So many people keep asking this one question, “What is the secret?  How can I get ready for this summer and get my bikini body back?”  The best answer I can give is that there is NO one secret!  I know, not the answer that anyone wants to hear.  There is no magic pill, no secret supplement, no special program (although having a program specific to your goals does help a ton!).  There are many factors that go into getting the body you want.  So here is the secret – you need to be very consistent with your training and nutrition, and you need a very powerful goal to influence you the right way to get you where you want to go.

My clients programs include total body strength training and metabolic classes, along with the correct nutritional strategies that put them well ahead!  Once you have started on the path of being consistent with your nutrition and exercise, following the “basics”, there are some specific “advanced” strategies you can start doing today to get you to your goals that much faster!

A couple of these “advanced” strategies will help you to identify if you need to lose that extra layer of water that you may be holding all over your body, along with being able to drop those extra few pounds of fat so you can look great in that bathing suit right away!  So, in no particular order here are the 8 tips to get in your swimsuit the fastest:

1. You need to be motivated!  To be motivated, you need to have a goal- and almost more importantly a powerful reason “why” you should accomplish your goal.  What is the driving force behind the goal?  It isn’t always just what you want to accomplish, also think about the “why”.  Is it close to vacation time?  Are you getting together with the family soon?  Or is summer being around the corner good enough reason.  Find your reason, start with why and write down your goal and keep it in plain sight where you can see it!  Tell your family and friends all about your “why” so they can help keep you on track.

2.  Drink plenty of extra water, the colder the better!  Ice-cold water actually makes your body work harder (burns more calories) when you drink it!  To get rid of that initial bloating feeling, start sucking down the ice cold high quality H20!  Drink at minimum half your bodyweight in ounces (for athletes, we recommend adding 30 ounces on top of that number as well!).  You can also add lemon and cucumber as natural diuretics.

3.  Speaking of those natural diuretics, take advantage of the following:  lemons, green tea, Vitamin C, cucumbers, and asparagus.  These foods will help shed excess water weight.

4.  Eliminate any processed, starchy carbohydrate.  Just about every processed food has extra sodium and bad preservatives that cause water retention.  Besides this being bad for you, it will make you gain weight fast!  Start committing to eating vegetables, fruits and lean proteins.  Cut out all that bread, pastas, cookies, and baked goods and anything that has ingredients that you can’t pronounce!

 

(Can you guess what this is ingredients for?  You guessed it!  Skittles!)

5.  Eat vegetables at every meal and 1-2 pieces of fruit a day.  This will naturally speed up your metabolism by adding leafy and highly dense materials that will cleanse your body naturally as well!  Look for foods that are high in carotenoids, lycopene, beta-carotene, and alpha carotene.  Great examples of these foods include spinach, kale, turnips greens, strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, collard greens, cilantro, thyme, cantaloupe, romaine lettuce, watermelon, broccoli, and apricots.

6. Reduce or remove alcohol.  If you find yourself drinking a beverage every night, try to bring it down to 2-3 nights a week.  If you do decide to have a beverage, make sure you have 2 sides of water with each drink!

7.  Work on your posture daily!  If you stand tall it can actually make you appear slimmer, and it also helps with everything else with your body.  Set an alarm every 30 minutes at your desk and check your posture:  Stand tall, reach for the ceiling with your arms and take three big deep breaths.  This will not only help to relax you, it will also improve your posture.

 

8.  Make sure you sweat at least one time a day!  One of the best places to sweat and strut your stuff is at Epic Fitness.  We have all the tools (programs, equipment and coaches) and all of the nutritional support to get you in the best shape of your life for what is to be an amazing summer!  Get over to Epic Fitness and we will show you what it takes to reach all of your goals!

See you at the gym!