Wedding Weight Loss Plan for Guys

You may not have given much thought to wedding weight loss before the big day, but chances are good that your future bride will have. In fact, she's probably thinking about it right now. Guys may not always think that way, but when you're standing at the altar with that vision of beauty in front of you, do you really want your gut to be straining against your belt? The stress building up to the wedding day can easily lead to overeating, which can lead to weight gain that could make it necessary to get your tux re-fitted before you pick it up. By following this quick regimen for four weeks, though, you can offset any calories you might take in that could force an eleventh-hour tux refit, especially if that jelly doughnut is just too good to pass up.

Diet:

For the next four weeks, work to keep your portions under control and you'll have the biggest problem with wedding weight loss licked. Avoid saturated fats, carb-laden foods and refined sugars, sticking with loads of vegetables, lean meats and low-fat sauces. Make sure that you eat breakfast every day for the next thirty days, even if it's something small. You'd be surprised how much of an energy booster and fat burner a morning bagel with low-fat cream cheese can be. Switch off your snacks to cold, crisp vegetables like carrots, and increase your intake of these compared to your usual snack foods. For instance, if you usually eat 12 ounces of chips in a day, eat 24 ounces of vegetables. It'll keep your energy levels up and your metabolism stoked. For the exercise portion of your wedding weight loss routine, this is absolutely critical.

For drinks, switch off of soda and go to water, coffee and tea. Use water flavorings if necessary. If you just got to have some fizz in your drinks, buy a couple of bottles of seltzer water and add water flavorings to them.

Exercise:

Week 1:
You'll need to complete a three-day workout on week one in order to meet your wedding weight loss goals by week four. This will prepare you for the successive weeks and ensure that you don't overdo it. For the first day of your workout, do 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. If you have a membership at a gym, so much the better. If not, try walking, running or bicycling. This should get your heart rate up, so don't overdo it, particularly if you don't work out regularly. Afterward, perform the following exercises. Note that explanations are intended for inexperienced individuals. With experience, adjust the weights and reps accordingly. Do three sets of each exercise each time you perform them.

1. Squats- Hold a twenty-pound rock in both hands, planting your feet firmly approximately 12 inches apart and parallel to one another. The rock should be held approximately 12 inches from your chest. Keep your back straight and lower yourself without raising your heels until your upper thigh is level with the ground and your back is straight. Next, push up again into a standing position. This counts as one repitition. Do this between 10 and 12 times.

2. Pushups- Just like in school. Keep your back straight. If you can't perform all the reps, place your knees on the ground and push up from that position. Do 12 pushups.

3. Jumps- Position yourself in the lowered position of the squat without any weight. When you find your balance, jump explosively upward as high as you can, reaching up with your arms as far as you can. Do this 12 times.

You should have a good sweat built up by now. Perform another 15 minutes of light cardiovascular work to finish up your workout.

Week 2:

By the second week, you'll be tired of the first week's exercises, so switch things up a little. Do a different activity for your cardiovascular work, and then do snatches with your trusty rock. Sure, you're not going to look like an Olympian snatching a twenty-pound rock, but it will activate every muscle in your body and stimulate fat loss.

1. Rock Snatch- Position yourself over the rock, then squat down and grab it with your hands. Lift it straight up, then raise it over your head. After you've lifted it, drop it in front of you in a controlled manner and pick it up again the same way.

2. Pull up- This one may be tough, especially if your back is relatively weak. The plus side is that you can use playground equipment for it if you don't have access to a gym. Just do as many as you can manage without hurting yourself.

3. Military push-up- A military push up requires you to position your arms closer to your torso than you would for a standard push-up. This one's tough, so don't be afraid to take a knee if you have to. Do twelve of these push-ups

Finish out each of the days in week two with another 15 minutes of cardiovascular work.

Week 3:

Repeat the workout from week one, this time using a larger rock for your squats and performing one additional set of each exercise.

Week 4:

Repeat the exercises from week two, adding weight where necessary, and adding one additional set to each routine.

By the end of the fourth week, you should have noticed that your pants don't fit quite as tightly as they did before, but there is a caveat. Chances are good that while you may have lost fat, you may have actually gained weight. This is because lean muscle is denser, and thus, weighs more, than fat. This isn't a bad thing, though, for obvious reasons. During the first month of an exercise routine, a person who does not regularly exercise will see significant gains that will tend to slow down over time. For meeting your wedding weight loss goals, however, it isn't about a number on the scale, but the size of your pants that counts.

Sources:
Men's Health: Men's Guide to Fitness: www.menshealth.com