How to Drop a Waist Size for a Dress

If you are the bride, the bridesmaid or merely attending a gala event, often times the dress is purchased in advance and waiting for you to fit into it. The problem could be that you need to drop a size to put it on. Fortunately, there is a way to boost your metabolism and take inches off your waist by eating the right foods and adding daily exercise and weight training to your schedule.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat less. In order to drop a size, you need to decrease calorie intake safely. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, calorie levels should never drop below 1200 calories per day for women. Calorie reduction depends on your size and weight loss goal. Use an online Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator to determine your body fat based on your height and weight (a link to a BMI calculator is provided in the Resources section of this article.) When you stick to just three meals a day, you tend to eat too much at meal times. To maintain portion control while keeping your blood sugar in check, eat small snacks throughout the day such as crackers and cheese, fruit, or low-calorie foods such as Jell-O or yogurt.

• 2

  Eat the right foods. Avoid all junk food such as cakes, cookies, pastries and chocolate. Stay away from soda, fruit juice and other high-sugar beverages. Often, you will find foods packaged as "diet foods" but even these foods contain refined sugars and are empty calories. Saturated fats found in palm kernel oil or processed foods are also off the list. Cutting down on dairy or replacing it altogether with goat, sheep or soy milk and cheese is recommended. Eventually, once you take inches off your waist, you can re-introduce treats in moderation.

• 3

  Stay hydrated. By the time you are thirsty, it means you are dehydrated. In 2004 the Food and Nutrition Board released new dietary reference intakes that recommend women should consume 2.7 liters of water daily. If you are exercising, you need to make up for the loss of fluids, especially if it's hot outside. Staying hydrated speeds up the digestive system and flushes excess toxins from your system.

• 4

  Include weight training in your exercise regimen. Weights replace fat with muscle, which boosts your metabolism and slims down your waist. Whether you do it at home or in the gym, start out slow with 2 to 3 lb. weights and work up gradually. Weights can be used to tone arms and and legs simultaneously by doing squats and lunges while holding weights. There are a variety of videos you can purchase or borrow from the library that feature 45 to 50 minute aerobic workouts using weights

• 5

  Engage in aerobic exercise. In order to lose inches, you need 45 to 90 minutes of intense physical activity per day. You should be working at your target heart range, which for women is calculated by subtracting your age from 220 and then multiplying that number by 60 percent or 80 percent. The lower number is a safe beginning range, and the higher number would be your goal target as you improve your endurance and lung capacity. Whether it's cycling, jogging or walking it should be a sustained activity for the best results. Walking up and down the stairs to do the laundry won't be enough.