How to Look Red-Carpet Ready by Saturday

This upcoming Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year: the New York Junior League Winter Ball. It’s a black-tie event at The Plaza, and Mary J. Blige and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (one of our members!) will be guests of honor this year. As co-chair of the league’s PR committee, I’ve been working with my committee since before the new year to try to get press coverage for this event.

Since I’ve already put so much time and effort into this event, I want to make damn sure I look hot. While I think I already look pretty damn good, there’s a few things I’m going to do this week to prepare for this weekend. While they are things that I *should* do all the time and generally do most of the time, they’re particularly important before a big event (whether that be the kind that you dress up for or the kind you don running gear for.)

• Lots of water. I don’t want a puffy face in photos from this fab event, and water helps flush out impurities from the rest of your body.
• Fiber, fiber, fiber. It keeps you full and keeps your digestive system moving so that you’re not bloated by the big day. (If you’re prepping for a race, you should actually decrease your fiber content in the last few days before a race and switch to easy-to-digest food.)
• Cut back on the salt. Salt makes you retain water. (Again, in the case of race prep, you should probably up the sodium count in the last day or two before the race.)
• Quit the booze. It can also lead to bloating.
• Consider cutting back on dairy and wheat. Dairy can cause inflammation and our bodies will store wheat if you don’t burn off the calories. If you can’t cut back on wheat, at least make sure to go for whole-grain.

Okay, so that’s a lot of don’ts. What should you eat if you’re trying to look a little leaner by the weekend? Lots of protein and fat (they’ll keep you full!) and whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. You should also make sure to get in some strength training and yoga this week.

Do you have any healthy tricks to make you feel (either physically or mentally) ready for big events?