The countdown is on! I'm about 7 months, 2 weeks and 1 day away from my wedding and the days just seem to get shorter and shorter. On paper it appears as though I've got plenty of time to get in shape for the big day but in reality, I don't. In just a few short months I've got my engagement shoot to be ready for and then before I know it I'll be walking down the aisle. That's why it's time to get my sh*t together and put my plan on paper - my pre- wedding diet and fitness plan. So here it is, my goals and visions on the line for the world to see. It's at this point where I go from the "out of sight, out of mind" method to holding myself accountable in front of the world. This is it, it's now or never. My Pre- Wedding Diet Starts Here. After reading this article you'll understand why I'm not your average dieting bride. In fact, I don't plan on dieting at all. Considering I'm a Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist my daily eats are naturally very clean and consistent. Because of that I plan to use exercise as my primary source of weight loss. That doesn't mean I can eat anything I want. What it means is that I plan to keep my diet the same as it is now (with small manipulations and variations here and there) while increasing the amount of cardiovascular exercise I put in each week. That being said, below is a typical example of my pre- wedding diet with weight loss in mind:

Meal #1 (aka breakfast): Protein Pancakes with PB and J 1 cup of black coffee + 2 packets Splenda + 1 tablespoon Half N Half

Meal #2 (lunch): 3-4 ounces grilled chicken breast or turkey/ground beef burger with reduced sugar ketchup 2 cups romaine lettuce salad topped with handful of slivered almonds, balsamic vinegar or Light Gingerly organic salad dressing and 4 or 5 baby carrots water to drink

Meal #3 (snack): 1 scoop chocolate protein powder sweetened with Splenda and mixed with water and 1 tablespoon half n' half (the protein I use is a blend of whey isolate, casein and egg white protein) 1 medium or large green apple sliced 2-3 tablespoons natural peanut butter

Meal #4 (dinner): 3-4 ounces grilled chicken breast or turkey/ground beef burger with reduced sugar ketchup 2 cups romaine lettuce salad topped with handful of slivered almonds (~1 ounce), balsamic vinegar and 4 or 5 baby carrots water to drink 1 medium pear or apple 1 small plum (if I'm still hungry)

Sometimes I will make Brisket, Ground beef or another type of red meat for dinner often using the Crock Pot.

I have no idea how many calories this is equivalent to. Often I'll eat more or less depending upon how hungry I feel. Breakfast and lunch tend to be the same every day, it's other meals and snacks where there might be some discrepancies.

Ok, on to my pre- wedding workout plan:

Monday thru Friday I head over to CrossFit Stony Brook for a workout. On the weekends it's a tad bit difficult for me to get over to the gym for a workout since I work from early in the morning to late afternoon. By the time I'm out of work on back on this side of town the gym has been closed for 5 hours. On those days my goal is to head outside for a run around my neighborhood if the weather and my body permits. During the week I plan to add an additional 3 days of morning cardio like running or rowing (I have an indoor rower). Here is how my schedule is going to look:

M - AM Cardio; PM CrossFit T - PM Crossfit W - AM Cardio; PM CrossFit Th - PM Crossfit F - AM Cardio; PM CrossFit S - Off (optional cardio in the evening) Sun - Off (optional cardio in the evening)

Home cardio workouts will consist of one of the following: - 2.5 mile run around neighborhood (~30 - 35 minutes in duration) - Intervals on the Rower (~15 minutes total) - CrossFit style workout using body weight movements, box jumps, kettlebells, wall balls, situps and jump rope (~20 minute workout)

The key to my morning cardio workouts is that I plan to do them first thing in the morning before breakfast. I find that this method works well for me to help get rid of this stubborn body fat.

Speaking of stubborn body fat. I plan to record my weekly progress right here on my blog. Starting with today. My weight this morning was a staggering 143 lbs! Ugh! Before the holidays I was doing exactly what I have posted above consistently and I was losing weight. I lost a total of 7 lbs! My weight was down to 139 which is the lowest I've been in over 3 years! And now, it seems like it's creeping back up slowly and I'm not cool with that.

Every Monday morning I'm going to weigh myself when I wake up. Then I'm going to lace up my running shoes and hit the sidewalk. My goal is not to see a certain number on the scale, but more to feel confident in my body and fit in to smaller clothes. My first milestone marker will be the engagement session we have yet to book with our amazing photographers Alexis Stein Photography. I've not yet set the date for this photoshoot but I would imagine it will be at minimum set for 2-3 months from now. That means I've got about 9 or 10 weeks to make some progress. I'm ready to make things happen and I can't wait to see how our engagement photos turn out, especially after I am in better shape!

This road is not going to be an easy one but I am going to do my best to make things happen and feel good in my skin no matter what the outcome turns out to be.

Got any tips or tricks to help me feel and look my best on my big day?