We all know planning a wedding is super-stressful — heck it’s our job to know everything about them so we can ease the burden on you! But when we read stories about the lengths brides are going to to lose weight, we can’t help but want to shake these ladies.

Shedding for the wedding is tough, and the pressure is on to look beautiful on your wedding day, but is sticking a feeding tube up your nose really the answer to weight loss? We’re going to go out on a limb and say no. The Times recently reported on the latest in what we can only call wedding crash dieting (there should be an ultimate in there too). We’re not just talking eating fruit and cottage cheese all the time, more like dishing out thousands of dollars to have someone limit your calorie intake and monitor negative side effects (like constipation and dizziness).

But what do these drastic measures get you? Okay, we admit, the results are speedy but they’re also very short-lived. Like Dr. Oliver Di Pietro (he operates his own clinic in Florida) says, “It doesn’t matter if it’s through a tube, a straw, a meal plan.” [All these plans work] if someone goes from 3,000 calories a day to 800.” But, after you’ve passed the wedding day, the honeymoon starts and you begin eating a normal calorie-count and you bounce back to your pre-wedding weight.

So what are some healthier options? For one, get started sooner — as in, give yourself a few months to lose the weight. Hire a trainer, speak to a nutritionist about lowering your serving sizes and join a gym! You’ll see results. Keep it up and you’ll maintain your wedding-ready bod long after the “I dos” are over. Real brides on our message board are buzzing about what works for them; controlling junk food cravings by keeping healthy snacks around; setting goals for themselves (run a half marathon!); or as simple as joining a gym with their fiances so they’re in it together.

> Find out more healthy weight-loss options here!

Photo: NYTimes.com