Happy Monday my friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and ready to set some goals. What are you goals for this week? Mine are to get though #eatpretty15 veggie challenge, get all my school work done on time and catch up with at least 1 friend this week. See, Mondays don’t have to be that bad when you look at it as a fresh start? Or maybe you’re just excited that the Bachelor comes on tonight! I know I am!

Today I just wanted to share a brief recap of the Brides at the Barre event I was part of last month. It was a huge success thanks to event planner Sarah Chancey. If you are recently engaged and need some guidance- Sarah is your girl! She brought together some fabulous vendors for the bridal event that included: fitness by Pink Barre, Flowers by Logan Woods, photography by Kathryn Kimmel, Desserts by The Sweet Trend, yummy bites by The Mercantile, DIY ideas by Craft Box Girls, gift ideas by Mark and Graham and lifestyle tips by Peachtree Roadies. And I was there to give a nutrition talk about getting healthy before the big day!

For those of you who don’t live in Atlanta or just couldn’t make the event- I would love to share with you what I spoke about at the event. Since I was in your shoes 6 months ago, I can relate to the stressfully blissful engagement period. For most of us, getting fit and healthy was (is) crucial for the most important day of our lives! Here are a few tips for getting there:

Peaches to Pearls Nutritional Advice

• Stay away from drastic measures like fad diets or pills for quick weight loss before your wedding. This may not only be dangerous, but can also set you up for future yo-yo dieting rather than permanent weight loss
• Wedding planning is stressful enough- don’t add unnecessary stress to your body by being unhealthy
• Here are the important steps to start with:

1. Plan ahead
2. Join a health club- mine was Pink Barre
3. Get a personal trainer if you need the motivation
4. See a nutritionist or RD to set up a well balanced diet

• Get serious about changing your eating habits and exercising at least 6 months before the big day- set a goal!
• Changing your eating habits is difficult and will take time. Here are some nutritional goals to set to begin the journey:

1. Eat smaller portions- this will be very difficult at first but I promise you will adjust.
2. Identify your biggest source of empty calories {calories from solid fats and/or added sugars) and kiss those babies good- bye.

• Cookies
• Cakes
• Pizza
• Bacon
• Hot dogs

3. Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. They are powerhouses of nutrition and can fill you up on fewer calories
4. Eat your calories- don’t drink them. Alcoholic beverages generally have at least 100 calories or more.
5. Choose leaner, lower fat meat and dairy

Instead of regular ground beef à extra lean ground beef or ground turkey

Instead of fried chicken à baked chicken without skin

• Fiber is your friend. It will help your digestive system and reduce blood sugar. Women should aim for 25 grams of fiber per day
• Here are a few whole foods that are naturally high in fiber:
  • 1 large pear with skin (7 grams)
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries (8 grams)
  • ½ medium avocado (5 grams)
  • 1 ounce almonds (3.5 grams)
  • ½ cup cooked black beans (7.5 grams)
  • 3 cups air-popped popcorn (3.6 grams)
  • 1 cup cooked pearled barley (6 grams)

 

Sample Diets & Programs/ Apps Options

Very Low Calorie Diet	Slim Fast
Meal Programs	Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Good
Internet Based Diets	Diet.com, Dietwatch
Apps for Your Phone	Lose It, Myfitnesspal

 

• Best recommended diets by nutritionist: The Mediterranean Diet
• Great website to visit to help you decide which diet is right for you: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet

 

• Find a multivitamin that you will remember to take everyday. For me I chose the gummy multivitamin because I don’t like big pills. This is a great way to get your minerals and vitamins such as biotin + calcium for great hair and nails.
• Atlanta Restaurants for Healthy Options:

True Food Kitchen

Souper Jenny

Café Sunflower

A very special thanks for Kathryn Kimmel for these beautiful pictures she provided. I hope this helps my future little brides! If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me. Have a wonderful Monday!

 

Xoxo,