12 Week Wedding Weight Loss Challenge

As the wedding day approaches stress, late night planning and a busy schedules of fittings and appointments all lead to one thing... naughty snacking. While I absolutely do not advocate fad or crash diets - particularly when you want to have that radiant bridal glow, I am all for healthy living through lifestyle change.

It is 4 months until my wedding (Nov 2013 eekk..) so in the spirit of "doing it together" I am going to embark upon a journey of hard work and sacrifice in order to reach my goal before the big day. My grand plan is to finish up my weight loss challenge 1 month prior to the wedding to fit in with may last dress fitting and also to avoid any last minute unnecessary stress.

So after weeks of research (reading, net surfing and talking with friends and industry professionals) I have decided to combine the best parts of numerous programs into 1 simple easy to manage plan. I am by no means an expert or professional in this area and I have no idea if what I have put together is going to work - but I guess if you join me on the journey we will find out together. I am hopeless at counting calories and weighing everything I eat so this plan will be simple, easy to follow and based on common sense and clean eating.

Here is my week by week 3 month plan:

FOOD:

It is recommended to eat 5 small meals each day to speed up your metabolism and curve sugar cravings. I will choose 1 item daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner and 2 items from snacks as listed below. It is important to remember your portion size is everything so don't over do it!

Breakfast
2x Poached Eggs on Wholemeal Toast with Mushrooms and Spinach
Spinach and Mushroom Frittata
Muesli
Fruit and Yoghurt (I love Activia Yoghurt)
Whey Protein Shake
Banana or Berry Smoothie

Lunch
Char-grilled Chicken Skewers with Salad
Cold Rolls (or rice paper rolls)
Chicken, Zucchini & Cottage Cheese Pocket
Vegetable Soup
Curried Egg & Lettuce Sandwich 
Ham or Rare Roast Beef and Salad Wrap
Sushi
Tuna Salad

Dinner
Grilled Meat, Chicken or Fish with 2 cups of salad or vegetables
Beef or Chicken Teriyaki Vegetable Stirfry with Brown Rice or Noodles
Vegetable Stack
Greek Lamb Salad
Soup (Broccoli, Minestrone, Pumpkin)
Prawn Pad Thai
Chicken, Pumpkin and Cottage 

Snacks
Veggie Sticks with Hommus or Cottage Cheese
Low Fat Yogurt 
Fruits 
Corn Thins with Cottage Cheese, Tomato and Avocado
Handful of Nuts and Seeds
Whey Protein Shake
Herbal Tea or Decaf Coffee / Tea

Supplements
Whey Protein - after a strenuous workout 
Garcinia Cambogoia - twice daily 1/2hr before meals (As seen on Dr Oz) 

Avoid
Potato, White Rice, Cereal, Pasta, Bread, Caffeine, Fruit Juice, Soft Drinks, Cordial, Alcohol, Sweets/Chocolate, Refined Foods, Cakes and Biscuits 

My most important areas to focus on is water intake, 2 litres a day (*sigh* I struggle to drink 500ml so this will be a difficult task) and curving my sugar addiction - particularly chocolate this truly is my greatest weakness!

EXERCISE:

Choose at least 3 activities a week, when it comes to exercise I think its important to be creative and mix it up. Include activities you love - otherwise from previous experience you will end up hating the whole process!

Indoor Bike / Cross Trainer / Treadmill  (30-45 mins)
A walk or run with the dogs (30-45 mins)
Mount Lofty Climb (For this of you who live in Adelaide this is a 7.8km uphill climb)
Squat Challenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDpB8pWEjhk)
Waist Slimming Pilates (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUur9Jqm64c)

Come along with me on the journey! Over the next 12 weeks I will share with you my struggles and breakthroughs once a week via video and blog posts. Lets lend one another support and encouragement to shed those unwanted kilos and find our inner bridal glows! 

Yasmin xx