Toymeka Quaites, also a dietetic intern, said nothing should replace good diet and exercise for healthy weight loss and maintenance. A healthy weight loss is one to two pounds a week. A bride wanting to lose 20 pounds before facing the cameras, friends, family and her groom on her wedding day should allow more than 10 weeks to reach this weight goal. For a reasonable, gradual weight loss of about one pound a week, subtract 500 calories per day from the total calories needed to sustain present weight. While weight loss can be achieved through diet alone, diet and exercise work best.
Cardiovascular activity keeps the metabolism up for less time, but it is good for the heart.
Kuczynski said a prospective bride or groom's best weight loss option is a combination of strength training with aerobic activity and calorie reduction based on activity levels. Both cautioned against fad diets and popular products that promise quick weight loss. Low carbohydrate diets that are so popular today also are not entirely good for the body. They're not nutritionally balanced, they don't teach good eating habits and for some individuals who have other health conditions, known or unknown, they can be dangerous. When they stop the diet and return to the way they were eating, they have not changed the eating behavior that led to the weight gain.