How to look the radiant bride

I wrote before about getting yourself in perfect shape for your wedding with a 20-minute a day workout but if you really want to know how to look the radiant bride on your wedding day, there's a lot more to it than just planking!

Here, ILU Ambassador, Julia Hubbard, reveals her holistic approach to help you look your absolute best on the day.

What does she mean by holistic? As Julia says, there are three components to successful holistic health - physical, nutritional and psychological.

Physical

If you have the time, money and inclination Julia advises you to seek help from a qualified, experienced Personal Trainer who can set out a sensible timetable which they will guide you through until the Big Day, offering support and motivation along the way.

Show your Trainer a picture of your dress so that they can tailor the programme to work on the parts of your body that will be in the spotlight, as it were!

If you haven't the time for a trainer, just start walking! It sounds a little underwhelming but 30 minutes of brisk walking (just fast enough so that you can still talk but can't sing!) is brilliant for your fitness AND for your mental health - just what you need when you've got the stresses of a wedding on your mind! Equally, swimming, team sports, dance classes - any activity that you enjoy, makes you smile and gets those endorphins going is going to help. Drag your partner or bridesmaids along and make it social as well as functional, aiming for 30-60 minutes three times a week.

Track your progress and set reasonable goals.

Nutritional

Start your day with lemon and hot water or green tea with lemon; it will help kickstart the detox process, is great for your skin and digestive system, and what's more, is delicious!

DON"T SKIP BREAKFAST - just make sure that you have wholegrain or wholemeal toast, eggs or porridge and avoid sugary cereals like the plague!

For lunch and dinner, just watch your portions - your plate should contain a third protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetarian protein), a third carbs (rice, sweet potato, pasta, quinoa, couscous, potato) and a third vegetables (raw or cooked).

CUT OUT PROCESSED FOODS - take your own lunch to work so you know exactly what you're eating. I find that cooking a little more the night before provides me with a fab, wonderfully balanced packed lunch ready to go the next day.

Feel free to snack, but make it delicious nuts, seeds and fruit rather than sweets, chocolate or crisps.

STEER CLEAR OF 'DIET' OR 'FAT FREE' FOODS - often these are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners which don't help you at all. Far better to eat a smaller amount of full fat, natural foodstuffs that fill you up and provide you with the nutrients you need rather than loads of 'diet' produce that makes you feel (a) deprived and (b) hungry!

If your digestive system is playing you up, you won't absorb all the required nutrients and you might experience bloating and water retention. If this is the case, discuss taking probiotics and digestive enzymes with your doctor to get your gut in working order.

Whatever you do, DON'T EMBARK ON A QUICK FIX DIET - your skin, hair and energy levels will suffer and you are likely to replace the lost weight plus more once the diet is over.

Psychological

As Julia reminded me, your mind is extremely powerful so it's critical not to neglect what's going on in your head. If you struggle with over-eating, it's important to address what is triggering your eating habits if it's not hunger.

Stress can be a major factor in weight gain as many women turn to comfort eating when their cortisol levels rise and, as Julia points out, few things are more stressful than organising a wedding. So take a look at what's getting you stressed and deal with the reasons. Have back-up plans in place to avoid last minute stress over things you can't control - like the weather!

Stress can affect other hormones too making it even more difficult to lose those pounds so find ways to relax - take time out to have a long soak in the bath; find time to sit in a comfy chair and read for half an hour or so; join a yoga, Thai Chi or meditation class. The key is to address any underlying issues that are causing you to overeat or get worked up.

When you do your exercise, whether it's a brisk walk, calming yoga or manic dance class, make sure that you're wearing clothing that is comfortable, feels good and lifts your spirits. Julia recommends ILU Fitwear as its seamless technology smoothes the lumps and bumps whilst the pops of colour provide you with the psychological energy and zest to get you going.

Here's Julia herself wearing some of the Active Range kit ready to face the world!

And Julia's last piece of advice? Make sure you arrange a last minute fitting so that your dress will look as perfect as you on the day.

If you want to know any more about how to get yourself looking the radiant bride, find Julia via Facebook: Julia Hubbard - Athlete, Figure Competitor, Coach or Twitter: @jules_athlete

With thanks to Pinterest for all of the fab images of Dessy Real Weddings and to Julia Hubbard for her brilliant advice and photos.