There is a certain level of nervousness that hangs over a nutritionist's clinic when the wedding season looms around the corner. For decades, this was primarily a woman's issue: the agonising calculations prior to the tailoring appointment, the questions regarding bloating prior to sangeet and the need to find the glow that will last four consecutive days of camera work. The groom, on the other hand, was more than happy to simply visit the tailor two weeks before the wedding, to tweak the size of his outfit. However, this trend has silently shifted gears over the last few years.
“Five to six years ago, it was almost always the bride who first came to my clinic. Now it is increasingly becoming common that the groom comes in for consultation himself,” reveals celebrity nutritionist. This seemingly minor detail reveals far bigger changes in the nature of Indian weddings that men are getting ready for. While the topic used to be primarily focused on losing extra pounds before the big day, the concerns of today include endurance for several days of continuous celebrating, skin condition and the most unglamorous thing—not looking like tired in wedding photos.
As Devgan explains, the shift is less about vanity and more about readiness to meet the challenge that has, in recent years, grown beyond a single ceremony and turned into a multi-day event. Her preparation window spans three to six months to make sure that the body receives proper nutrients and builds new habits, rather than lose kilos. Even four to six weeks prior to the big day can be utilised to improve sleeping, digestion and skin condition, provided that it is not spent starving yourself to preserve the calories for wedding dinner. Deficiencies in such vitamins as vitamin D, B12, ferritin and protein appear quite frequently and so she started checking for them regularly, as each is known to affect stamina on the wedding day negatively.
Her advice to clients who consult her two weeks prior to the wedding sounds as following: don't try to turn yourself into someone else in a fortnight. As she stresses, a protein rich diet, hydration and consistent sleep will always outweigh the crash diet, even if not in numbers, but in the way you feel at the mandap.
While Devgan uses terms such as macros and bloodwork, celebrity nutritionist Shweta Shah talks about the ancient practices of Ayurveda. She describes the contemporary process of wedding grooms' preparation as restoration of the balance of digestion, sleeping and stress, all of which, according to her, show up on the skin well before they do elsewhere. Her clients generally start preparing two to three months ahead and try to restore healthy agni, or digestive fire, which she considers to be the actual driver of energy and glowing skin. While her plans include eating complex carbohydrates, protein, seasonal fruits and herbs, but no single restrictive measure, she makes sure to check the levels of B12, vitamin D, iron and magnesium rather than guess.
For the final stretch before a wedding, her sample day plan reads almost like a ritual.
· Morning: Warm water, ghee and soaked raisins, followed by a skin-glow juice of carrot, beetroot, amla and mint, and a breakfast of moong dal chillas or vegetable poha.
· As the wedding approaches: Dinners turn deliberately light, built around khichdi and vegetable soups to ease digestion before the celebrations begin.
· Evening rituals: A few drops of warm ghee applied to the navel before bed, a foot massage with sesame oil, and breathing techniques such as Anulom Vilom to reduce pre-wedding stress.
None of this, however, aims to make a dramatic change. "The idea is not only to look great in your wedding photos, but feel great throughout the celebration," advises Dr Shah.
Celebrity nutritionist, Ryan Fernando, who has several elite athletes and actors as clients, has another perspective on the topic. He admits that the reason why today's grooms spend so much time on their bodies is that social media has turned the one-day wedding into a year-long photo collection, including pre-wedding shoots, sangeet reels, and honeymoon pictures. The modern groom wishes to look as sculpted as possible, however, such a wish is motivated more by vanity than sports achievements. His program brings out key elements:
· Avoiding the use of standard diets and uses blood testing (microbiome and genetic testing if necessary) to determine whether gluten or dairy should be excluded.
· Eating personalised staple foods: grilling proteins (paneer, tofu, and Greek yoghurt for vegetarians) and a lot of vegetables.
· Reducing the consumption of sugars, fried foods, and alcohol depending on individual needs.
· Providing a six-month period as the time required to get desired results.
Grooms, it's time to treat the run-up to your wedding as a reason to start caring about your body and keeping that going for life.