Getting married? How to choose the best fitness coach!

You find a girl on Instagram. She has your DREAM body. You follow. You obsess. You want her every secret because if SHE has that body, SURELY she can help YOU get that body for your wedding. Right? WRONG!

Selecting the best fitness coach is complicated enough for the everyday girl but it gets even MORE complicated when you’re a bride. You’re dealing with so many different things that other women are NOT dealing with. Stress from planning, limited time, an increase in social events, dress shopping and fittings. The list goes on and on and on. So how on EARTH can you possibly fit in losing weight as well!?

I’m here to tell you it IS possible. But be very particular in selecting your coach! Here are the top 3 things to look for.

1. Someone who has gone through what you’re going through.

This is HUGE. If you can find a coach who lost weight while SHE was planning her own wedding she will have real life experience on EXACTLY what you’re going through and will be able to empathize and walk you through every single hurdle you will face. She will understand the schedule of fittings and how costly it can become if you continue to lose a ton of weight after each fitting.

The best fitness coach will understand the time crunch you’re in and will understand the stress you’re under – while offering strategies on how to deal with it. Stress, believe it or not, has a large impact on weight loss. So find a coach who is well versed in stress relief strategies. This will make your weight loss much more attainable AND enjoyable!

2. Look at their lifestyle.

Do they spend hours in the gym, lifting heavy, and eating only chicken and broccoli? Is that how you want to live? If your answer is no, then keep looking. Chances are, someone like that will ask YOU to do the same thing and if you’re not willing to be that strict, then their system will not work for you. Find someone whose lifestyle resembles your ideal lifestyle. This will set you up for immediate success.

As a bride, you will have bridal showers, bachelorette parties, cake tastings, food tastings, and so many other events that won’t allow you to be 100% “on plan”. And that’s OK! You should ENJOY those moments.

The best fitness coach will offer you advice and tips on how to handle all the social events without going off the deep end, without guilt, and keep you motivated the entire time.

3. Before & After Photos

Just because someone is thin, doesn’t mean they know how to coach others to lose weight. Just because THEY lost weight doesn’t mean they can help you do the same. What works for one person may not work for someone else so find someone who can send you before and after photos of previous clients. Bonus points if there are different body types represented in those before and afters! You want PROOF that they can coach others to success! Also ask for testimonials!

Anyone can put together a workout plan. But do they also offer moral support? Help you overcome negative body image? Teach you strategies for living a healthy lifestyle? If you want to keep the progress you’ve made after the wedding is over, then you need to focus less on the “perfect plan” or “fastest way to lose weight” and more on behavior change. The best fitness coach understands the psychology behind habit change and will be able to anticipate all your struggles while coaching you through those in a positive way that lasts for LIFE! And that is what true transformation is!

I know it can be overwhelming to even think about where on earth to begin when it comes to losing weight, and yes, you CAN do all of this on your own. But if you’re already overwhelmed with the idea of planning a wedding AND trying to figure out the healthy lifestyle stuff, your best bet is to hire a professional to help you. Someone who can take this one thing OFF your plate and tell you exactly what to do, and how to do it to get the end result you crave. Sure, it might be another expense, but isn’t your health and confidence worth ANY expense?

For Alaina’s previous article on how to get into wedding shape, click here!