Wedding Weight Loss: 10 Tips Every Bride Should Know

Fitness expert Doug Rice walks his brides down the grocery aisle. (Image Credit: ABC News)

Whether you are about to walk down the aisle, or want to cut the bulge in general, Doug Rice, a Dallas-based personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and fitness expert for TheKnot.com, walks you down the grocery aisle for diet and nutrition tips that will keep you on track for your weight goals.

Nutrition Tips to Boost Your Metabolism

  1. Eat every 3 to 3½ hours. The more often you eat nutritious, healthy foods that support your goals, the easier it will be to burn fat.
  2. Eat high-quality fuel, aka "supportive foods," which would include quality proteins, complex carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates; they should be eaten frequently throughout the day.
  3. It is important to measure out the foods you are eating. If you have no idea how many calories you are consuming, you may never be able to achieve fat loss.
  4. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast will only send the message to your body that you're starving because you haven't had food in over 8 hours.
  5. Follow each workout with a proper post-workout meal to refuel the muscles and provide them with what they need to rebuild themselves.
  6. Minimize simple sugars and processed foods such as soda, fast food, chips, white bread, white pasta, white rice or almost anything that comes in a bag or a box.
  7. Consume at least 8 to 12 eight-ounce glasses of water throughout the day. A lack of water causes all your systems to slow down, including your metabolism.
  8. Make eating healthy, nutritious foods a priority. Very simply, when health is a priority, we eat supportively and make time to exercise.
  9. Plan your meals a few days in advance when your schedule is less stressful. Make a list of snacks that are easy to grab, go and eat during your busy day.
  10. Give your kitchen a makeover. If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, you need to rid your home of all foods that are going to sabotage your goals and replace them with variety of better, healthier choices.