Are you ready for your bikini?
The sun comes out and we're all quick to enjoy it, but in the back of our mind it's a little reminder of what's to come.
And what's to come is time spent in skimpy outfits that will keep us cool and bikini time that will see us get the tan we want.
Are you ready for bikini season?
Kristie Tew a performance scientist at Ki Performance shares her top tips to help us all get the beach body that we want.
We're not saying it's going to be easy, but with a little hard work you'll be ready to throw off you're cover-up and show the world what you've earned - a body you can feel good in.
1. Unless you’re flying solo this summer, why not team up with a friend?
It’ll make getting that beach bod much more fun and you’ll both enjoy the results at the end. Working out with a partner can motivate you and help you reach your goals faster.
Even if you like to work out alone, make sure you keep in touch with your supporters - it can make all the difference. Just decide who can help you and let them know the best way they can help. For example, you could ask your partner not to buy you chocolates as a gift or ask your best friend if you can change Friday night dinner to a Friday night movie.
2. Make a record of what you eat, what exercise you do, and how it makes you feel.
Only by understanding your lifestyle can you make positive changes to improve it. Diaries like this give you a basis from which to plan changes and set goals. By making a note of how you feel eat time you eat a meal or reach for a snack you will become more aware of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. This will help you build a record of your lifestyle and keep track of what works and what doesn’t work for you. By making a note of how you feel eat time you eat a meal or reach for a snack you will become more aware of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
Research has even shown that keeping a food diary, can your weight loss! What’s more, the more often you log food in your diaries or chat about your weight loss journey (i.e. in a forum, or to a friend) the more successful you’re likely to be in achieving your weight loss goals.
3. Achieving a beach-ready body doesn’t need to be hard work.
Choose exercise that you enjoy such as an after work Zumba class or take a walk with a great view. After all, we are all more likely to stick with something we enjoy and find excuses to do things we don’t like! You don’t even have to do structured exercise training to gain some benefit, day to day life can also burn off those extra calories – even hitting the shops and trying on all those fantastic holiday clothes will increase your calorie burn!
Both physical activity and exercise can result in changes to your body's composition over time, reducing fat and increasing muscle. And by increasing muscle, your metabolism - even at rest - will start to burn more calories as muscle is an active tissue and will burn calories just by being there - as opposed to fat which doesn't – even more reason to move more each day!
4. Imagine how you want to look and note how that makes you feel.
Make a note of these emotions and use them to motivate you when you’re feeling low. Try creating a set of affirmation cards (with a sentence or two that reminds you who you are and what you can achieve) for when you feel low, e.g. I am strong enough to make changes and stick to them for good. You could even try putting one on the fridge or kitchen cupboard for when you’re tempted to reach for that extra treat!
5. Post on Twitter of Facebook that you’re going to the gym in the morning and you’re much more like to drag yourself out of bed for the shame of saying you didn’t.
6. Don’t restrict yourself.
It’s true, to lose weight you have to create a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume each day, but it’s also important that you do not let your calorie deficit get too high (more than 1200kcals) as this leave you feeling fatigued, making it more likely that you’ll reach for that sweet treat.
Also, by starving yourself you’re far more likely to undo all your hard work and binge on unhealthy foods. This is because you are more likely to experience cravings. Cravings are generally a symptom of low blood sugar; your body craves something sweet to raise your blood sugar levels.
The best plan of attack to avoid cravings is to consume a consistent calorie intake, starting with eating breakfast. Breakfast raises your blood sugar levels first thing in the morning (after what is the equivalent of fasting all night), which helps to keep your blood sugar levels more stable for the rest of the day. After breakfast, try not to go longer than 3-4 hours without some type of meal or healthy snack. This will help keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. It is much better for our digestion, blood sugar and energy levels to eat 6 small meals a day, rather than 3 larger ones. Experiment to see what suits your body best.
7. Make sure that you’re getting plenty of rest.
If you’ve been working out for three days in a row, make sure you take a day off. Not only do your muscles need rest to repair properly, but resting gives your muscles the chance to make the adaptations you’ve been working so hard to attain! Get plenty of sleep and make sure you enjoy your rest days. After all, you’ve earned them!
8. When you’ve achieved a milestone, reward your success: NOT with food!.
Treat yourself with something you value like heading to a spa, getting a massage, shopping for your holiday bikini, or even just buying your favorite magazine and taking the time out to sit down and read it. Making changes to your lifestyle is hard work – you deserve a treat!
9. Shop clever and read the labels and nutritional advice.
Not only are nutrition labels found on almost all the food and drink you can buy in the supermarket, you can often find menus and nutritional information for restaurants and café online – try doing an online search be to see if you can download the menu of the restaurant you are dining at. This will help put your mind at ease. Even if you don’t have time to check online, some restaurants and cafes even have their calorie information printed on the menu.
Knowing the nutritional content of the food and drink you are consuming can help you make choices that will help you achieve your goals. Did you know that even a small mocha with whipped cream contains nearly 260kcals? Simply skipping the whipped cream will save you over 60kcals. You could save another 35kcals by asking for it to be made with skimmed instead of semi-skimmed milk. Alternatively, go for an Americano – even the largest version has less than 25kcals (before you add the milk).
10. There’s a good chance you’ll be indulging in alcohol on holiday so try to reduce your intake in the build up.
Alcohol contains approximately 7kcal per gram, yet offers NO other nutritional value. It is therefore referred to as “empty calories”. Why not spend your calorie budget on something healthier?
Also, alcohol actually stimulates your appetite. While you might be full from a comparable amount of calories from food, several drinks might not fill you up the same. On top of that, research has shown that if you drink before or during a meal, both your inhibitions and will power are reduced making you more likely to over eat - especially greasy or fried food.
But like everything in life – it’s about moderation. So opt for lower calorie alcoholic drinks. Swap the mixer in your drink to a low calorie version (i.e. diet coke, tonic or soda water), order a wine spritzer, or have all your drinks “on the rocks”.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies