Do planks and crunches.
When you’re doing your weekly ab workouts, there are a few things to remember about toning those middle muscles: While crunches will define your abdominal muscles, planks will flatten them. Alternate between regular crunches, oblique work, and planks to keep your stomach toned yet flat.
Drink lots of water.
Drinking enough water a day will keep you from being bloated, especially before you throw on that bikini. Since fluids help expel waste from the body, staying hydrated is key in beating the bloat, says Shira. She recommends pounding 2 to 3 liters a day.
Watch out for “bad” carbs.
Everything is of course good in moderation, but white bread, sugary cereals, and any other foods that have bleached flour won’t help if you’re trying to slim down your middle section. However, a recent study showed that people who incorporated whole grain foods into their diet slimmed out their middle much faster than those who ate refined, processed carbs. Skip the white rice and stick to filling whole grains like quinoa, oatmeal, and brown rice.
Go bananas.
According to Shira, potassium helps banish bloating by balancing body fluids. To de-bloat, eat potassium-rich foods like bananas, avocados, kiwis, and dates. As a bonus, eating these foods will replace the potassium you lost while sweating it out in your Bikini Body Workouts!
Move, move, move.
Many people don’t realize that you can be doing one thousand crunches a day and still not get the tummy you want if you’re not living an active lifestyle. Cardio and aerobic activity helps to burn calories, which is necessary if you’re trying to thin out and show off your muscles. Just think of it like this: Ab workouts build up your muscles while cardio and a healthy diet will help show them off (even walking helps too!).
Go off the gum.
While many people chew gum as a weight loss tool, it’s actually kind of a bikini beach goer’s worst nightmare. According to Shira, chewing gum causes swallowed air to be trapped in the GI tract, causing the belly to expand. In a nutshell, chewing gum will increase bloating. Stick to sipping on those 2 to 3 liters of water, and keep mints around when you want to freshen up.
Go ahead and give these tips a try, then let me know how they work for you!
