How to lose weight before your wedding, without crash dieting

Start with your date

Count the weeks to your wedding, then subtract 4 to 6. That's your weight-loss window. The last few weeks are for holding steady, because alterations depend on a stable size, and the final stretch is often the busiest and most stressful.

A sustainable pace for most adults is 0.5 to 2 lb a week. Staying near the lower end usually works better when you also need energy for planning, work and events.

Timelines at 3, 6 and 12 months

Example: a 30-year-old woman who is 5 ft 6 in and 165 lb burns about 1,485 calories at rest and about 2,042 on a lightly active day. Eating 1,550 to 1,650 calories gives a gap of about 400 to 500 calories. Over 20 weeks, that's often 12 to 18 lb if she has that much to lose. Plan yours with the calorie deficit calculator.

Plan around dress and suit fittings

Fittings often begin a few months before the wedding, with a final fitting in the last few weeks. Ask your seamstress or tailor how much size change they can handle between fittings, and tell them about your plan early.

• Many shops recommend ordering from your current measurements, not a goal size
• Expect the larger losses earlier in your plan, before the first fitting
• Aim to stay within 2 to 3 lb of a steady weight from 4 to 6 weeks out
• Keep salt and alcohol modest the week of the final fitting to limit water swings

Why crash diets backfire before a wedding

Very low calorie diets can drop the scale fast, but much of that is water and some is muscle. They often bring fatigue, irritability and headaches, and hair shedding can show up a few months later. The NIDDK notes that rapid weight loss raises the risk of gallstones. None of those are welcome in wedding week.

Stay above 1,200 (women) or 1,500 (men) calories a day unless a doctor is supervising you. Skip juice cleanses, laxative teas and "wedding shred" plans that promise 20 lb in a month.

Stress, sleep and appetite

Wedding planning is stressful, and stress can push people toward comfort eating or skipped meals. The NIMH suggests regular activity, regular meals, a steady sleep schedule and limiting caffeine. Short sleep tends to raise appetite the next day, so 7 hours or more is part of the plan. Read more in sleep and weight loss.

Build in movement you enjoy: a walk with your partner, a dance class for your first dance, or a weekly strength session. Strength work can help you feel stronger and stand taller in photos, even before the scale moves much.

Tastings, showers and dinners out

Wedding planning comes with a lot of food: cake tastings, menu tastings, showers, engagement dinners and bachelor or bachelorette weekends. You don't need to skip them. Treat each one as a planned meal, eat lighter and higher in protein earlier that day, and take a walk afterward. At tastings, a bite or two of each option is enough to decide. For weekends away, keep one habit, such as a morning walk, and get back to your routine the day you return.

The last month

• Keep meals familiar; this isn't the time for a new diet
• Eat a real breakfast with protein on the wedding day
• Drink water through the day, and pace alcohol at showers and parties
• Protect your sleep for the 3 nights before

Some bloating around the day is common from travel, nerves and salty food. It isn't fat, and it passes.

If you're considering medicine

Prescription GLP-1 medicines are approved for adults who meet BMI criteria, and they're started at low doses that rise over weeks. Nausea and other stomach effects are common early, which matters around a wedding or honeymoon. If you may try for a pregnancy soon, the Wegovy label advises stopping it at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy, and the Zepbound label says it can make birth control pills less effective. Read GLP-1s, pregnancy and birth control, and talk with a licensed clinician in your state before you start.