My TOP 5 Bikini Body Tips

With summer nearly here, it can be an anxious time for us ladies (and guys too). Feeling not thin enough, not fit enough, not toned enough not “whatever” enough; we’ve all been there. Instead of focusing on the negative feelings, let’s focus on what we can do and how we can achieve the healthiest life possible – both physically and mentally. 

While it may take some work, this work will form us into the best versions of ourselves. 

A healthy mind and body work together. When you believe in yourself and love your body, you can push through your limits, through whatever is holding you back. You can go that extra mile during a workout and be fueled from your own motivation. A healthy mind allows you to choose happiness and a can-do attitude over anything. A healthy body starts with nutrition and setting aside time to prep healthy meals before the work week starts. Fueling your body with wholesome plant based foods that make you feel healthy and balanced will help you reach your goals and feel energized while getting there! 

We can build up muscle and tone our bodies with workouts, but our nutrition reveals all the hard work we put in. Nutrition and fitness go hand in hand; they work synergistically, like a healthy mind and body.

For me, I know in order for my mind to be right (which is important for my bikini body) I need to have time to myself and do things that bring me happiness. Snuggling on the couch with my dogs, drinking coffee/tea every morning from my favorite mug, lighting candles, doing my nails at home with a glass of wine, listening to music while cleaning the house, writing/blogging, and quick, effective at-home workouts that don’t take 2 hours out of my day 😉 

Besides allowing time for yourself, I’m sharing 5 TOP tips that you can incorporate every single day to keep your body happy and balanced.

TIP 1: Make my daily Bikini-Loving Lemon Elixir water

I talk about this often but first thing every morning, I make my morning elixir that sets my day right, wakes up my body, gives me energy and cleanses out all the impurities! It tastes so good to me now, kinda like a cleansing lemonade. We know that drinking water is important, and this bikini drink amplifies that. It has fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of cayenne (optional) and you could add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup if you need a touch of sweetness. In a large mason jar, fill with 32 ounces of filtered water, juice from 1/2 of a lemon, 1-2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar with mother (I like this brand) and a dash of cayenne pepper to speed up metabolism and warm up the body! I’m so addicted to this elixir and look forward to it every morning.

TIP 2: Add in Healthy Probiotics

Ever since I started including more probiotics in my diet, my skin has never looked better and that’s because it aids in heathy digestion, so all the toxins aren’t sitting and getting reabsorbed in the body (aka constipation). The good bacteria keeps your tummy in check so you are looking your best in your bikini! I go into that topic in detail in my starter guide if you want to learn more. Especially natural probiotics like my absolute favorite kraut and kimchi from Farmhouse Culture – don’t knock it until you try it! My go-to flavors so far have been the brightly-colored Ginger Beet, Smoked Jalapeño and Spicy Wakame Ginger but all of the flavors are amazing. Other natural probiotics include soy/coconut yogurt (yum!), kombucha, tempeh and miso. You can also take raw probiotics in pill form. I buy this brand in the refrigerated section from Whole Foods.

TIP 3: Eat Superfoods Everyday!

Superfoods are the most nutrient dense foods available. My bikini favorite superfood, hands down, is chia seeds!!!! They fill you up and provide so much goodness for the body with ALL the essentials: omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and antioxidants. They help keep you regular too ;). I eat them every day, no matter what. This brand is my favorite! I use them to make chia pudding, add them to smoothies, sprinkle them on salads, add them to detox water, add to overnight oats or even to stir frys. Other superfood favorites are: ground flaxseed, hemp hearts, cacao powder, matcha powder, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, blue-green algae, spirulina, wheatgrass, turmeric, gogi berries, maca powder, nutritional yeast, acai powder, reishi etc. (I’m working on a post about how to incorporate all of these into your diet!) Not to mention vibrant foods like blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates, kale, avocado, beets, cucumber, lemons, watermelon and more.

TIP 4: Have one huge salad everyday and load up on the raw veggies/fruits

We know veggies do the body good. Eat more of them for a bikini body!! Fresh is best and raw is even better. Stay away from processed everything, please! Eat real, fresh foods (click here for my grocery list) For lunch, I crave a huge salad with leafy greens (spinach, kale and/or spring mix), crunchy veggies like cucumber, celery, cauliflower and carrots plus tomato, red cabbage and 1/2 of an avocado with a oil-free lemon vinaigrette. MMMM! It’s so good. I even top it with kraut and kimchi like I mentioned above. Raw veggies and fruits provide essential enzymes and minerals for beauty and flourishing health. 

TIP 5: Sweat it out – at least 4 times/week

I know.. but what’s a Top Bikini Tips post without a workout tip?! Since I’ve been staying up in Wisconsin at my family’s lake house the past few weeks, the fresh air makes it easy to get outside. I’m going on daily walks/jogs and doing my fave YouTube workouts. My mom got me started on the 7-minute workout app. Do that twice through after a run/fast walk and you are set! It doesn’t take much and doing things you like to do rather than spending an hour on the treadmill running your heart out will make working out less of a drag.

I always switch up my workouts but one day I’ll do strength training or body weight training followed by fine toning (Pilates + Yoga) and the next time I’ll do cardio or HIIT. I listen to my body. A strict workout schedule doesn’t work for me. While I love to wake up and workout first thing, that doesn’t always happen. I have to force myself to workout and if it’s something I enjoy then it’s much easier. Afterward, I’m so happy I worked out; it clears the mind and feels so good. Do something you like and make sure you sweat and actually feel the burn.

The Tone It Up girls sure know how to set the bar. I mean c’mon, they are living the dream! Adorable bikini’s that I’m dying to buy, beautiful beaches, amazing figures, cute everything. If they can’t get you motivated, then I don’t know what will.
 

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So I hope these tips help you in some way or another! Here are some recipes to get you started 🙂

Bikini Ready Green Detox Smoothie
Golden Glow Elixir Juice
Rosy Glow Refresher Juice

Rainbow Glow Bowl
Green Goddess Glow Bowl
Sesame Kale Glow Bowl
Vegan Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Muah!

xx,
Shannon