3 Steps To A Great Summer Body (and meal ideas!)

Hiya everyone,

Are you ever wondering if you're going to ever going to get that summer body you see in all the magazines? I know I do and with so many inspiration photos posted on line, it's hard to stay confident in your body. I'm really intrigued about the whole culture of health and fitness as I want to eat as healthily as I can and be good to my body. I'm a sucker for chocolate and snacking (I eat all the time!) and can never really stick to a good fitness routine. But through searching on Google, reading heaps of blog posts and watching YouTube videos; I feel I have the knowledge to really get that desired body we all strive for: defined abs, a flat stomach, slim toned thighs and a big round toned butt. If you incorporate these 3 steps into your lifestyle then you truly will get where you want to be.

1. Eating Clean & Drinking Water

Some people get confused about the word 'clean' and think it's simply eating healthily. However, it means not eating processed foods (tinned, packeted) and instead replacing it with fresh fruit and vegetables. Good ideas for breakfast include fresh oats mixed with water or non-dairy milk (think rice/almond/soya milk) to make porridge and pop some fruit on top. I particularly enjoy blueberries, raspberries and strawberries on mine. These berries have high antioxidant levels; boosting your immune system and have several benefits to your overall appearance (think skin related). Avacado's are a really good food to eat for lunch as they are proven to improve the collagen in your skin which reduces cellulite (a no-no when it comes to a summer body!) They are quite high in calories, nonetheless healthy calories and fat, so maybe have half of one in your salad or make homemade healthy guacamole (avacado, tomato, lemon and garlic - all crushed up!)

For dinner, I recommend some fish like seabass, seabrime or salmon fillets. These go down a treat on a bed of lemon and coriander cous cous and spinach. If you're feeling like carbs, then wholewheat or high fibre pasta in a tomato sauce would go down well. Some sauces you can get contain all natural ingredients and give you one of your five a day. Win win. By no means do I mean starve your body of what it needs and snacking is not really an issue, but make sure you don't have takeaways etc too often as they're just empty calories and fill your body with nasty stuff. 

Your tummy is not a waste basket so don't treat it like one!

2. Moderate Exercise

I don't believe you need to be in the gym every day to get a good body. Of course it depends on your metabolism, but walking instead of driving places and taking the stairs instead of getting the lift all make a huge difference. It's about the small changes you make. I personally do not have a gym membership as I don't think I would make use of it. I don't feel like running does a lot for your body; it's a lot of work and tires your body out for just as many burnt calories as you could achieve by other methods. It's also not great for your joints and muscles especially when your older. I'm a firm believer in long walks and gentle fitness classes like Pilates. I like to watch youtube videos by Cassey Ho (blogilates) as she has such a range of exercise routines for your legs bums and tums. Videos range from 5 to 15 minutes so it's easy to incorporate into your daily routine. I also like fitness blender and 8 minute abs is a really good video to get those abs showing.

3. Body Brushing & General Body Grooming

After reading the benefits of body brushing, I was truly amazed. It gets your circulation going which is said to boost your immune system and get rid of the dreaded cellulite. Results show that doing it every day will get rid of the horrible lumps and bumps we find appearing on our butts and thighs. You can get a body brush for £5 in boots or if you wanted to splurge, try an Elemis one. At the end of the day, body brushing makes such a difference and we should all do it!!
As for body grooming, we all know waxing/shaving our legs and lady parts will make us look sleek in a bikini as will being rigid with the body moisturiser. Vaseline 'Spray and Go' looks a good moisturiser to try or you could try ones that contain a hint of self tan in to make you look extra hawwwt. 

Clearly a tan makes everybody looks 10x better but sun beds are NOT the way to go! So bad for you, so bad. I've never had one and I never will. Fake it all the way ladies. Getting a tan whilst on holiday isn't a crime (I sure do it!) but remember to keep reapplying the suncream and don't lay out in the sun for too long. Remember, sun = vitamin D, so don't shy away from it!

I know this is all pretty basic stuff but it's nice to have a little reminder now and again as that McDonalds can be all too tempting and can cloud our goals and aspirations. Things like body brushing and brisk walks and squatting isn't a hard thing to incorporate into our lives; it's all about making a plan to do the small changes and our bodies will speak for themselves.

And of course, be happy with your body no matter what, it's not all about looking like Michelle Keegan; it's about being a healthy happy individual :)

Thanks for reading, I hope you've gained some knowledge or that I've reinforced some motivation into you. 

Also I found a great article here that you may like to read: 50 health tips every woman should know. 

What are your top tips for getting a great body?

♥

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