple push-up. Its one of the best exercises to tone and firm your arms and shoulders.

How can brides best tone their back for those glancing over the shoulder photos?

Ah yes, having a trim and toned back will look so much better than those two rolls of fat hanging out the top of your wedding gown. Again, total body burst training will be best to lose fat and exercises that focus on rowing and pulling will be most effective for toning. Cable rows, resistance band rows, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, and seated rows are a few of my favorites.

Are there any specific exercises or stretches brides should do to help improve posture so I dont look slouched over in my photos?

This is one of those areas that is often overlooked although many women suffer from poor posture with whats called a protracted shoulder girdle. This is where the shoulders round forward and the head and neck tend to stick out. Weak upper back muscles are the primary culprit and should be the area to focus on. Performing the back exercises listed above will help along with stretches to improve shoulder flexibility.

Whats the best way for brides to lose those last 10 pounds a month out from their wedding?

Diet and nutrition will be your primary pathway to lose those last 10 pounds when youre only a month out. Cardio will be very helpful but you must be careful to support your metabolism by providing enough calories. Drastically cutting calories and doing hours of cardio will not be the path you want to take like I explained earlier. Following whats called a Primal Blueprint diet that is naturally low carb but still provides essential micronutrients and fuel for exercise will be the best way to drop those last 10 pounds.

I am extremely busy with work and planning for my wedding and dont have time to exercise daily, what should I do?

To be blunt youre going to have to make a decision on how important it is to you to have the body you want by your wedding day. I know this is a hectic, stressful time for a lot of brides but you absolutely must make time for exercise or youre likely to be disappointed with the end result.

The reality is you can see amazing results with only a commitment to thirty minutes a day for exercise. The trick is to do the burst training where you wont need a lot of time. When youre working out with high intensity youll see twice the results in half the time. If you dont know how to do the burst training, consider hiring a personal trainer to assist you.

It will be much easier to just show up and have your workout all planned out for you instead of wandering around the gym for an hour and accomplishing little.

Is there anything specifically brides should eat or not eat the week before their wedding to look their best?

This is a great question and an area that often gets overlooked. The last thing you want for your wedding day is to look all puffy and bloated. Youll want to pull down your carbs and avoid high sodium content for starters. Id also recommend you pull out all sodas and any processed-refined foods.

Stick with lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats the week of your wedding. Protein meal replacement shakes can also be a huge help during this time. Drink plenty of water and focus on greens and fruits that will help to balance out electrolytes.

Whats the number one workout tip or fitness advice youd give a bride?

The best workout or fitness advice I can give to a bride is to clearly determine what youd like to change about your body prior to your wedding. Get very specific and be clear with what you want to do. Then seek out the help of a fitness coach who can help you put together a plan that will produce the best results.

Once you have the right information and clear game plan its all about dedication, hard work, and focused effort. Go all out and put everything you have into your workouts. A clean diet with burst training and hard work will produce the best results every time.

Shane Doll CPT, CSCS is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. As a specialist in burst training for body transformation and Charleston weight loss programs he provides nutrition and fitness coaching along with e-books, videos, and other resources on his website: www.shapingconcepts.com. Visit the website where you can download his free e-book, The Lean Code Method Quick Start Nutrition Guide.

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There are a several techniques that I have had success with as far as keeping clients on track with their diet and exercise programs and thought I would share a few today.

First and foremost, logging your food intake. It is proven that when you are writing down what you eat and you know that someone will be looking I over, you are more likely to make smarter food choices.

Second, communication. Emails are key in regular communication with my clients. Not only does it show that you are thinking about your client but it shows that you are on top of them. A simple email asking if they did their workout today or how their diet is going can go a long way. If a trainer trains a client once a week and never touches base with them until the next week, they will likely sway.

Third, reminders. This is a key in wellness coaching as well as personal training and lifestyle change. If you are in a fitness/wellness program and need to keep yourself on track, have a reminder of where you are and a reminder of where you want to be. I worked with a stay at home mom that wanted to get ready for beach season and wanted to wear a two piece bathing suit like she used to. How did I help her find a way to remind herself of where she wants go to? Simple, by putting up pictures. One went right on her refrigerator. This way each time she went to the fridge, she was instantly reminded of how she used to look, how she looks now and how she wants to look. An easy, but strong motivational tool.

Planning ahead is number four. It’s easy to know that smaller, more frequent balanced meals are key to fat loss and a healthier BMI. Balances within meals, ensuring plenty of color and variety, etc. are necessary, but how often do people actually cook and prepare ahead? It is important to have a list of what you need to get when going shipping. When you come home you should prepare each meal within a few days of eating it and just refrigerate it.

This way you don’t just “grab something.” If you have meals planned for Tuesday, on Sunday night, you know the calories, protein, fat and carbs in that meal. There is no guessing. Hand and hand with this type of meal planning would be using a calendar. Set your goals and target dates! Say by this day in this month, I want to be down 5 IBS of fat!

Fifth, do not grocery shop when hungry. I can’t tell you how many times clients in the past have shopped hungry and ended up buying something to snack on as they shopped or bought things that they regretted having in the house later!

Sixth, having regular fitness assessments. By regular I mean once a month. Any sooner the body comp changes may not be noticeable; any later the motivation behind assessment may start to dwindle.

Seventh, delegate or ask for help! Any idea how often clients have told me “I knew I should not have eaten that but I did” or “I know I should have worked out but I didn’t”. We need to delegate or ask for assistance from our friends and loved ones. If you know your weakness is with shopping, have your wife or someone else do it that you know will bring home the healthier foods or help keep you on track.

Also it is also helpful if your client joins some sort of like minded group. If they are just starting out they need motivation. It is easy when starting out to quit. If they become friendly with coworkers that like to walk every day at lunch, that’s great! They are like minded. That will help keep them on track.

Eighth, allow yourself certain times to let loose or cheat. This helps go a long way when it comes to motivation and staying power! Nobody changes their lifestyle easily and 100% right off the bat or overnight. It is much more practical to allow yourself to establish one goal at a time.

For instance someone that only eats once a day to take a few weeks and implement the frequent meals throughout the day concept. Once that concept is established, then move into the next one. Whether that be keeping hydrated, eating plenty of fiber, whatever it is, to be realistic about your goal setting. Setting too many goals too early on will end up frustrating the individual and they will likely quit.

If you did great for a week with diet and exercise, allow yourself to a sensible treat. The trick is to make sure it’s sensible, not over doing.

My last though, celebrate. Recognize when you are doing well with your program. Feel good about the progress. Remember, staying with your program alone is progress! Don’t worry early on about the scale or numbers.

Remember that lifestyle change, to be sustained is gradual.

About the Author
Phil Nicolaou is a NESTA certified personal trainer and eFitness for Life Coach! As a fitness professional, Phil routinely writes for eFitness for Life, as well as, Health and Wealth for Life. Phil is available for online fitness and nutrition coaching to anyone, anywhere in the world. Contact him at pnicolaou@efitnessforlife.com.

Stay fit! Visit this blog in order to know a lot of useful info about effective weight loss!

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