Hey Kitten
Question for you. Are you ready for bikini season?
Well maybe you are {good for you}, but for those of us who would rather get a Brazilian from Liam Hemsworth, I’ve come up with a BIKINI BODY GUIDE.
Might seem a little early to you, but Spring is 21 days away sweetheart {SIT DOWN. BREATHE. Let that sink in}. We gotta start now girl. Soon it’ll be time for sun, cut offs, crop tops, bikinis and margaritas. I’ll be with you every step of the way posting recipes and workouts to keep us on track. Now is your chance to get on board the train to Hot Bod City {It’s a great place}.
Bikini Body Guide
Okay hottie, let’s get down to business. This guide is going to help you get that bikini body you’ve always dreamt of. I’ll give you the tools, but you have to implement them.
First off, throw the scale away. Seriously throw it out.
Next, let’s calculate our daily intakes.
Click here, fill out your age, gender, height, weight {your true weight not the one you tell people}, activity level and goal.
You’ll be given your daily total caloric intake broken down into carbs, protein and fat {the 3 types of macro-nutrients that make up food}. Next, click 4 meals and normal protein. When you start lifting heavier, increase the protein to high protein.
Now download the MyFitnessPal app onto your smart phone. Create an account and click on “More” then on “Goals” here is where you input those calculations. VOILA, now you have a personal nutrition tracker to help you all day er day ;).
Now how are we going to get that bikini body if we don’t understand how to?
Lesson #1
Muscle and fat go hand in hand. In order to gain muscle, you will also gain fat/weight at the same time. This is NORMAL and what those gym rats call ‘bulking‘. Strength training and eating lots of protein/calories to fuel your body is important {PS: Ladies you don’t have enough testosterone to get seriously huge so let’s squash that fear right now}. AKA DO NOT be discouraged if you aren’t losing weight quickly.
Lesson #2
Strength training is important. Muscle increases your metabolism and burns more calories. When you strength train, your body continues to burn calories after you’ve left the gym and are relaxing at home. Cardio alone does not. The cardio activity you do at the gym ends when you do. Start incorporating weight lifting into your gym routine and push yourself. Instead of 5lbs, try 7.5lbs, then maybe even 10 lbs {move over Arnold}.
Lesson #3
About 6 weeks from our bikini debut the ‘leaning out’ should commence. This does NOT mean we go into starvation mode and forget about the weight lifting. These weeks are dedicated to uncovering the work we’ve already done. Increase that cardio {run, jog, HITT train, bike, hot yoga}, get a good sweat on and follow it with lifting lower weight at higher reps quickly {If you finished lesson 2 at 12.5 lbs X 10 reps, move to 10lbs X 15 reps}. Then we will also decrease our caloric intake. You must create a deficit of 3500 cals per week to lose 1 lb a week. Increase of cardio and decrease of cals will do that.
Lesson #4
Nutrition. 90% of weight loss is in the kitchen, I’m not kidding. When I cut out dairy and switched up my diet {like I mentioned here} I saw more results then spending countless hours on the treadmill. USE THAT APP I TALKED ABOUT. It keeps you on track and reminds you of that cookie you had at lunch so you can put down the slice of pie and grab an apple instead. The rules of this bikini bod guide is
++ veggies ++ protein low carb and low sugar.
Balance your diet, don’t deprive yourself. If you are going to die without some Cheetos, have a handful, it’ll save you from blackout gorging on Papa John’s later that week. Like I said, I follow a Paleo diet, but I actually AM human. I treat myself like any other normal person does. Just do it in moderation.
WEEK 1 – 4
***Note: Subscribe to my mailing list for insider tips throughout the next few weeks***
Get in 5 workouts per week
You pick the days. And LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Push yourself but if you’re feeling incredibly run down one day, don’t beat yourself up for taking the day off. Too much stress can increase cortisol levels in the body making it hard to lose weight.
Breakfast
- Try a quinoa oatmeal with berries and chia seeds to fuel yourself in the morning
- On the weekend whip up egg whites and turkey bacon
- Protein Pancakes for Sundays are essential ;)
Lunch
- If you’re gunna have carbs, have them at lunch. Earlier in the day gives your body time to use up those nutrients throughout the day.
- Whole wheat turkey wrap is a great choice.
- Sushi? Opt for brown rice and no mayo. Also start eating sashimi with soya sauce and ginger {trust me}.
Snack
- Fruit. Apples, berries, oranges, whatever you want.
- PB on Caramel Rice Cake {keep the PB thin, add some banana on top}
- Okay, confession. I love Jello Snack Packs when I need a little pick me up…. #secret
- A handful of Goldfish. 3 Cheese style. If you’re dying for chips chow down on these little critters instead.
Dinner
- Now is the time to keep it lean, green and carb-less {if you can}.
- Salad and protein all da way. Get it in ya.
- Water, water, water, water, water.
If by chance you are held hostage by a gang of masked ninjas who force you to indulge in a delicious Maple Bacon Doughnut and you are having HUGE post-doughnut guilt DO NOT FRET. You can actually help turn those extra calories into muscle building fuel by hitting the gym hard within about 6 hours post doughnut indulging. So stop guilt tripping and just workout.
Quickie:
Weeks 1-4: Hit the gym and fuel yourself
Week 5: Slowly decrease your caloric intake
Week 6-11: Pump up the cardio and lower the weight
My good friend and owner of TNP Fitness Studio, Kaylor Betts, gave us some pretty amazing weight loss tips a few weeks back, check them out here.
xxoo Drea Marie
