Getting in shape for the wedding is a pretty common practice for a bride to be. This isnt too surprising since many women have been anticipating about their wedding day since they were little girls. But for the majority of guys out there, I dont think this is typical behavior.

A Little about Myself

I consider myself to be a pretty typical guy and I dont ever recall thinking about my wedding day until a few months after I proposed to my fianc and started to plan a my wedding. Frankly, I was much more interested in becoming a pro football player, race car driver, or jet pilot than growing up to be a knight in shining armor for my future wife.

About 6-months to the date of our wedding my fiancee started to take her exercise regimen seriously. She was never noticeably overweight by any means, but she wanted to lose about ten pounds to look her best in a wedding dress. Needless to say, her new workout regimen got me thinking about my own weight.

I was 510 and about 185 pounds six months before our wedding. Certainly not a bad weight for someone approaching his 30s, but I dont think anyone would argue there was room for improvement in the body department. So I started looking into ways I could lose 10 15 pounds over a 6-month period. If I was able to lose 15 pounds, Id be back to the same weight as when I graduated from high school, which would be a fulfilling personal accomplishment.

Simple Changes = Measurable Results

Since I had a few months to go before my wedding date and a realistic goal, I wasnt looking for any type of overnight miracle cure to hit my target weight loss. I was just looking for a plan that was slow, steady, and eventually get me where I wanted to be.

So I picked up a few magazines like Mens Health and surfed the internet for diet plans for men on WebMD.com. What I soon discovered was that there were a plethora of solutions, products, and plans available to help me hit my goal. However, the most important factor that indicated success seemed to be just picking a program and sticking to it. The follow through, not the plan was the biggest factor that separated success from failure.

I opted to move ahead with a common sense plan that included a simple change in diet and more exercise. Next, I put my goal down on a piece of paper and stuck it to my refrigerator as a daily reminder of what I needed to do to hit my desired weight.

Heres what my plan consisted of:

Exercise for at least 25 minutes, four times per week. My exercise regimen consisted of cardiovascular activities like running, swimming, or using the elliptical machine. Since I wasnt trying to build muscle, I didnt do any weight training although the fitness training has toned my muscles.

Changed my diet during the week: I work in an office thats located nearby a variety of fast food chains with familiar names. Out of convenience, I would regularly eat fast food with co-workers about 3 4 times a week. I replaced fast food with healthy salads and sandwiches I made from home. In addition to eating better for lunch, I also saved money.

My weekend diet remained mostly unchanged: Im a sports fan and really enjoy watching (and eating) during baseball games. Since I didnt have a ton of weight to lose, I figured I could continue to splurge on the weekends.

Hitting My Goal

After four months of sticking to this simple plan that combined exercise with a change in diet, I was able to successfully lose 10 pounds. Ive also noticed a boost in energy as a result of my exercise regimen, which is a nice bonus.

In conclusion, getting in shape for a wedding isnt a thing guys normally discuss. However, I felt that it was important for me to look my best in photographs that will hopefully be passed down to my children and grand children. My wife didnt seem to mind either.

My advice

1.) If youre thinking about losing a few pounds for your wedding start working out early. This will ensure you have the time to adjust your work-out routine or diet if youre not getting fast enough results. 2.) Follow through with the plan. If youre consistent and stick to a sensible plan you should get results.

Author Bio: This post was written by Steven Johnson a writer at Adult Cloth Diapers HQ, a distributor of quality adult cloth diapers. Visit their website for more information.

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