What can I do to prepare my body for bathing suit season?
Michelle B. emailed us at expert@sweetspot.ca, and nutritionist Joey Shulman answered:
If you are looking to tone up your body and look your best this summer, there are a few simple nutritional tips to stick to that are no-fail methods to buff up fast! Simply follow the instructions below:
Do
- Drink eight glasses of water or herbal tea per day. To avoid bloating and distention, water is the best solution for weight loss and proper elimination. Good hydration can also help your skin look younger.
- Fill your diet with nutrient dense calorie light foods such as colorful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins (cold water fish, chicken, turkey, cottage cheese, yogurt) and essential fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocados).
- Stop eating by 7pm. If you have the munchies after dinner, eat only vegetables.
- Eat breakfast. Research is very clear that breakfast skippers gain more weight in the long run.
Don’t
- Don’t eat processed foods. Avoid all white sugar and floury foods as they cause inflammation (and weight gain).
- Don’t drink away your calories in alcoholic beverages. Plan your alcohol intake so you do not overdo it.
- Don’t take every weekend off and food binge all day Saturday and Sunday. This will leave you in a very frustrating “one step forward, two steps back” scenario weight loss wise.
Wishing you a healthy and happy bikini season!
Dr. Joey Shulman is a best selling author and founder of The Shulman Weight Loss Clinic. Her latest release Healthy Sin Foods – Decadence without the Guilt (Penguin, 2009) is in stores now.
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