How I Slim Down Just in Time for Summer
By Crystal Lambert
The sun shining, birds chirping ,kids laughing, runners jogging, and lawnmowers trimming thick, lush, forest green grass. Ahh can you picture it? Summers on it’s way! We’ll all be sitting pool side in no time. What have you guys been doing to prepare? Nothing you say? Well have no fear, spring is still here! So you have just enough time to slim down and tone up before temperatures start climbing.
I am no fitness expert by any means, so please understand that works for me may not work for you. I am here to share what I do personally, and hopefully it will help inspire a few of you. Okay, so when I start to notice that I have been keeping myself overly warm during the winter with fattening lattes, holiday cocktails, and Thanksgiving leftovers, it’s usually somewhere around the beginning of spring. Yes we’ve all heard summer bodies are built in the winter, but sometimes you just want to lay in bed with the heater, snacks, and Netflix— and never leave your room. Like ever. So what do you do when you only have a few months to prepare? My number one slimming method is… (drumroll)… CARDIO.
I can see half of your faces scrunching behind the computer screen now. I love cardio so I don’t mind it at all. The treadmill and the elliptical are both fun to me. But for those of you who don’t like running, I recommend doing a lot of dancing in the house (when nobody is home), or looking up some youtube videos specifically for home cardio. Cardio is the fastest way to help slim you down!
Along with cardio you must tone. I have a fear of getting the “cardio bunny butt.” I don’t know if thats what people call it, but thats what I call it. So the best way to keep everything toned is by lifting weights. I used to lift weights back when my sister and I were living together, and would hit the gym together. Now that I have moved, and my building’s gym does not have many weight machines, I prefer to do my toning at home.
(Females) If you want to tone at home I highly recommend Blogilates. Blogilates is a youtube channel by a young lady named Cassey Ho. Her channel has various pilate exercises to target all parts of the body. She has lengthy videos for full body workouts and short 5 to 10 minute videos if you are short on time or want to work out a specific body part. Although, I must warn you, her videos are NOT easy. You use your own body weight and pretty much do repetitions until your muscles are fatigued. But a few weeks of her video’s and you will definitely start to see a difference. Sorry guys, I’m not so sure what the best channel is for males, but I’ve read “Sixpackshortcuts” is an awesome channel.
The last, but most important thing (in my eyes), is diet. When I am trying to slim down, and even when I’m not, I try to be mindful about what I choose to eat. My family has hopped on the green smoothie train, so lately I have been having a nutrient packed green smoothie for breakfast and lunch. Smoothies are great for me because they’re quick, and I don’t have to think about what I’m going to eat in the morning when rushing for school. I also have some healthy snacks in between like an apple, a banana, nuts, or a few hard boiled eggs. I’ll then eat a healthy home cooked meal for dinner.
If you follow these three tips then you should be well on your way to a slimmer, fitter, you. Oh, I forgot to add my last tip— Stalk your fitness inspiration model. I have a few, and I am on one of their pages just about everyday! They keep me way motivated. To check out Cassey Ho’s “Blogilates” click here, and to check out Mike Chang’s “Sixpackshortcuts” click here. I hope you enjoyed these tips, and cheers to working on that awesome hot new, summer body!