Summer bodies are made in winter- so if you’re at all concerned about stripping down to that bikini, now is the time to start getting serious about weight loss!
You can easily put on 3-5 kilos over winter then find it much harder to lose as the weather starts to heat up. When it comes to losing weight, there is a LOT of change that can happen in one month. Realistically you can lose anywhere between 2-5 kilos a month and not feel that it is too overwhelming. It is all about setting realistic weight loss goals. To give you an example – in my women’s fat loss program 6 Weeks to Sexy, a number of the girls will lose around 6 kgs in that period of time but what I’m more interested in is how much body fat they have lost. If you can lose 1% of body fat per week, you are doing very well.
When it comes to strength and cardio, I’ve seen a huge number of people double their strength in just 4 weeks. I do testing with my clients the first session of every month. Last month one of the girls went from 30 walking lunges with 5 kilos in each hand to 75. With a structured exercise routine there is no reason why those results can’t be the norm.
Here are ten easy lifestyle changes to make now which will see you looking bikini-ready before beach season even hits:
- Write a 4 day food diary. A lot of people THINK they eat well but when it is written in front of them, it doesn’t actually look that good.
- Train with a friend. It’s easier to stay motivated
- Train for something. One of the best ways to stay on top of your fitness is train for something. A running event, an adventure race, a swim.
- Challenge yourself. If you have yourself a ‘treat’ every day try spreading it out to every second day. If you eat out at restaurants 4 nights a week try reducing it to 3. Those subtle changes will make a massive difference over a 2-3 month period.
- Get tested. If you aren’t getting your body fat tested every couple of weeks you can easily slip on the kilos without realising. I DON’T want you to become obsessive about the scales but ‘checking in’ every now and then keeps you accountable.
- Join a charity. Charity events like Dry July and Ocsober are awesome ways to stay off the drink and lose weight.
- Get delivery. No, I’m not talking about take away food, I’m talking about getting your food delivered. There are now a stack of organic food deliverers that deliver to your door. If you get your food delivered, it can stop you from buying ‘treats’ when you hit the supermarkets.
- Get an active hobby. Instead of sitting on the couch on the weekends, find something else you can be doing with your friends. Try surfing, tennis, squash, hiking.
- Experiment. When was the last time you cooked something new? It can be easy to get into the same habits and cook the same meals each time. Get out that cookbook and on a Saturday or Sunday try cooking something new and healthy. Then you’ll have a new recipe to add to your list.
- Get going early. Although it’s dark and at times a little cold, exercising first thing in the morning is the easiest way to get going. There is nothing that can get in your way (meetings, traffic etc) and you don’t have to procrastinate about it.
Why don’t you see if you can do all 10 this winter, and reap the rewards when Summer hits with your fabulous bikini-ready body?
Blake Worrall-Thompson is a health and fitness expert, and the founder of the Ministry of Wellbeing. He’s sculpted the bodies of celebrities such as Natalie Bassingthwaite, and Maude Garrett.
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