How To Feel Picture Perfect

 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by AllSeated. I will receive compensation for this post but as always, all thoughts, experiences and opinions are my own.

Ever look back at photos and recall your thoughts or see things in yourself that no one else can sense from the picture?

Maybe you remember what you ate right before taking the picture or you are smiling even though you remember being sad.

If you recall my post introducing you to AllSeated (simplify your event planning by organizing and keeping track of your guest list, floor plan and seating arrangement in one place with instant access from anywhere), I shared a picture with you from my wedding day.

What you can’t tell from the picture is that only two weeks prior to my wedding day, my dress needed some unplanned alterations.

You see, during the months leading up to my wedding, I was dealing with amenorrhea.

While I did get my cycle back to normal roughly four months before my wedding, it takes quite a bit of time for the body and metabolism to regulate and adjust.

I wasn’t supposed to try my dress on again when I picked it up but something told me just to do so before leaving the bridal salon.

Thankfully I did because the seamstress needed to remove the cups that were sewn into the bodice in order for the dress to zip and button on up.

Hello hormones and screwy metabolism.

I may have gained a little weight from the time of the original fitting to my actual wedding day but I still loved the way I looked.

I can even reflect on those photos now, years later, fondly…even if I am divorced.

Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and other big events in our lives often lead people to the land of extreme diets, fad weight-loss plans and intense exercise regimens in an effort to look as perfect as possible.

Most of the Wedding Dress Fad Diets lead to unhealthy behaviors, added stress and binge eating.

Not to mention, even if you are able to achieve the figure you are looking to portray in the photographs, what happens when you give up the rigid routine?

I have seen it happen. Women follow some restrictive diet and exercise plan, lose a significant amount of weight for their big day only to revert to old habits, gain all of the weight back (if not more) and then hate looking at their wedding albums.

Of course they do. The albums are loaded with pictures of a person they barely recognize as themselves thereby making their current self feel all sorts of terrible for not being as thin as they were in the photos.

Notice I say How To Feel rather than How To Look.

I did that on purpose.

It is my belief that learning to feel pretty is the key to developing a higher level of confidence which plays out in every area of your life, including your appearance.

When you can honestly feel in your heart that you are pretty enough, thin enough and good enough, when you can feel your self-confidence, that’s when you can accept yourself as you are, which is perfect.

It’s not about a dress size or getting yourself to appear as tiny as possible – because that may or may not be realistic, achievable or sustainable and certainly isn’t the definition of perfection.

Of course, they are ways to assist you into feeling perfect without the added stress of a restrictive diet since the last thing you need while planning an event is any more stress….

*Hydration*

Ever notice how much better you feel and how great your skin looks when you consume more water?

Staying hydrated is essential not just for quenching your thirst but for glowing skin as well.

When you are dehydrated, your skin shows it. Wrinkles appear deeper and your skin begins to look older than you really are.

Making sure you drink enough water to stay hydrated will immediately help to minimize and soften those creases and fine lines as well as provides you with that healthy glow you want to see in your photos and mirror each day.

Add in your fruits and vegetables (especially berries which are loading with the antioxidants known to fight off the free radicals) and you are well on your way to slowing down and possibly reversing the signs of aging that show on the skin.

*Nutrient-Dense Foods*

Trading in your processed foods, including those diet plans which provide you with packaged meals and snacks, for fruits and vegetables, complex carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice and quinoa, good fats found in avocado and nut butter with lean protein, allows you to eat an abundance of food without feeling deprived, restricted or hungry.

When you fuel your body well, you feel well. And when you feel well, you look well.

There’s a reason healthy looking people keep drinking those green smoothie juice things often referred to as “Glowing Green Smoothies” or why I eat “Power Bowls” – the ingredients really make you glow and really give you energy.

Click here for a glowing green smoothie recipe and here for power bowl ideas.

*Exercise*

Just because there is a ring on your finger or a Bar Mitzvah date approaching on your calendar does not mean you suddenly need to train for your first marathon in order to get into shape.

Simply incorporating thirty minutes a day of an exercise you can enjoy and maintain is enough to lower stress levels, strengthen your muscles and possibly lose weight in the process.

You can start by walking, join the gym and test out some group fitness classes, try Pure Barre (since I love it!), take up running or an at-home workout routine – whichever you choose, do so because you enjoy how it makes you feel.

Exercise produces endorphins which make you feel good. It is cheaper than therapy, better than a pill and lowers your stress levels naturally.

Stress shows on your face. Stress raises those cortisol levels and can even lead to weight gain.

We don’t want any part of stress so get yourself moving in order to relax.

Remember, little changes lead to big results.

Everyone wants things to happen for them yesterday. Thinking you can drop twenty pounds quick is quite a task to take on, not reality and will make you mean and hungry.

The Start, Stop, Keep approach is great for getting you to make small, attainable changes and goals which you can adjust and reevaluate each week. Click here to learn more.

Planning an event can be stressful but no reason to make it worse by placing unrealistic expectations on your appearance.

A little organization combined with a healthy and balanced lifestyle is enough to give you the positive energy and confidence to get you through the planning, feeling pretty for the pictures and enjoying the cake taste testing appointment.

I mean, what’s the point in having a big, fancy event if you are going to extreme diet and skip sampling the cake options? All those cake flavors and frosting varieties?

Don’t forget to check out the AllSeated website to learn more about managing your guest list, RSVP’s and seating charts all in one place with instant access from anywhere at any time.

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How often do you look through old pictures?

Do you notice your skin looks different when you drink more/less water?

If you are married or about to get married, please tell me about your wedding cake! Mine was chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling with white frosting on the outside not that I wanted it that way because I prefer everything chocolate.