Our Monthly Health & Fitness Feature from White Dress Workout | 5 Bridal Nutritional Tips

Introducing our monthly health & fitness contributor; Jennie Law, the founder of White Dress Workout.

Today she is sharing her top 5 bridal nutritional tips…

1. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

We’ve heard it all before but I’m here to say it again – stay hydrated! Water is not only a vital component for our overall health but it also helps us to lose weight (if that’s your goal) and have effortlessly glowing skin – something we all long for on our big day! If we want to stay energized and switched on throughout the day, we must make sure we’re drinking enough. Just a small drop in our water levels can make us feel sluggish, tired and have more headaches so get out your refillable bottles and aim to drink around 2 litres a day!

2. EAT A RAINBOW

OK, so I don’t mean literally as that would be pretty hard to do but instead, focus on incorporating a range of colourful foods into your daily diet. Each colour of food has different properties that provide your body with numerous benefits. Red fruits and vegetables help fight cancer, reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease, improve skin quality. Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables improve immune function, reduce the risk of heart disease, promote eye health. Green fruits and vegetables boost the immune system,help detoxify the body, restore energy and vitality and blue and purple fruits and vegetables fight cancer and unwanted inflammation and fight the ageing process.

3. FOCUS ON PROTEIN

For a lot of people, it’s a struggle to hit our recommended daily protein targets and some of us don’t even know how much protein we should actually be eating. Well, as a general guide, we should be consuming around 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Contrary to what you may believe, protein won’t give you huge hulk like muscles but instead, it will help to keep your body working at its optimal level as our body uses protein to build and repair tissues while also making enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood and can be found in many foods including meats and fish, eggs and vegetables.

4. TOSS THE PROCESSED FOODS

Anything that comes in a tin, jar, packet or bottle is usually processed (with the exception of some things) so be mindful when out on your next shopping trip. Try and stick to natural foods such as meats, fish, vegetables, rice, potato, salad, nuts seeds and berries which will provide your body with the nutrients it needs and none of the sugar and empty calories it doesn’t.

Even some of the foods we buy that seem to be ‘healthy’ such as soy/ nut milks, frozen berries and others can have hidden added sugars.

5. PLAN AHEAD

If you’re someone who grazes throughout the day and you’re finding it hard to reach your wedding day weight goal then plan your food and healthy snacks ahead to stop you from eating whenever you feel hungry. Write your meals and snacks for the week ahead of time so you know exactly what you’re eating and you will be less tempted to reach for that cookie or chocolate bar. Having a food plan written down will also help you not to buy unhealthy ‘filler’ snacks when out shopping. Some of my go-to snacks are (Raw) nut butter on ricecakes, greek yoghurt with berries, dark chocolate and a protein smoothie.