9 Must Do's To Include In Your Pre-Wedding Diet Plan

As the wedding day approaches and anxiety builds up, it is but normal to feel stressed. One has so many questions, especially about what to eat to manage weight before the D-day and to get rid of the extra kilograms in like 30 days.

“The trickiest part here is to explain the young females and males how nutrition is important and how we can eat well and lose some extra kilos in a healthy and sustainable way,” says Dr Harshita Dilawri, Nutritionist and Diabetic Educator, Know Your Nutrients, Delhi.

Dr Harshita Dilawri

In her 12+ years of experience in health, nutrition and diabetic education, she says that as a dietician, she gets most of the queries on therapeutic cases and weight management. She suggests nine must-do’s you should include in your pre-wedding diet plan.

1. Take care of your skin first: Ayurveda has taught us that before anything else, we should always take care of the skin. “Skin around D-day is the most important asset of the bride/groom to be. Throw away the junky inflammatory foods like sugar and white carbs. I usually put the brides/groom to be on a plant-based diet at least 3 months prior to achieve healthy skin. The diet contains lots of fruits, veggies, plant-based proteins like tofu, lentils and whole grains like quinoa and oats. Also, diet rich in vitamin C and E together helps getting the perfect glow on your face,” explains Dr Harshita. 
2. Add omegas: All the fitness and diet freaks out there will surely agree how omega 3’s are important for our overall health. This even helps before the D-day as it reduces bloating. So try and include flax seeds, walnuts, chia seeds to your meals today!
3. Get more proteins: Pile on more proteins and veggies along with healthy fats. This should include lean proteins like chicken breast, fish, tofu, avocado, nuts and seeds. Protein and fats provide satiety and get the cravings down while keeping the skin glowing. “Try and cut down unhealthy carbs like white breads, rice, refined flour for dinner and replacing with lean proteins will surely help you loose that extra kilo,” Dr Harshita adds.
4. Keep your gut happy: Along with skin and weight, it is important to take care of your gut after all that’s your second brain. Try and incorporate probiotics to take the bloat away at least a month before the D-day. Prebiotics should be included as well, which help probiotics do their job. Things like artichoke, bananas, whole grains, asparagus are all prebiotics and they help with both sleep and stress management. Including natural diuretic foods like pineapple can also reduce bloating and help you feel the best on your wedding day. Eliminating dairy also works in some people as it can reduce gastrointestinal discomfort, phlegm and acne in some people. Don’t worry on your calcium intake as that can be added from non-dairy beverages and proteins.
5. Feed your brain: Just few weeks before the nerves and jitters all sit inside us, try and focus on foods that might increase neurotransmitters like nuts and seeds as these accelerate the release of serotonin, a hormone that regulates mood.
6. Take care of your natural vitamins and minerals: Dr Harshita calls veggies and fruits our natural multivitamins and usually advises groom and brides-to-be to include these in abundance. For example, Vitamin C (like what you find in an orange, one cup of strawberries, or a red pepper) helps to produce carnitine, which helps you burn fat for energy. Papaya has digestive enzymes to help break down proteins, so they are digested faster.
7. Never skip meals: Try and eat your breakfast within 60-90 minutes of waking up and then every 3-4 hours after that as this will keep the metabolism going, energy up and blood sugar stable, which you will need in the last few days before the wedding.
8. Hydration is the key: Before anything else, drink your water and make sure you drink 1 glass in every hour to keep your energy up, skin healthy and preventing bloating.
9. Try and include herbal things like cumin, cinnamon, ajwain, black pepper in your meals. These simple kitchen ingredients will not just help you with keeping your body healthy and happy but can be used even after the D-day in a sustainable manner.