Make these changes to your diet and exercise routines now so you’ll be ready to strut your stuff in the sand.
1. Eat Often:
Space meals three hours apart and make them small. Aim for three meals and two or three snacks a day. If you’re still full after three hours, you ate too much.
2. Go Green:
Vegetables don’t count for much in terms of calories, but they’ll fill you up, add fiber and supply vitamins and minerals. Go for cruciferous vegetables and dark leafy greens. Eat lots of high-water-content vegetables like asparagus, broccoli and cucumbers.
3. Keep Your Whistle Wet:
Drink at least 1 ounce of water daily for every 2 pounds you weigh. When under-hydrated, your body will hoard water, so you’ll feel bloated. Water also helps your body process toxins and eliminate lactic acid after workouts. Have at least 8 ounces of water a half-hour before a meal, but minimize your intake at meals to small sips: You want your digestive fibers undiluted for the best metabolism of your food.
4. Up Your Protein:
We burn about 25% of the calories contained in protein as it’s being digested; we only burn 6% of those in carbs. Plus, protein helps build muscle.
Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash
5. Cut Carbs, But Not Completely:
Choose carbs like brown rice, white sweet potato or quinoa. Also, eliminate gluten, dairy, sugar and fried foods from your diet.
6. Challenge Yourself:
On days when you’re not weight training, cardio blast and challenge yourself to run farther or for a longer duration each week.
7. Alternate Body Parts:
Try alternating a lower-body set with an upper-body set when training — always work one set of muscles while resting the other.
Find LGBTQ-Friendly Resources8. Go Big:
Work your big body parts. Sure, it’s great to work your arms, but focusing on areas like your core creates the bigger calorie burn and muscle you want.
9. Count More Sheep:
You know how good you feel and how much more energy you have for workouts after a solid night’s sleep. Sleep is also when our bodies eliminate toxins and secrete growth hormones that build muscle. Try taking a warm shower (or better yet, soak in a bath with magnesium flakes) before bed; it releases surface tension on your skin to help you fall into a deeper sleep.
10. Get Small To Look Big:
When you’re lean, your body may be smaller overall, but you will actually look more muscular because your definition will be more visible.
Rick Dinihanian is a celebrity fitness trainer; learn more at burnandbuildbody.com.
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Last modified: April 23, 2019
