Why Meditation Is The Bride's Secret Weapon (...and how to get started)

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene

As your wedding date approaches and the days speed up, you need to prioritize time for slowing down. I’m talking meditation, and today I’m here to help you get started with this amazing (yet sometimes challenging) stress buster!

Full disclosure, developing a meditation habit was not easy for me. I struggled (still struggle) with allowing my mind to soften and would often think that I didn’t have time to meditate.

Ironically, the people who “don’t have time” for meditation are the ones who need it the most.

Learning to stick to a regular meditation routine was one of the most valuable habits I’ve developed, and I’m rewarded with a sense of calm and clarity that is difficult to achieve in any other way — except, perhaps, when hiking or swimming.

“Why Should It Be A Priority?”

Meditation and relaxation are one of the first tenets of health that I teach my bridal clients. Believe it or not, this is more important than all of the nutrition and fitness advice combined!

Mini-rests, which is what you experience during meditation, calms the mind and resets the nervous system. When you prioritize mental rest you are able to face every day, experience and challenge, with a fresh attitude and positive energy. Suddenly those not-yet-received ‘RSVPs’ don’t seem like such a big deal (although let’s be honest, they’re still really annoying!)

“But I Don’t Know How To Meditate"

I hear you! It’s easy to think that meditation means clearing your mind, stopping your thoughts and seeing rainbows and dancing elephants float past your third eye. While that would be cool, it's actually not the case.

The purpose of meditation is to simply turn your attention inward and allow thoughts to come and go with ease – view it as slowing down the frenetic pace of your bridal mind, not shutting it down altogether.

So, instead of thinking that you have to chant your way into a sense of oblivion, be open to the idea of simply sitting without distraction for 5 minutes each day.

“I Like The Idea, But I Want More Guidance”

There are many meditation and visualization courses available on the internet. Some for free, some for a fee. The resources below were designed to help busy people like you make meditation more accessible in your everyday life. They are what I use on a regular basis and I’m sure that you will find them useful too.

1. Calm

Got 2, 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes? Calm has a selection of relaxing meditations waiting for you. 

2. Headspace

Prefer verbal guidance? Try the free 10 minutes for 10 days challenge.

3. Oprah + Deepak Chopra

Throughout the year Oprah and Deepak Chopra release free 21-day guided meditation series. The next one is due to start on November 2nd, so jump on board!

These 20 minute meditations, which arrive in your inbox everyday, are a great way to wind down before bed.

Now I’d love to hear from you! Do you have a meditation practice? If not, why not? If so, how has it benefited your experience of wedding planning? Let me know in the comments below.

I’ll see you again next week for another Jennifer Dene at-home workout.

Until then, happy relaxing!

Jennifer Dene xox

Three Easy Ingredient Swaps For Your Bridal Kitchen

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene Richardson

Planning a wedding is like taking on a second job, which is why trying to change your diet at the same time might feel nearly impossible. Obviously you want to look and feel your best on your big day, but the thought of overhauling your eating habits can be really overwhelming.

The good news is that you can achieve quick (and noticeable) changes in how your body looks and feels by making simple swaps to the foods you eat on a regular basis.

Today I’m going to share with you three easy ingredient-swaps that will bring you closer to your dream bridal body, without the added stress of changing your entire diet.

Breakfast:

Swap white/wholewheat toast for rye or sprouted grain bread

Did you know that white bread has the same impact on your blood sugar as a candy bar? (Source) What you might not know is that wholewheat breads cause the same reaction. This is because once the wholegrain is pulverized into flour to make bread, it becomes much easier to digest and causes rapid spikes in blood sugar.

Have you ever noticed that you’re hungry only a couple of hours after eating white or wholewheat toast for breakfast? That’s your blood sugar crashing back down from its refined-flour high.

Try swapping white or wholewheat bread, with rye or sprouted whole grain bread. These breads contain more vitamins, minerals and fiber from the original grain, and are digested more slowly, providing you with more sustained energy throughout the day.

When you read the label the first ingredient must be a whole grain (such as whole rye or whole wheat).

To make this swap even healthier try a sprouted whole grain bread such as Ezekiel; sprouting grains reduces the amount of phytic acid and makes them easier to digest.

Lunch:

Swap mayonnaise for full fat greek yogurt

Commercial mayonnaise is often made with low quality ingredients and unhealthy fats like cheap vegetable oils. Vegetable oils, such as canola or soy bean oil, are high in Omega 6, an essential fatty acid that most Americans consume in excess. A healthy diet should have a 3:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids, however the standard western diet is closer to a ratio of 15:1 (source). A diet high in Omega 6 fats is prone to inflammation, which means that not only will it be harder to lose weight and keep it off, you are also putting yourself at risk for serious medical complications. In addition to these low-quality oils, many mayonnaises are high in sugar and artificial ingredients to keep them shelf-stable.

You could of course make your own mayonnaise with egg yolks, olive oil and lemon juice, but my preferred recommendation for the busy bride is to swap your mayo for full fat greek yogurt.

Greek yogurt has greater amounts of protein and much less fat than mayonnaise. In fact, one tablespoon of mayonnaise has five grams of fat, whereas one tablespoon of full fat greek yogurt has less than one gram! Plus greek yogurt is equally happy on your breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack plate, making it a truly versatile ingredient.

Dinner:

Swap half your pasta for spiralized vegetables

I love a bowl of pasta as much as the next person, but unfortunately too much of a good thing can wreak havoc on your bridal body.

Similar to the quickly digested flours found in bread, pasta is made from refined ingredients that can negatively impact your blood sugar levels. When blood sugar yo-yos it often leads to cravings, overeating, bad moods and even bloating.

Plus, let’s be honest, it’s really hard to stick to a single 1/2 cup serving of pasta.

To make this a healthy swap try choosing quinoa or brown rice pasta and then bulking out your plate with spiralized vegetables. I love to “zoodle” zucchinis, but you can also use sweet potatoes or carrots.

+To make vegetable noodles use a vegetable peeler and shave lengthways into long ribbons.

+To cook vegetable noodles add them at the very end of the pasta cooking time, they only need about 1 or 2 minutes.

I hope that you enjoyed these ideas and I’d love to hear one healthy swap that you will choose this week to make a small but powerful change to your wedding ready diet.

Jennifer Dene XO

The Overwhelmed Bride’s Wedding Day Workout

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene Richardson

Hey there you beautiful bride!

I’m so happy to be joining you each week as the new Overwhelmed Bride Health + Fitness blogger. My name is Jennifer Dene and I’m the founder of mindbodybride.com, where I live and breathe fitness, nutrition and stress-management advice for busy brides to be.

I have lots of fun things planned for you in the coming weeks and months, but thought there was no better way to start than with a workout. This isn’t just any old workout though, this is your wedding day routine!

You might be wondering why you need a specific routine on your wedding day — or perhaps you weren’t planning on working out at all — so before we train together let me explain the three reasons why you should not only exercise on the morning of your wedding, but why you should prioritize strength training.

1. Trim, Toned, Terrific

During strength training, extra blood is pumped directly to the muscles to supply them with oxygen and nutrients. This extra blood gives your muscles a lovely fullness, and is the best way to show off all the toning work that you have been doing. It also helps to contract the muscles, making you feel svelte and sexy as you walk down the aisle.

2. Low Impact + Targeted

To get the “pump” (the term used when muscles achieve that sense of fullness) in the right places we need to focus on what’s on display. Obviously the arms are a priority, but so is training the abdominals, as a strong core will keep your belly flat and encourage better posture throughout the day. While your legs may or may not be on display everyone feels better with a tight tooshie!

The moves are also low impact and shouldn’t place excess pressure on your back or joints. This workout should make you feel energized, not wiped out.

3. Calm Before The Storm

Keep in mind that you will have a lot of nervous energy on the morning of your wedding, but you’ll also be spending time sitting around getting ready. A quick workout is a great way to manage nerves and boost endorphins.

Let’s dive in to this workout, follow along with the video or see the written notes below. You can start practicing this sequence now, and use it everyday during that final week leading up to your big day.

Thanks for working out with me, see you next week!

Jennifer Dene XO

The Workout

Hello, World!

You need a set of heavy weights (8 — 15 pounds) and a yoga mat or towel.

Repeat 15 repetitions of each move, then repeat everything from the beginning one more time.

This workout will take you 15 — 20 minutes.

The Moves

Ballet Squat Jumps

Wide Pushups

Bicep Curls

Forearm Plank (slow count to 15)

Bridge Pumps (double legs)

Bridge Pumps (single leg left)

Bridge Pumps (single leg right)

Upper-Lower Abdominals

Full Weighted Sit Ups

Bent Over Rows

Post Workout

Rehydrate and take a few minutes to stretch your legs and rest in child’s pose position.