It’s almost the big day! You have completed most of the items on your to-do list and you can’t wait to spend the rest of your life with your . Guest list? Check. Invitations mailed? Check. Reached goal weight for wedding? Almost, 10 pounds more to go. So how to get rid of those difficult to lose 5 to 10 pounds? Here are 5 tips!

One thing to keep in mind though is not to resort to using drastic measures like fad diets or taking pills for quick weight loss. Not only is this unhealthy, but it may also set a future of yo-yo dieting for you instead of bringing healthy lasting weight loss.

Tips:

1. Practice Portion Control: Portion control is not only eating a healthy balance of amounts of food, but also different kinds of nutritious foods. Remember that vegetables should fill half of our plate, carbohydrates should fill a quarter of the plate and meat should fill the remaining quarter of the plate. You can also eat 5 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 big ones.
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Vegetables can keep you from overeating by giving you a sense of fullness sooner. So have a big salad before lunch or dinner! Of course, the salads should consist of different types of veggies. Remember to eat different colors of fruits and vegetables.
3. Clean your pantry and fridge of junk food!: This will take away some of the temptations. Throw out anything that is unhealthy such as big bags of potato chips, candies, etc. As a substitute, fill up your fridge and pantry with healthier options – Greek yogurt, fruits (ex: berries), vegetables. In addition if we divide our snacks up into small individual baggies before eating them, we can minimize how much we snack – thus minimizing our caloric intake.
4. Drink water instead of sweetened beverages. Sweetened beverages contain added sugar and calories. Water doesn’t.
5. Make changes to your exercise plan: if you’ve been jogging at the same pace for the same amount of time every three days, your body is going to reach a plateau – that is, your body is going to get used to this and stop losing weight. So if you want to lose those last 5 to 10 pounds before your wedding, you can make small changes like

-Increasing the intensity (speed) of your exercise OR
-Exercise for a longer duration of time OR
-Exercise different groups of your muscles by doing different exercises like biking or swimming
-If all you’re doing now is decreasing your caloric intake without exercise added, then one way to lose those last 5 to 10 pounds is to EXERCISE

Congratulations!! Have a fabulous wedding!

Assistance provided by Rachel Yam