Tummy tucks, diet pills and being so starved they passed out at the altar: The lethal lengths brides will go to look thin on their big day

• Health and fitness expert Joanna Ebsworth was alarmed by the number of brides-to-be who are going to drastic measures to be thinner
• One went on a starvation diet to fit into her dress - and passed out from hunger on her big day
• Another twisted her ankle at a bridal bootcamp so she had to limp up the aisle
• Jo has written advice on healthy ways to lose weight and tone up in a 'magbook'
  
• It contains exercises, beauty tips and ways to beat stress

By Lucy Waterlow

PUBLISHED: 08:29 EST, 11 March 2013 | UPDATED: 14:22 EST, 11 March 2013

Getting engaged is meant to be one of the most exciting times of a woman's life but for many it heralds the start of a desperate diet so they can look slim on their big day.

Health and fitness expert Joanna Ebsworth was alarmed by the number of brides-to-be she met through her work who are going to drastic measures to be thinner.

She told MailOnline: 'Unfortunately for many women, it seems as soon as they get that ring on their finger, a signal goes off inside them telling them they need to start losing weight for the wedding.'

I do... want to be thinner: Many brides are going to extreme measures from starvation diets to surgery to fit into their dream dress

Joanna said she was horrified by the steps some women are taking because they are so driven to achieve 'perfection' when they say their vows. A common mistake many made was buying a wedding dress one or two sizes too small to give them an incentive to lose weight - but then flying into a panic when they realised close to the day that their dream dress still didn't fit.

Joanna recalls how this led to disaster for Claire Humphries*, 26, from Nottingham: 'After ordering her dress in a size 10, the bride-to-be realised two weeks before her wedding she hadn’t lost nearly enough to even get the dress done up, she went into a complete panic and basically went on a starvation diet, eating only steamed courgettes when she did eat.

'In the two days before the ceremony, nothing passed her lips apart from fluids and not one person, including her husband-to-be, could get her to eat.

'In the end, she passed out weak from hunger as she walked down the aisle, at the very moment when all eyes were on her, which is terribly sad and distressing to imagine.'

Bridal woes: Worries about their figure can lead to women being miserable on what should be the happiest day of their life

Joanna also met Louise Jones*, 34, from Sheffield who took the drastic measure of going under the knife so she could fit into her perfect dress. She went abroad weeks before her ceremony to have a tummy tuck operation that cost £7,000.

Joanna explains: 'While the operation did get her into her dress, she was in serious discomfort leading up to the wedding and on the day, and then spent her dream beach honeymoon covered up because the bruising and swelling had yet to go down.'

Another women took the term 'bridezilla' to a whole new level when she wanted to lose weight. Amy Lomas*, 29, from London, bought diet pills online but the side effects meant she became 'erratic, moody and anxious'.

Joanna said: 'In the end her fiance told her if she didn’t stop taking them, there wouldn’t be a wedding. He said he'd rather have his fiancée back to normal at the size she was, than live with a monster in the run up to the big day.'

Shape up: Joanna Ebswoth recommends exercises including sit ups, left, and lunges for a defined figure

Joanna, who has had many brides-to-be come to her for advice after failing miserably on calorie control diets, added: 'There are loads of other women I could mention, from brides who’ve felt the need to have boob jobs to fill their dresses out after losing weight too fast, to women who’ve spent a small fortune on laser therapy treatments to improve the appearance of bingo wings or loose skin.

'Others packed themselves off to an intensive bootcamp weeks before the wedding (one of whom I know sprained her ankle while she was there and unfortunately ended up hobbling down the aisle instead of gliding down it!)

'It's concerning because many women don’t realise the potentially damaging long-term effects their efforts can have on their health, and they often end up detracting from their experience of their own wedding.'

Joanna points out that women shouldn't feel the need to lose weight before they tie the knot.

'It’s a bit bizarre when you think about it really, because surely, when a man asks you to marry him, he’s declaring that he loves you for you, and accepts you exactly the way you are? He’s not secretly hoping that if you accept his hand in marriage, you might drop a dress size or two,' she said.

However, she appreciates that in our digital age, brides are bound to feel more pressure to look good when they could be snapped from every angle and then have their picture instantly uploaded on social networks without their approval.

Expert advice: Joanna Ebsworth, left, has written a magbook, right, to help brides-to-be prepare for their big day healthily

But rather than going to extreme measures, Jo says there are much healthier ways for brides to look beautiful.

Losing weight gradually - a couple of pounds a week - is much better than trying to crash diet while exercise is an important element to looking and feeling great as a newlywed.

She has pulled all her health and fitness advice into a 'magbook' called Shape Up For Your Wedding: The Complete Bridal-Body Plan'.

The book contains tips on healthy eating and ways to lose weight while still eating often so you don't feel hungry.

There is also a large section on workouts and exercises brides-to-be can do to tone up. Different sections focus on certain areas of the body including tricep dips to banishing bingo wings, core stability moves to get a flat stomach and lunges with hand weights to firm up the bottom.

The exercises are all explained and illustrated and can be done at home with the aim of achieving a trim and defined figure.

'I designed the workouts to give maximum results very quickly but safely,' Joanna explained. 'The main workout works the entire body, with time saving but highly effective ‘compound’ exercises that work lots of large muscle groups (like the thighs, glutes and core) in one go.

'Because you’re working so many muscles with one move, you’ll burn serious calories, tone up and give your metabolism a huge boost so you continue to burn calories long after the workout has ended, even when resting.'

Aside from the diet and exercise tips, Joanna's book also includes advice on how to boost your body confidence and self-esteem, how to find the right dress to suit your shape, how to beat stress, and beauty tips on how to get radiant skin, shiny hair.

She said: 'It was very important to me to include information on these areas, because I believe brides need to keep things in proportion, and understand that their health, happiness and their relationship with their partner is so much more important than being thin.

'When you picture a bride, you picture someone who is glowing, radiant, and happy – not tired, stressed and scrawny!'

Shape Up For Your Wedding – The Complete Bridal-Body Plan published by Dennis Publishing, RRP £7.99, is available from retailers and at www.magbooks.com

(* Names have been changed)