Bridal Health and Fitness Makeover –
Bridal Health and Fitness Makeover
This entry was sent to me by an amazing client who really took responsibility for her own health and fitness so she could look amazing on her wedding day. I often collaborate with my friend Tammy from Bridal Fitness Coach to help her brides get healthy and into awesome shape for their big day. I focus on the nutrition and Tammy focuses on efficient strength training.
From A Super Star Bridal Client:
Almost a year after my wedding day, the new eating and exercising habits that Tammy and Caitlin inspired in me have actually made me feel GOOD about exercise and have kept the weight off….almost effortlessly!
Before working with Tammy and Caitlin, I was OBSESSED with calorie counting. I didn’t enjoy food, I scrutinized it. I ate all the low-fat zero calorie franken-foods that seemed good and “healthy” at the time, but at the core of it…they never really satisfied my hunger, but they were low calorie so I thought that was ok, right? I was so preoccupied with calorie counting and proportions, had online apps tracking the percentages of protein, fat and carbs. I HAD to count because eating properly was such a struggle because I CRAVED all the fatty, salty, sweet foods that I wasn’t supposed to eat! I also bought into the notion that you had to exercise at very high intensity (you know, like they show on those TV shows). I dreaded exercise yet pushed myself through it and often had so much muscle inflammation I would make myself sick.
I was getting married soon and I wanted to tone up and look my best. I needed an intervention and what I was doing at home wasn’t working! So I found the Grass Fed Girl and Bridal Fitness Coach and decided to make the investment! I mean, we were spending thousands on the wedding already…but what was it worth to look AND feel my best on my wedding day? So I jumped in and decided I was going to make the commitment!
Only a month before my wedding, I signed up to work with Caitlin and Tammy. And in that month, I really turned my eating and exercising habits around. Now I eat what I want….mostly more fresh vegetables and healthy meats, occasional fruit and sweets yet I NEVER go hungry. Before, fat was the enemy, now I’m not afraid of fat, in fact….I enjoy avocados and homemade salad dressing, even bacon, without guilt or worry!
My taste buds have changed. Stuff that I CRAVED like muffins and candy bars made with refined grains and refined sugars are no longer appetizing to me. In fact, I notice an almost immediate difference in the way my body feels when I’ve been tempted to try that type of food (usually at that time of the month!) and I immediately feel the bloat. The excessive sweetness of refined sugar and grains is now a turn off. I feel like I have more control over what I eat! My cravings don’t control me.
The same with salt. Most restaurant foods now taste too salty and so I prefer to cook at home where I can flavor the food to my liking. I’ve cut my salt intake dramatically because I feel my palette is more sensitive to the foods natural flavors.
I don’t calorie count anymore. I no longer use an app or online program to track my calories and macronutrients. It’s extremely liberating. I eat what I enjoy and what I sense is good for me. I’ve gotten really, really in tune with sensing fullness and sensing when I have had enough of anything. Caitlin’s advice was to was to “eat when you’re hungry.” And most days that’s only twice a day because my meals are so nourishing and there’s no sugar crashing throughout the day.
Tammy’s approach to exercise really woke me to the joys of caring for your body the way it should be cared for. Many people look at exercise as the enemy, or the mountain that they have to surmount. “No pain no gain” is the popular saying. But I learned from Tammy that you don’t have to kill yourself in the gym to get the results you want, in fact nausea-inducing exercise can be counterproductive. Tammy really made me see and feel the difference between torturing yourself and enjoying challenge and mental discipline of strength and cardio training. And when you enjoy something, you’re more likely to stick with it.Thanks to Caitlin and Tammy’s support and expertise, I lost 7 lbs in the month before my wedding (yes, it was just a month!!) and have maintained my weight loss nearly a year later, loving food and moderate exercise!
Tammy Fox, personal trainer and owner of Bridal Fitness Coach
