Somewhere in the back of our minds we know it is going to be swimsuit season sooner than later and tomorrow we will start a programme to get the body we will be proud to show off rather than keep under a kaftan wrap.  The power of thought is powerful, but a body transformation will take more than just thinking about it, so here is are my suggestions to get ready to bare it all!

Diet:

• drink lots of water- it helps flush things through, like toxins that can latch on to fats and other molecules within your body and keep them there. water also helps to satiate you and thus you are less likely to overeat- try drinking a glass of water before each meal or snack and gage how you will fill more full on less food.
• eat three meals a day- be sure to portion size these! you probably only need half of what you are served (maybe even less in some cases).  also, try to stay with fresh whole foods as much as possible.
• make sure snacks are snack sized! in the morning this could equal 2 tablespoons of raw almonds, or in the afternoon 8 chips with salsa.  be strict about your snacks and don’t let them ruin your dinner or add extra calories that you don’t need.
• cutting out carbs has definitely been a trend, but what people don’t realize is that they are our first source of fuel, so we burn them quickly so long as we don’t have an massive surplus waiting from our last meal.  also, if eating the right carbs- whole grains, brown rice, oatmeal- than it stays in our system longer because it is harder to break down and we stay full longer, thus reducing how much we need to eat. try adding 1/2 cup of a “good” carb to one to two of your meals per day.
• allow yourself one treat per day.  if you cut your indulgences off completely you are likely to binge- so allow yourself to have one piece of dark chocolate or a non-processed cookie or a soy pudding.  just check to make sure these things are in their purest form without hiding enemies like high fructose corn syrup or tons of refined sugar.  and just have one!  think about the goal you have in mind- it is far more worth it than a second helping of soft serve yogurt!
• avoid caffeine!  lots of people think that having caffeine with a meal is a good idea because it keeps your metabolism racing.  it may speed up your metabolism, but it also acts as an agent to bond fat to your body and you retain more fat when drinking caffeine. my advice- give it up altogether or at least try to have one caffeinated beverage on its own only once a day if you can’t cut yourself off.

Ok, so that starts us off with some general guidelines for diet control!  Next, I will go over portion sizes and servings per group (veggies, fruits, dairy, etc) and top it al off with a work out routine that when paired with the right eating habits will yield results in two weeks.  Stay tuned…