14 Pre Wedding Diet Secrets Every Indian Bride Needs To Know

If you’re thinking this post is about a particular type of diet, or that we’re going to ask you to count calories, it’s not. These are ...

Image courtesy: Design Aqua Studio

If you’re thinking this post is about a particular type of diet, or that we’re going to ask you to count calories, it’s not. These are basic pre-wedding diet tips for Indian brides to feel healthy, energetic and fit.

The Basic Diet Philosophy: How much do you weigh vs How do you feel

Rujuta Diwekar, the famous nutritionist behind Kareena Kapoor’s fabulous body, asks everyone to follow a simple philosophy – don’t look at the weighing scale, instead consider how you feel on a daily basis. Energised? Light on your feet? Ready to take on the world? Then you’re doing just fine! Of course, this is easier said and done.

As a bride to be, you are going to say – but I want my waist to be slim enough to look gorgeous in my lehenga and all those saris! I want to be toned, and I want to be thin, thin, thin! But did you know, you can be thin and still unhealthy?

Your health is most important. And for all those late nights and hectic weekends you will spend planning your wedding and shopping, it’s important for you to have the energy to get through all of it. And a healthy lifestyle will also improve your immunity, which is equally important! The last thing we want is for you to sit through your pheras with a cold!

A Good Diet Plan for Indian Brides Before Marriage

What you want to be like during your wedding is this – full of energy, strong, and fit! Added side benefit – your body will be in the best shape it has ever been in! In addition to working out, you have to take care of what you eat and when you eat it. Getting fit requires you to not only exercise, but also eat right. Here are a few guidelines for you to follow in the months leading up to your wedding. We hope you follow atleast some of them, and that feeling the changes in your body makes you follow them for a lifetime!

1. Coconut Water

Have the simple nariyal ka paani daily – this is our number 1 tip for a bridal diet for glowing skin. It’s easy to follow, yummy, and nobody minds that it’s packed with nutrients AND gets your hair and skin to look great!

2. Plain old water

You’ve heard this one a million times, but it’s also really important – 2 bottles of water a day to flush out toxins and keep you hydrated. Make this a non-negotiable part of your bridal diet chart for glowing skin!

An easy way to follow this is to have your own bottle labelled “Bride To Be” and keep it with you at all times. Sip on it every time you feel thirsty. Especially helps when you’re one of those lazy ones (aren’t we all?) who delays quenching their thirst just because they don’t want to get up and walk to the water cooler and/or kitchen.

3. Mom’s cooking

Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Stick to home-made food. Anyway, you will miss this a lot once you leave your home post the wedding!

4. No to white, yes to brown

Include only brown rice & multigrain bread (not even brown bread – sometimes it’s just white bread with brown color added to it) in your bridal diet chart.

5. Mini-meal philosophy

Follow Rujuta Diwekar’s food philosophy – eat small meals at frequent intervals regularly.

6. First mini-meal of the day

Have a fruit first thing in the morning (within 5-10 minutes of waking up), then after an hour’s gap have whatever it is you feel like having – your cup of tea, or even better, milk!

7. Breakfast like a king, dinner like a pauper

The reason for this is that your metabolism is at it’s highest in the morning, and slows down a lot by the time you have dinner.

8. Go slow

And don’t hog on the food! Did you know that it takes a while for your stomach to send the message to your brain that it’s full? If you chew slowly and eat slowly, you’ll know when you are full. But if you eat too quickly, by the time the message reaches your brain that you are full – you’ve already overeaten!

9. Healthy snacks

When you’re craving snacks, have unsalted almonds & cashew nuts, fruits or fresh juice or coconut water. Much healthier options!

10. Early dinner

Have your last meal atleast 2 hours before you sleep off. It takes longer to digest food at night – so keep it light and finish it off early. And if possible, try having dinner by 7 pm. It does wonders to your body, and your stomach! True, you’ll wake up really hungry, but that’s good. Eat when your metabolism is at it’s highest!

11. For your sweet tooth

Have dessert as a separate mini meal, ideally in the morning hours. Don’t end your meal with something sweet – neither that pastry, nor fruit! Yes, even fruit should be had as a mini-meal in itself.

12. Healthy beverages

This one is really easy to follow. Instead of having cold drinks, opt for freshly-squeezed juices, lassi, etc. And don’t tell me you don’t like the taste – when did a glass of fresh juice or cold coffee not taste yummy?

13. Egg Whites & 1 Yolk

Definitely have an egg a day, but if you are going to eat more than one – ditch the yolk. It’s full of cholesterol – still being debated whether it’s good or bad for your body, but until then, just have 1 egg yolk per day, not more.

14. Healthy Partying & Eating Out

These days even restaurants have healthy eating options, so eating out is no longer an excuse to get off track from your path to a health-conscious diet. For example, if you’re eating pizza, opt for a wholewheat base or choose wholewheat pita bread with hummus. They’re just as tasty and feel light on the stomach!

A few of these habits won’t be easy to keep. You are not used to it and your body, or more accurately, your taste buds, will beg for you to go back to your old ways. But just push yourself for a few extra days after you want to give up. It takes a little while to create a habit, a little patience, and if you ride it out you’ll see a big change in your health and body. Your immunity will shoot up, you will feel a surge of energy each day, and very soon you won’t have those cravings anymore.

Will-power is easy when it comes to food matters – just think long-term and you’ll see the benefits. Especially when you’re the bride, imagine yourself at the mandap and how you want to look on the most special day of your life. That should be motivation enough!

If you’re specifically looking for skin care regimes to get your skin looking fabulous, you should definitely read these: