the
WEDDING
ISSUE
2019
Get Fit Before You
Hit The Aisle
FOUR BARREL FITNESS OWNER CASE BELCHER OFFERS UP A
FEW TIPS TO HELP YOU LOOK AND FEEL YOUR BEST ON YOUR
BIG DAY – AND BEYOND
BY LISA HORNUNG
Everyone wants to look perfect for their wedding, and when you want to lose weight to do your
best, you need to find the right diet and exercise program to make that happen.
CASE BELCHER, owner of Four Barrel Fitness, said he sees a lot of brides who come in and
want to drop pounds before their big day. While he’ll help them reach their goals, he also wants
them to continue their progress after the wedding.
“Say you want to lose 20 pounds before your wedding, but then later you put on 25 pounds,”
said Belcher, who is a Crossfit Level 3 coach and a USA Weightlifting Level 1 coach. “We get them
through the door with the stuff they’re interested in. Then we say, “Let’s search for that more
sustainable path now.”
Belcher advocates a three-tier system of fitness: nutrition, exercise and lifestyle. Nutrition
is all about eating healthy food and fueling your training and life. Exercise includes cardio and
strength training, with a buddy or coach. Lifestyle changes include getting enough sleep and
drinking enough water.
NUTRITION
Fad diets and cleanses are a no-no, Belcher said. “Studies, in fact, show that you tend
to put on more weight than what you took off. You can lose weight quickly, but it probably
needs to be monitored by a nutritionist or dietitian.”
Belcher recommends the “hand system” to measure food portions. Four meals a day
should have meat or protein (beef, chicken, fish) the size of your palm; a carbohydrate
(such as potatoes, rice or carrots) that can fit in a cupped hand; vegetables (such as a
salad, asparagus or broccoli) should be the size of your fist; and fats (oils) should be the
size of your thumb. “That way no matter where you’re at, you don’t have to have a food
scale,” Belcher said. “You can just eye that stuff up.”
The “go-to thing that people have been told in terms of dieting is you’ve just got tp eat
like hardly anything, but that’s totally not true because you don’t have the nutrients you
need for training. You’re going to run into a wall, you’re not going to be motivated, you’re
not going to have the energy you need to stay consistent. A lot of times when people start
eating (utilizing the ‘hand system’), it feels like a lot of food to them. But they’re eating
balanced now, they’re getting more fiber because they’re eating vegetables and things
like that. They start to lose the fat and lose the pounds.”
64 EXTOL : AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019