Getting Bikini Ready

With winter now in our rear view mirror there will be a lot less hiding of the extra pounds we put on over the last few months.  Women everywhere are now going into a mad scramble to do whatever they can to shed those extra pounds so that this CAN FINALLY be the year they look great in their bikini again.  So with summer right around the corner let’s make sure that all of our hard work is leading us in the right direction and getting us the results we are looking for!

 

When it comes to shedding body fat the problem most women have is they do not know where to start.  They take to the gym and spend hours on “you name the cardio apparatus” and several weeks later they still haven’t seen the results they are looking for.

 

I say this all the time “you can’t out train a bad diet” far too often we see people try to make this happen but time and time again they are unsuccessful.  So then what gives?  Healthy weight loss starts in the kitchen not the gym and below I will share for you exactly how you can make some small changes that will have a big impact on your waistline.

 

Eat every 2.5-3.5 hours: Eating smaller more frequent meals will keep your metabolism sky high.  Think of your metabolism as a campfire, when you are continuously throwing small amounts of wood on the fire it continues to burn strong; even if you happen throw on a larger than usual piece of wood the fire will continue to burn.  However if you let the fire almost burnout and then try and throw a large amount of wood on you end up putting the fire out completely.  Your metabolism works the same way. So keep “Your Fire Stoked” and you will begin burning more calories immediately.  Not only that when you go long periods without eating it can wreak havoc on what we call our hunger hormones Leptin, Ghrelin, and Neuropeptide Y (NPY).  Leptin lets you know when you are full, Ghrelin induces your appetite, and NPY affects how full you feel.  Now when you go long periods without eating Leptin levels will decrease while Ghrelin and NPY will increase which is why sometimes when you come home after work and haven’t eaten in a while you rummage through the cabinets eating all sorts of stuff that you know you shouldn’t.  Eating Smaller more frequent meals will help you to keep these hormones in balance resulting in easier and more successful fat loss.

 

Increase your protein:  Protein is the building block of muscle and far too often individuals looking to lose weight aren’t getting enough. Foods that are higher in protein will leave you feeling fuller for longer than foods that are high in carbohydrates. Eating protein will help boost your metabolism because it is more difficult for your body to break it down. Great choices of protein include chicken, steak, fish, eggs, cottage cheese.

 

Eat more Vegetables: Vegetables are loaded with vitamins and nutrients that put your body in full fat burning mode by helping to increase your metabolism.  Even better vegetables are high in fiber but low in calories.  High fiber foods will help to keep you feeling full between meals.  Many vegetables actually require you to burn more calories digesting them than you consume by eating them, that’s why many fitness experts consider veggies to be “free” foods meaning you can eat them whenever you want. So load up on your veggies!

 

Consume Healthy Fats:  Fats tend to get a bad rep too many people think that everything has to be fat free and that they need cut all the fat out of the diet, when you do that you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Cutting out all fats is not only detrimental to your health but also the success of weight loss. Healthy fats can be found in Lean Red Meats, Fish, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and nuts such as  Almonds, Cashew, Walnuts etc.

 

Cut out the Sugar:  Sugar is one of the biggest sources of weight gain for most people. Whether it’s in your breakfast cereal, candy, soft drinks, or added to your coffee sugar will mess with your insulin levels, slow your metabolism, and cause you to pack on the pounds. Some studies on lab rats have shown sugar to be even more addicting than cocaine so KEEP AWAY!!!

* Fruit is high in fructose and too much can have the same effect as consuming high sugar foods.  While it is a great nutritional choice in regards to vitamins and nutrients, too much is not great for fat loss.

 

Let’s look at an example:

Below is a simple meal plan designed to ramp up your metabolism and have you shedding fat in no time.

 

Breakfast:

1 egg and two egg white omelet with spinach and tomatoes

½ cup of plain old-fashioned oatmeal

½ cup of blueberries

 

Snack:

Plain Greek Yogurt W/ ½ cup strawberries

 

Lunch:

Grilled Chicken Salad (3-4oz) Chicken with Spinach

½ TBSP Extra virgin olive oil

1TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

(include any veggies you would like with this salad)

 

Snack:

Protein Shake with unsweetened almond milk

Small Apple

 

Dinner:

3-4oz Chicken, Steak, Fish

1 small Sweet potato (sliced and baked with garlic powder and pepper)

2 cups of veggies

 

Putting it All Together

 

Now I know what you are thinking how am I supposed to eat this every day?  The good news is you don’t have to; you just need to follow a few simple guidelines.

 

1. Make sure you eat every few hours.  This will keep your metabolism high and prevent you from getting so hungry that you give in to temptation.
2. Make sure you include protein, veggies and/or fruit at every meal.  (keep your fruit to earlier in the day if you really want to speed up the process)
3. Include healthy fats at least in your 3 main meals of the day.

 

There you have it get yourself squared away in the kitchen and you will see the weight begin to drop. Remember it’s about consistency; stay focused and follow these simple rules, you will feel much more comfortable putting on that bikini this summer!