Dear Groom. You may be fit. You may be fat. But wherever you're at, everybody who is important to you is coming to the wedding, and you'll be the center of attention on your wedding day. Better to be in the best shape of your life because your friends and family will notice and wedding photos will not lie. It's time to Get Fit, Groom!

How grooms can shed a few pounds before wedding day

Whether you have one month, three months or six months to go before your wedding, you can make some great gains in terms of your body shape and ability to properly fit into your tuxedo. The pace of the program and the gains will differ depending on how much time you have.

To get trim, you need to do four things differently:

•  Eat less food, every day.

•  Perform cardiovascular activity at least three times per week, but only for 30 minutes of intense training.

•  Strength training with weights at least twice per week concentrating on your back, chest and shoulders.

•  Pick up the intensity of training. Don't take breaks.

You do not need to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the gym to see results. In fact, you should spend no more than 30-40 minutes of high intensity training. For example, hit the gym with a goal of doing ten pushups followed by five pull ups with no break in between. You will be using your core muscles (lower back and abdominals), chest and triceps to perform a pushup. You will be using your core muscles, back and biceps to perform a pullup. While pulling up, your chest takes a break.

You'd be amazed just how much eating less is critical to a groom's success in losing a few inches before wedding day. It is the most important factor. "I'm working out," grooms may think. "I can certainly go to the Olive Garden and have an extra helping of rotini ." Wrong.

Finally, why the back, chest and shoulders? These large muscle groups are likely to show the most gain. Working your biceps is pure vanity, but it's your chest, shoulders and back that will really create total buffness!

The Groom's Tuxedo

A word of advice for the prospective groom: If you embark on any fitness plan, be sure to save your tuxedo fitting until closer to your wedding day. If you get measured for a tuxedo in December, for example, and then diligently work out for the next 3 months, be prepared to have a different physique by March. You will be trimmer, your shoulders will be larger and your waist will be smaller. In short, you'll look great, but you will need to be re-fitted for your tuxedo. Granted, that is a small price to pay for a buff bod, but you can avoid all that trouble by getting fitted later on in the process.

A Groom's Diet

To keep your metabolism in high gear (which means that your body will burn calories at a rapid rate), grooms ought to eat six mini meals throughout the day, rather than "breakfast, lunch and dinner." Instead of gorging yourself on a huge chicken and pasta dinner, have a smoothie at 3pm and a smaller helping at dinnertime.

You will want to eat plenty of protein to build muscle as well as hearty portions of carbs to fuel your cardio workouts. The goal is to tailor your daily meal plan to your daily activity level so that you consume more protein on days that you strength train and more carbs on days that you cardio train.

If your body gets used to eating the same amount of calories each day, then your metabolism will slow down (i.e., becoming more efficient at using the calories you consume) and your weight loss will plateau. The worst part is that if your metabolism becomes sluggish and you go on a 3-day eating bender, then your body won't know how to burn the excess calories that you have consumed. The result: Your body will store the calories as fat.

But weight loss isn't just about caloric intake, it's about the quality of the food you eat, as well. Our bodies are not made to digest hydrogenated oils, "FD&C Yellow #5" or any other man-made food substances. As a general rule, you should try to avoid foods that are overly processed.

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