Spring break is just around the corner, and it’s time to start getting in shape for all the exotic and fantastic vacations college students, families, and high schoolers will be going on this year. The key to looking and feeling your absolute best is to take excellent care of yourself. What does this mean? It means filling your body with foods that helps boost your energy and metabolism, while also living an active and healthy lifestyle.
And when it comes to getting your body toned, lean, and bikini ready it truly comes down to about 60% diet and 40% exercise. Since diet plays a bigger portion than exercise, we will start there. Thinking about the foods you should and shouldn’t be eating is the wrong mindset. It shouldn’t be a restriction diet, but more of finding alternatives to foods you really should be avoiding anyway. Eating more small meals throughout the day that are filled with low calorie foods that take a long time to digest, will keep you full longer, so you won’t even have the desire to eat or splurge.
A lot of people think that when on a diet you don’t eat as much (which is true if you are trying to lose weight.) However, if you are cutting food it should only be up to 400-500 calories a day. But if you cut your caloric intake by too much, it increases your chances of plateauing, which is when you don’t eat enough for a period, followed by binging. When dieting and training your body, health and nutrition should be the first priority, because when your body is getting all the right foods, your physique will come along with it. It does take time, so patience is key. The biggest diet tip out there is to drink enough water. So many times you may think you’re hungry but in reality your body is not hydrated enough. Always drink some water first, and then see if you are still actually hungry. Along with that, drinking a lot of water is good for regulating your digestion, and even aids in getting clear and bright skin!
Overall, diet is very important, and it does take a lot of mental discipline to stay on the right track. But by keeping healthy foods only in your fridge, it will help lower the temptation to deviate from a healthy lifestyle. Foods you should keep around are whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lots of lean protein like chicken and greens, and you should avoid any foods with too many processed ingredients, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars. By following a healthy diet your body will feel better, your skin will glow, and you will feel more energized and confident in your own skin.
The second aspect for getting your body ready for spring break is exercise and training. By doing consistent exercise your body will lean out and become toned–leaving you feel beautiful and strong. You should strive to work out every area of your body on a regular basis, so you are strong from head to toe. For your arms, try and do push-ups everyday, as well as some basic weight training to tone them up a bit such as doing bicep curls, lateral raises, and push press. For your legs try to do squats, lunges, box step ups with weights, mountain climbers, and donkey kicks as well as calf raises. For your abs, most of your stomach will be more towards your diet but doing abdominal exercises really will help tone your abs. Some basic exercises you could do are planks, crunches, Russian twists, and bicycle crunches. It is also very important to incorporate cardio about 5 days a week; this keeps up your endurance, helps lean your body, as well as improves your cardiovascular health.
By doing these exercises and working out building up your body so that it is strong and healthy will truly make you feel better with who you are. Not only that, but endorphins are released which boost your mood, energy, and metabolism. Even after a week of eating the right foods and exercising on a regular basis, it will amaze you how much more your mood and confidence has improved. Living a healthy lifestyle gets your body looking bikini ready as well as helps you feel happy and light daily.
This spring break, get your body and mind ready to be happy and healthy. By following these tips and what works for you, you will be glowing on the beach, or wherever your Spring Break destination may be.