With summer (eventually) on it’s way, you can start to wonder how you’re going to look in your bikini. It might be nice for your overall sense of wellbeing to lose a few pounds, but how do you stay motivated so you can look hot to trot when you hit the beach? We’ve spoken to some leading fitness and wellness experts, so you know how to lose 10 pounds safely and relatively easily.
1. Snack on Veggies: According to certified personal trainer Jennipher Walters, CEO and co-founder of the healthy living websites FitBottomedGirls.com and FitBottomedMamas.com, ‘Fresh veggies make a great healthy snack, saving you hundreds of calories a day when compared to unhealthy snacks like chips and candy bars. Veggies don’t have to be boring either. Swap out your veggie dip for non-fat Greek yogurt or toss cucumber slices with barbecue spices. Yum!’
2. Track Your Exercise and Calories: You have to be accountable, asserts Stacey Lei Krauss, star of the willPower+Grace: Mile HighDVD. Walters adds, ‘Write down and track what foods you eat and the workouts you do.’
3. Swap Your Diet Soda: Jari Love, star of the Get Ripped and Chiselled DVD series, recommends ditching your diet fizzy drinks and instead mixing a table of apple cider vinegar in with a little fresh lemon juice. ‘Lemon is great because it’s high in vitamin C,’ Love explains. ‘You can also add in one teaspoon of Splenda, and you have a delicious and refreshing lemonade treat. Studies suggest that apple cider vinegar speeds up your metabolism and helps your body burn more calories.’
4. Go for an Interval Walk: Olympic sprinter and certified personal trainer Samantha Clayton notes that while walking for 30 minutes every day is better than nothing, you’ll burn more calories by jogging and even more by running. She advises, ‘Mix up your walk by doing intervals. Increase your speed for short bursts, then recover with a slow walk. Doing this three to four times a week will help you lose 10 pounds in no time at all!’
5. Try Bikram Yoga: Walters points out that Bikram yoga is ‘a great way to allow your body to stretch and recover from weight and cardio workouts…Not to mention that it burns enough calories to help you lose those 10 pounds.’ Lei Krauss adds, ‘Ninety minutes can burn 600 to 700 calories because your heart rate will be elevated due to the heat.’
6. Increase the Treadmill Incline: Walters advises, ‘Instead of running on the treadmill with no incline to lose weight, try taking the treadmill up to a 7.0 incline and a walk.’ Why? Love explains, ‘This is a great option as running is difficult when you are overweight. Walk uphill with your arms up for two minutes and down for one minute. This will get your heart rate up as high as if you were running outside.’
7. Use a Side Plate: ‘Instead of using a large plate for all your meals, use a smaller one,’ Walters recommends. ‘This trick will shave off almost half the number of calories you eat at each meal.’ Clayton enthuses, ‘An average weight loss of two to three pounds a week can be expected. Portion control is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.’
8. Switch to Black Coffee: ‘If you are a coffee-shop regular and don’t want to give up your daily java, pick your drink wisely,’ warns Walters. ‘A medium mocha coffee averages 330 calories, yet a medium black coffee has only five calories, (with milk it still only has 18 calories).’