The whole concept of the “wedding diet” is to bust your ass in the gym over a short period of time so you can look “perfect” for an even shorter period, one day. The thing is, what is perfect? Who defines at what point you can stop sweating at the gym because you’ve reached “perfection?” And why is anyone working so hard for just one day? This is why the “wedding diet” is an absurd exercise plan. It’s a Quixote quest invented by the delusions of someone else and projected onto you. It’s maddening.
That’s why the “wedding diet” is kinda BS. It sends the message that the whole point of working out is to achieve a particular physical beauty – skinny, toned, firm beauty. That’s not the point of working out. Athletes exercise so that they can perform better, push their limits, compete and feel great. They want to feel that rush of adrenaline when a new accomplishment is reached. Athletes work out to know and grow their own sense of power inside and out. When it comes to being healthy and strong there is no finish line.
We don’t remind ourselves of this fact often enough; we’re all athletes.
Being a bride should not inspire you to get a gym membership and it should not motivate you to become a different physical you. This is why the new video, This Girl Can by Sports England, a government-funded organization to get Brits more active is so inspiring. The organizations realized a lot of Brits weren’t exercising due to body stigmas. The video features women of all shapes and sizes as powerful when they exercise. No one needs bulging muscles or Olympic speeds to be an athlete. It shows that just working, competing, sweating as yourself is really what being an athlete is, or more importantly your best self. It exposes that the real reward of that type of grit and determination is when you don’t stop (unlike the wedding “diet”). Even if your muscles are screaming from your kickboxing class the day before, just showing up for that Zumba class the next day can put a smile on your face. And people, who feel strong, always feel confident, beautiful and happy.
If you’re about to walk down the aisle, don’t fall into the trap that is the “wedding diet.” Remind yourself that you are an athlete who just happens to also be a bride. This mindset will reap rewards far beyond the wedding altar and your confidence won’t be singularly tied to how you look on your big day. Being an athlete means feeling beautiful in whatever state you find yourself in every day. So throw away the idea of the “wedding diet,” after lifting all those weights and hitting all those tennis balls you’re strong enough to do it.