It’s an issue that pretty much every bride fears and every wedding photographer faces. If not managed properly the fear results in a simple statement to the photographer on the wedding day, “Can you Photoshop out my back fat?”. The problem is that’s the wrong question. The bride should have asked the question months before, “How do I get rid of my back fat?”. The irony is, it’s pretty easy and I’m here to give you some tips.
1. When to start.
Easy answer, immediately. Ideally you’ll be starting at least 3 months before the wedding. Longer is better. Don’t worry about your dress, you can get it altered.
2. I hate running, gyms, sport, whatever. Find exercise you like.
If you hate running, then cool, don’t run. But you’re going to have to find some kind of exercise you do like. Try a bunch of stuff (swimming, walking, cross fit, bootcamp, kayaking) and keep going until you find something you like. Aerobic exercise isn’t really going to help you slim down that much. It will make you fell better though, you’ll be toned and tightened. Life in general will get easier.
3. Why exercise alone won’t cut fat
There are lots of people out there who are ‘skinny fat’, that is they are thin but unfit. There are also other people who are overweight but super fit. The difference is the thin / unfit person is probably eating a good diet, but not exercising. The overweight yet fit person is likely to be eating poorly while doing a lot of exercise. The problem is, both are unhealthy. A good diet and exercise are both required to be healthy. The surprising part if the exercise / food equation is the amount of exercise required to burn off a given amount of food. Everyone knows apples are good for you, but you’re going to have to run for over a kilometre to burn it off. Without changing your diet, you’ll need to do excessive amounts of exercise to burn off the food you eat.
4. Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat, Carbs Make You Fat
Fat is essential for your body to function and fat in your diet is not the culprit for making you gain weight. The predominant cause of weight gain are carbohydrates. Carbs can be complex or simple. The simple carbs are pretty much just various forms of sugar. They cause an insulin response and that leads to the body storing the sugar in fat cells. Carbs make you fat. These bad carbs are found in soft drinks, fruit, bread, pasta, potatoes, sauces, cereal, cakes, etc. Eliminate carbs from your diet and you’ll strip kilos off in no time. No calorie counting, no points, no shakes, no hassles. Just stop eating carbs. And drink water. Lots of it. About 30mls per kilo of body weight. That’s 2250mls per day for a 75kg woman.
5. Lift Weights, Heavy Ones
Girls are scared of lifting weights but they shouldn’t be. Big, bulky muscles are hard to grow. You will grow some muscle though – firm, fat burning muscle. You might even get yourself a set of Sarah Connor arms (see pic)
That’s it. Give yourself plenty of time. Get rid of carbs from your diet. Find exercise you like. Lift weights. Drink lots of water. Done, no back fat.
Want to know more? Check out Mark’s Daily Apple for food ideas, Nerd Fitness for exercise and if you’re looking to get really ripped, follow the Miss Nutrition blog.
To finish, here’s a fun pic from Natalie and Jonathan’s wedding at Kingscliff. They’re both runners and wanted to have a bit of fun with their running shoes on the wedding day.
