Getting the Belated Beach Body

by Lisa P | More from this Blogger

29 Jun 2008 07:42 PM

"My friends are planning trips to the beach this summer and I'm panicking. How can I get skinny fast so I don't look like a whale in my bathing suit?"

In my opinion, skinny in a bathing suit is not something we women should strive to be. Come to think of it, I've never thought a skinny guy in a bathing suit looked all that great either.

The idea of getting skinny fast isn't the healthiest option. What you should be doing is planning for a bathing suit body for next summer but I can appreciate your need to be able to show your face at the beach without covering your body with a long flowing caftan that doubles as a beach blanket.

Here are some ideas to consider:

Start working out now! The more muscle you have, the better your curves will look. Exercise and more muscle tone will also help to minimize the look of cellulite. More muscle will also raise your metabolic rate and help you to burn more calories even when you aren't exercising.

Start a low carbohydrate diet. By cutting out sugars and starchy carbohydrates and focusing your diet on meats and vegetables, you'll drop a great deal of water weight in a short period of time. While this is a difficult diet to maintain over a long period of time, it is a great way to drop ten to twenty pounds of excess water weight.

If you get to beach season and still feel you need to drop a few extra pounds, consider a tan. Try a safe and skin friendly spray on tan to minimize the look of cellulite. A tanned person at the beach always looks thinner than a bright white person.

Nothing safe will make you "get skinny fast" but these suggestions should help you get to the point where you don't feel as self-conscious at the beach. Once the crisis is over, start planning your beach body for next year!

Learn more about Lisa P

Lisa used to be a freelance writer and Community Manager for Families.com, but she has finally made the jump to novelist.

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tangerinelullaby (553) 29 Jun 2008 09:23 PM

What an apt story! I will be starting on my Veggie regimen (if that's how you call it) tomorrow. Hubby also agreed to take part of this healthy option. It's not really about getting skinny. I don't like it either, it doesn't feel or sound good to be one. I am opting to go healthy for my own wellness too. :)

I love my curves and I won't lose them. I don't like to look like a skeleton. :D

Have a happy and healthy summer Lisa.

-Yvie http://tangerineslullaby.eachday.com

Lisa P (24013) 30 Jun 2008 06:28 AM

Thanks, tangerinelullaby!

Pennywise (391) 01 Jul 2008 07:45 AM

It would take me 10 years of Veggies to get a BEACH BODY, the one that could ware a "itsy-bitsy-tiny-winy-yellow-poke-a-dot-bikini". At my age, I just keep trying to keep the body that can get though the doorway. LOL! Not so funny when you live in such a body. Inside is always that small lovely body trying to get OUT! :)

Lisa P (24013) 01 Jul 2008 11:15 AM

It isn't as difficult as you might think if you take it in baby steps, Pennywise. Just think - If you took a whole year (52 weeks) and just tried to lose 3 pounds a week (the recommendation for healthy weight loss), you could lose 156 pounds in one year! If you begin a weight training program during that time, you can tighten up what you keep on you and look quite good in a bathing suit.