Eat Healthy Carbohydrates.
Instead of
stocking up on carb dense foods like bread, pasta, cookies or tucking into that
pizza or lasagne, why don’t you try healthier alternatives,. Try fruits and
vegetables; legumes, berries, nuts, cauliflower, kale and spinach which are
fiber filled and are more slowly absorbed into the blood stream and good for
your digestive system. Besides that it should be noted that since wheat makes
you hold water, it tends to bloat you, thereby making you gassier and
increasing your cravings.
Avoid high calorie snacks
Once again
the idea here is to stick with fruits and vegetables. Stay off the sweets,
regular chocolates, cookies. These will only lead you to pile on the bulk.
Yes it can
be tempting to dump yourself in front of the TV after a hard days work. We all
like to tune into the latest instalment of “Game of Thrones” or the newest
“seasons” craze being offered by our local TV network. Yet as always moderation
is the key so don’t make it a habit. According to experts the most successful
dieters don’t watch up to the adult average of four hours per day. In fact they
average less than 10 hours per week. An interesting corollary to that is the
results of a 2007 Yale University study which found that TV viewers who saw
snack commercials were regardless of whether they were hungry or not,
influenced to eat just about anything. Obviously not okay if you are trying to
lose weight and obtain that Bikini Beach ready figure.
Drink Cold Water
Ice cold
water has been proven to do wonders for dieters. It was found that drinking it
actually burns between 17 and 25 calories per glass. How come? As the liquid
spreads through your system, the body warms it to its temperature burning off
calories in the process.
Get enough Shut-eye
Studies show
that getting between six to eight hours of sleep a night is essential to beat
off weight gain. It was found that subjects who got less sleep tended to put on
more weight over time than those who got adequate amounts. The science here is
that when you don’t get enough sleep, levels of the hormone leptin an appetite
suppressant falls, whilst that of ghrelin, an appetite stimulant rises. As a
result you feel hungrier, would tend to eat more and conversely add on weight.
Avoid Coffee, drink green tea.
Yes we all
love our morning coffee, but believe me if you are looking to lose weight and
get in that bikini body mode, you had better give coffee at least for the
present a wide berth. This is because it increases hunger cravings which means
that in the long run you may end up eating more than you ordinarily would.
Instead opt for green tea. It is a powerful diuretic and anti-oxidant which can
actually help you in detoxifying your body. Three to four cups a day should do
it.
Yes,
exercise. You won’t get much further without it. Though there are varied work
outs you can go for. For example Jen Ferrugia’S Bikini Body Workout program
contains an excellent structured program plus diet plan that will get you into
shape in no time, there are equally specific exercises pieces highly
recommended to fix your abs, perk your butt and generally get you toned.
Although crunches are the most popular form of abs fixing exercise on now, some
have suggested that it is potentially hazardous because it can damage your
spinal disks since its movement pivots from the spine. On the other hand,
though sit ups tend to be harder, taking more effort and engaging more muscle
groups, and though not free from its own constraints, since its movement
generally pivots from the waist- it is not damaging of spinal disks. My
personal recommendation then would be sit ups.
Cardio or
aerobics is very important too. Recommendation is that you do 3o minutes of
cardio 3-5 times a week. You can check out Jens Bikini Body Work out for more
Bikini Body exercises.
Perk up your
butt. How to do this. There are plenty of exercises that can help you with
scoring a perkier butt. Amongst them are squats and lunges. Doing 11 to 15
repetitions of these will get your butt firming up in no time.
Tone up your arms.
Push ups
will help you get this done in no time. Make sure you do this properly though.
Your shoulders and neck should be relaxed while your stomach is taut; your
hands should be directly under your shoulders and lined up with your chest.
Add outdoor exercise to your schedule
We’ve
already talked about exercise so why am I bringing it up again. Good question.
Before we spoke about exercise in general, but now… we take it outside. There’s
really no way to measure how just being outside in the natural environment can
help you. A brisk stroll, a quick jog through the park- it will lift your
spirits and improve your mood, getting your endorphins up whilst helping to
stave off your cravings.
Red wine please, no beer for now
If you must
drink, go for the healthier alcohol –vino tinto. Red wine is not only good for
your heart, it has also been shown to impact less on the waist line than does
beer. Even more impressive, in a study carried out at Brigham and Women’s
hospital Boston, it was found that participants who drank one or two glasses
per day over the course of 13 years gained less weight than non-drinkers.
Anti-cellulite Cream anyone?
Okay, so the
visible results may not last for more than 24 hours. Nevertheless using
anti-cellulite cream can in the short term reduce dimples. This no doubt will
leave you looking better when you step out in that much wanted bikini piece.
Detox sensibly
Detoxifying
your system every once in a while is not a bad idea. I do a light detox once
every week although it doesn’t have to be that frequent. According to nutrition
specialist Oz Garcia, doing a program like Blueprint Cleanse or Organic Avenue
which offer three day juice fasts is a safe and healthy way to detox. It is
important here to graduate into and out of it. Each time -say one to three days
before and after stick with easy to digest foods whilst avoiding sugary,
alcoholic, artificially flavoured, processed and caffeinated foods.
Don’t imbibe others food habits.
That didn’t
come out smoothly did it? What I mean is that when eating out socially- out
with a friend, at a party or buffet etc., we should be careful not to
unconsciously take on the food sizes of the person we are with. It has been
found that eating habits are influenced by those we eat with. As a result
weight gain is socially transmissible. For example in a social gathering,
sitting next to a gutsy eater could likely result in you eating more than you
ordinarily would. To reduce this risk, you can start the meal with a low
calorie appetizer which research shows will influence you to eat fewer calories
during the main course.
Nosh up the Proteins
Apart from
being essential for building muscles, proteins also have a high TEF
(thermodynamic effect of Food). What is that? Well every time we eat, our body
expends energy in breaking down the food during digestion. Whereas fats use
2-3% and carbohydrates 10% calories during digestion, proteins on the other hand
weigh in at a staggering 20- 30% for calorie usage. Essentially what this means
is that eating 100 calories of these foods will translate in actuality to 97
calories for fat, 90 calories for carbohydrates but up to 70 calories for
proteins. If losing weight and getting taut and firm is the aim, then taking up
less calories is not a bad move to make. Just make sure you do it sensibly
though and you don’t go overboard and eliminate the other food groups.
Indulge yourself a little
Going the
whole hog and insisting on a no fat, no sugar diet may be commendable, but
really how many of us are that disciplined. Attempting to stick to this strict
regime may in the end be counter-productive as you set yourself up for
cognitive dissonance. And the fallout of that will not be pretty. Here, with
one part of your mind saying no and the other rooting yes, and having held out
for so long, what could ultimately happen is you caving in and snowballing into
a massive food binge. Instead of that, wouldn’t it be much better to just treat
yourself to a cookie or a piece of chocolate? In addition, that small treat you
have given yourself may just in the long run motivate you to stick with the
program and intensify your work outs.
Don’t forget your essential fats.
Intake of essential fatty acids commonly found
in fish but also be found in flaxseeds and walnuts and is a must if you are
looking to lose body fat. 6 grams a day has been recommended here. However
since it is pretty hard to consume this strictly from food alone the use of
food supplements is a viable option.
Reduce stress
Stress
raises cortisol levels in the body. This in some people may stimulate the
storage of abdominal fat. Avoiding stress therefore will aid you in reducing
fat. Ways to do this is include massages, a nice warm bath before bed or taking
a yoga class.
Moisturize
It’s not
just about getting the right shape. How the skin that covers that shape looks,
matters too. Does your skin look dull and weathered or does it look radiant and
made for the sunny weather? You can improve the look of your skin simply by
exfoliating and applying a good moisturizing cream once a week. Getting your
skin looking good is guaranteed to get heads turning whilst undermining your
perceived body flaws whether true or not.
If weight
loss is the aim because you want to lose some fat, then the addition of some
high intensity intervals to your cardio routine is the way to go. Research
shows that these are more effective in burning body fat than less intense
cardio exercise even where that exercise lasts longer.
Say no to Horizontal stripes.
These will
only make you look wider than you really are. Since this is one thing most
people want to avoid, choose your bathing suits with care and avoid those with
horizontal stripes. In addition, also take care to avoid drawing attention to
areas of your body you’d rather de-emphasize. As such tassels or anything that
straps around these areas should be avoided.
Make your breakfasts protein rich
Breakfast
they say is the most important meal of the day, and skipping it can spell
disaster for not only your morning energy levels but also your performance for
the day. As such, if your aim is a trimmer beach ready figure, not only should
you avoid skipping breakfast, you should in fact also be aware that not just
any breakfast combo will do. Indeed research shows that a protein rich
breakfast is more helpful in fast tracking weight loss than does a cardohydrate
one. In that eight week study carried out by Pennington Biomedical Center of
Louisiana State University System, it was found that participants who had eggs
and toast for breakfast as against bagel and cream cheese enjoyed an 83 percent
extra reduction of their waist size than those on the bagel medley. This is no
surprise if we take our minds back to the Thermodynamic effect of Food scores
for protein, carbohydrates and fats. Here it was found that the body actually
burned more calories in digesting proteins than did it for other food
