4 Tips for Looking and Feeling Your Best when You Walk Down the Aisle #AisleStyle

Wondering three of the best tips I got before I tied the knot?

Before walking down the aisle, look around the room, absorb it all, take a deep breath and really enjoy the moment (and I did!).
Take two Advil’s to fend off the pain from the 6-inch stilettos and the super-tight bobby pin up-do. Although this literally was a hard pill to swallow for a girl who doesn’t like to take medicine, it was worth a pain-free night breathing the air of someone 6-inches taller than me!
It’s never too soon to start preparing for the big day—it comes before you know it! (And in every sense of the word—booking a venue, finding a make-up artist, preparing to look your best, etc!).

Now, as registered dietitians and personal trainers, we want to give you our 4 top tips to prepare for looking and feeling your best on your big day.
1. Start every day off right with a phytonutrient-rich, energizing breakfast!

Choose a breakfast with quality carbohydrates for energy, lean protein to extend the energy boost and rich in antioxidants that will mop up damage in your body and will radiate out of your body and make your skin glow. Plus, it will stave off hunger so that you don’t overeat at lunch-time or make a bad decision about what to eat because you’re hungry and can’t be rational!

Here are some examples of great ways to start your morning!

Sunnyside Avocado Breakfast

Serves 1 scrumptious breakfast!

Ingredients:
1 whole grain, high fiber tortilla (we used a brand that has 7 grams of fiber)
1 egg (We used Eggland’s Best* because they have 4 times the vitamin D and 25% less saturated fat than other eggs)
2 ounces (a little less than 1/2 cup sliced) avocado
2 Tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pepper, fresh cracked, to taste
salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Spray a skillet with your favorite cooking oil in a spray jar.
2. Cook an egg sunny-side-up style.
3. Meanwhile use your fork to mash and mix together avocado, yogurt and lemon juice. You can use a blender if you prefer
4. When egg is ready, remove from the pan. Add the tortilla to the pan and allow it to toast for about a minute, flipping to get both sides toasted and golden.
5. Remove tortilla from pan and put on plate. Spread avocado mixture on top and the egg on top of that. Season with pepper and salt to taste.
Enjoy!

Serves 1

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 217 Calories, 22 grams carbohydrates, 13 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 12 g protein, 10 g fiber, 1 g sugar

Ginger-nana Pineapple Smoothie

Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 banana
4 ice cubes
6 ounces nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
1/4 cup frozen pineapple tidbits (Trader Joe’s has great ones)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger*(or ½ inch chunk grated ginger)

Directions: Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Per serving (not including optional honey or stevia) 232 calories, 1 g fat, 141 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrate, 14 g protein, 3 g fiber, 30 g sugar

2. Limit alcoholic beverages to one to two drinks a week and include hydrating, anti-bloating drinks like this Slimming Strawberry and Mint Detox Spritzer (see recipe below).
Here’s why this works:
o You’ll save a lot of muffin-top promoting calories (120-350 per drink) for each alcoholic drink you skip.
o The Slimming Spritzer (below) and drinks like this “flusher” are rich in water and help you to rinse out bloating sodium from your body, “de-puffing” you and making you feel lighter. The potassium from the fruit will also fight bloat as it helps to restore normal hydration status.
o The fruit’s vitamin C in the Slimming Spritzer will make your gorgeous, soft and supple by promoting collagen formation. Plus it will hydrate your skin (ie, you’ll glow) and you can kiss good bye to a puffy face and eyes.

Slimming Raspberry Mint Detox Spritzer

Ingredients:
• 8 ounces seltzer water
• 2-3 raspberries strawberries, sliced
• Sprig of mint
• Juice of 1/2 lime (optional)
Directions: Pour seltzer in a glass, add raspberries and mint. Enjoy! *Tip– let the drink sit for a few extra minutes in the refrigerator to allow a stronger raspberry flavor.

Nutrition Information per serving: 8 calories, 0 g fat

3. Exercise as many days of the week as you can. Don’t forget to strength train!
o Do whatever you can to be active. Walk, jog, bike and swim.
o It burns calories, boosts mood and fights pre-wedding stress!
o You can do easy at-home exercises to build tone up and build strength! Try this at-home exercise to get a perkier chest!

Chest Press

1. Tighten your abs and stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Place your hands on the table top edge, also shoulder width apart. Hook your hands on the edge of the table securely.
3. Keeping your body in a straight line from your head to your feet, slowly lower your body towards the table as you bend your arms, until your chest is close to the table.
4. Keeping your abs tight and your body straight as you press away from the table by straightening your arms.
5. Do this 10 times for one set. Take a break and do another set.

4. Allow yourself small portions of your favorite indulgences on occasion to prevent yourself from feeling deprived (and to prevent the moodiness, cravings and often times –binges that come with feeling deprived!).
Consider these options when you choose to indulge:
o Fudgsicles
o A square of chocolate
o ½ cup of ice cream
o Try these decadent: Chocolate Fruit Cups

Chocolate Fruit Cups

Serves: 10

Ingredients
• 1 cup chocolate chips (preferably dark chocolate one)
• 10 paper cupcake liners
• 2 cups fresh strawberries or any of your favorite fruit; sliced in half
• Oil in a spray container (or cooking spray)

Directions:

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe container (timing varies by microwave, start with 45 second intervals and depending on your microwave, see if you need more.

Lightly spray cupcake liners with oil before spooning melted chocolate inside. Carefully brush the chocolate mixture inside the liner with a spoon, creating a thin layer about 1/4 inch or less. Make sure the chocolate fully covers the side of the cupcake liners. Place on a plate in the refrigerator or freezer for 30 minutes and allow the chocolate to harden. Once hardened, check the cupcake liners to make sure there are no thin spots. If so, brush on more chocolate.

When the chocolate has hardened, peel the paper liners. You should have perfect chocolate cups. Fill each with sliced strawberries or your favorite fruit, drizzle with melted chocolate and enjoy!!

Nutrition Facts per cupcake with strawberries: 122 calories, 8 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 8 mg sodium, 17 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 14 g sugar, 2 g protein
If you go for the small cupcake liner each treat will have 55-60 calories!