NEW DELHI - Nalini Sharma, 24, is getting married in November and is hard at work - at a slimming clinic! She has already lost five kilograms but that, she says, is not enough.

As the Indian wedding season dawns, the trend of going to a slimming clinic or availing of a beauty package to have that perfect glow on the wedding day is peaking. Many are also opting to go under the knife.

Brides-to-be like Nalini are leaving no stone unturned to steal the show on their wedding night.

“I was 10 kg overweight and have already lost five kilograms in two months. I am hopeful of losing more in the coming months,” Sharma said.

“I am doing all this just because I want to look perfect on my wedding day. It is a very special day for me and I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

According to Anup Dhir, senior cosmetic surgeon at New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, the number of clients in the wedding season goes up to 40 percent as people also opt for cosmetic surgery to look and feel better.

“Positive outcomes from surgical modifications to the body and face can truly alter one’s life. Various studies and patients have reported positive changes in their social lives, sex lives and interpersonal relationships,” Dhir told IANS.

“And to look and feel good on their wedding day, people don’t mind going under the knife.”

Many are going for fat reduction surgery called liposuction.

“Liposuction is very much in demand as it gives instant results. More and more people are opting for it,” Dhir said.

At the same time, he also warned that one should be careful before going for this procedure.

“One should make sure that they are putting their body in safe hands. The cost of liposuction is an important factor, but the quality of liposuction is more important,” explained Dhir.

“If the ultimate goal of liposuction is to have a happy patient, then the surgeon’s expertise and experience are probably more important than the price,” he added.

Various slimming and beauty clinics are cashing in on the idea and have come up with bridal packages to lure more customers.

“Who doesn’t want to look good?” asks Pooja Gupta, clinic manager of slimming clinic Rediscover in Noida.

“A wedding is the only occasion where one has to focus on the entire look. Be it hair, skin or weight management, you can’t ignore any part of your body. Wedding gives you an excuse to pamper yourself and we help you in doing that,” Gupta said.

“There is a definite increase in enrolments during the wedding season as brides- and grooms-to-be opt for slimming and beauty packages. More than beauty, brides want to get rid of those extra inches from the tummy,” she added.

And you can’t get slim overnight, they caution.

The best time to opt for these packages is at least three months in advance, suggests Pranshi Garg, clinic manager of The Body care clinic in Preet Vihar.

“One can’t get instant results. To have that perfect glow on your face or to get rid of those inches, one has to join a clinic at least three months in advance. This will give you the best results and value for money,” Garg explained.

While a bridal or a slimming package can cost anywhere between Rs.5,000 and Rs.25,000 depending on the requirement, liposuction will cost you around Rs.60,000-70,000 per area of the body.

Though people don’t mind spending money to look good, fitness expert Aamit of FX Zone, Noida, says that slimming centres are not the best way to get rid of those extra kilos and inches.

“In all possibility, the inches or the kilos that you have dropped will pile up soon once you start neglecting your body. These clinics put you on a diet minus exercise and once you go back to your normal diet you will put on weight for sure,” Aamit explained.

“The best way to stay healthy forever is to exercise regularly and eat healthy. It is a very slow process but in the end the results will definitely make you happy as well as proud,” he added.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)