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" Ever sort of wish you&amp;#039;d registered for bigger-size clothes instead of all those pots and pans? We get it: As life becomes more complicated, there&amp;#039;s no time to exercise, the couch calls your name after dinner, and, oh yeah, you have all that snack food you bought &amp;quot;for the family.&amp;quot; That&amp;#039;s why REDBOOK is giving you a fun, totally doable fitness challenge: Lose enough weight to fit back into your wedding dress, or any other fabulous piece of clothing in your closet that&amp;#039;s become a little snug. Experts say having a tangible way to measure your weight loss is crucial for motivation. (Plus, admit it: Wouldn&amp;#039;t it be fun to wear that gown again?) Need some inspiration? Last year&amp;#039;s 13 featured participants, tracked in the magazine and online, lost a collective 274 pounds. Not only did they fit back into their wedding finery \u2014 some lost so much weight that a tailor had to take their dresses in. Take Lisa Jones Barksdale, who dropped 33 pounds and convinced her sisters-in-law Talayia Rooks and Millicent Holcomb to sign up for the challenge this year. &amp;quot;We saw how much it helped Lisa to know that other women out there were dealing with the same struggles, and how they kept each other motivated and on track,&amp;quot; says Millicent. The program is free, so get started now and reach your best weight ever! Join the community, and you&amp;#039;ll receive... Access to REDBOOK&amp;#039;s special online community: Get exactly the kind of 24/7 support you need to stay motivated with the Wedding Dress Challenge online community, which is powered by YuuZoo. Have a craving for an unhealthy treat? Tempted to ditch a workout? Log on to chat with other members. You can share your tips, confess your slipups, swap low-calorie snack ideas, and connect with other participants across the country. A no-guesswork eating plan: The eating guidelines will help you drop pounds \u2014 without counting calories. Plus, each Monday, top New York City \u2014 based nutritionist Stephanie Middleberg, R.D., will serve up a new eat-right lesson online to help you reach your goal weight. The tweaks will be simple, but when the dress sizes start dropping, you&amp;#039;ll see how little changes lead to big results. A fail-proof fitness plan: Every Tuesday, look for a (fun!) exercise routine you can do anywhere from CrossFit coach and Plus One trainer Angela Salveo. She designed our plan for real women with really busy lives. It&amp;#039;ll be motivating and efficient. Exclusive discounts: Everyone who joins the challenge will get 20 percent off a Gold&amp;#039;s Gym membership. You can also enter to win a luxe vacation for two to Jamaica from Sandals Resorts.  The Fitness Plan You Can&amp;#039;t Fail At No time? No gym? No trainer? That sums up our lives too. But this simple, flexible workout is designed for women with extra-busy lives. Let&amp;#039;s be real: The best exercise is the one you actually do. So you can choose your way to get sweaty, whether that&amp;#039;s walking, jogging, biking, even roller-skating. As long as you do it three to four times a week for at least 30 minutes, you will see results. But if you want to drop pounds quickly and spend less time working out, the key is variety. Why? Because always doing the same workout at the same pace allows your muscles to get too comfortable with one routine, and that stalls weight loss. To get started right this second, use our online workout videos designed by Angela Salveo, a CrossFit coach and trainer at Plus One Health Management in New York City. Each week, you&amp;#039;ll get a workout with effective, uncomplicated moves (think push-ups, running in place, and jump-ups). Your No-Diet Eating Plan You&amp;#039;ll never feel hungry with this brilliantly basic advice from registered dietitian Stephanie Middleberg, a celebrity nutritionist and the founder of Middleberg Nutrition in New York City. 1. Eat three balanced meals and two small snacks a day. Treats are optional, but if you need one, make it small (under 100 calories) and low in sugar. Keep calories in check using the guide at right. 2. Swap anything made with refined white flour (like white bread, noodles, and muffins) for complex carbs like brown rice, beans, lentils, or whole-grain pasta and bread. Try to keep it to one to two servings (\u00BD cup, or 2 slices in the case of bread) a day. 3. Sneak belly-filling fiber into your diet by loading up on green veggies like spinach and broccoli, eating plain oatmeal instead of cereal, and reaching for berries when you want something sweet. 4. Eat protein at every meal to stay full, but choose from lean sources like eggs, chicken, fish, turkey, tofu, or beans. 5. Eat at least two vegetarian dinners or lunches per week. 6. Include healthy fats in your diet, but go easy. Think: half an avocado in your salad at lunch, 1 ounce of nuts (24 almonds) for a snack, and 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil drizzled over your veggies at dinner. 7. Keep a food journal and write down what you eat \u2014 it keeps you from snacking mindlessly. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/body/advice/a14791/wedding-dress-challenge-2013/>