Why You DON'T Need A Beach Body

Feel relaxed, forget body anxiety and have fun at the beach instead

• Lose your beach body anxiety 
• Find out 3 beach body tactics that don't work
• Address underlying causes of fat and bloating 
• Get healthy and happy  

Why the quest for a beach body isn’t healthy

The pressure to look perfect intensifies at this time of year, and the ‘fat-shaming’ advertisements are already in full flow. Going to the beach is about having fun but it seems that instead we have been pressured to be constantly anxious of how we look and compare ourselves to the others.

It’s easy to forget that being healthy isn’t about having a stunning bikini bod. If you’re happy, relaxed, full of energy, have good digestion, a powerful immune system and gleaming skin, how important is a stomach as flat as a pancake?

Shifting your focus onto the health benefits of being at the beach will reduce your beach body anxiety. Remember there are no benefits in showing off your body, only in being truly healthy!

Read below to find out…

THE BEACH BODY MISTAKES TO AVOID AND WHY

Crash dieting and over-exercising damage your health and can cause weight gain in the long run.

1. The Crash Diet: you’re living on juices and broth for a week before your trip

• You’re missing out on protein and essential fats, so your internal organs will suffer and your body becomes weaker. Your metabolism will slow down and you’ll feel tired, potentially ill, plus you’ll be more prone to putting on weight when you go back to eating normally. 
• If the juices are fruit-based rather than vegetable-based, then you’ll be raising your blood sugar levels dramatically, which causes inflammation and weight gain. 
• Anxiety and lack of confidence may be the reason you want to change your body shape for the beach, but these emotions are only going to get much worse if you starve yourself, because lack of calories disrupts your blood sugar balance, causing extreme mood disturbances. 

2. The Cardio Blitz: you’re aiming to blast off your excess fat by running and spinning for miles

• Running and other cardio workouts are great for overall fitness, but sadly no one can go from zero to hero in a week, you’ll be at major risk of injuries. 
• Overdoing it on cardio increases your stress hormones including cortisol, which puts you at greater risk of health issues like poor sleep, IBS, depression, and the storage of fat around the middle. Not the result you were hoping for! 

3. The Abs Crunch: you’re doing 100 crunches a day to flatten your tummy

• Having core strength is important in overall health, but if you do crunches to the point of exhaustion – i.e. when your tummy pops outwards with the effort, you’re only developing a layer of muscle on your abdomen, which doesn’t reduce waist inches. 
• An intense abs workout puts your digestive system under pressure too; it could cause food to stay too long in your intestine upsetting the balance of bacteria, and cause bloating. 

HOW TO GET HEALTHY FOR THE BEACH

We’ve explained what not to do, so here are the tactics we use ourselves to feel great at the beach!

1. Cut out wheat and gluten-containing grains

• This is a sure-fire way to reduce bloating from an unhappy gut and improve digestion. The result is that you’ll feel more energised, lighter and hopefully have a flatter tummy, which is a very happy side effect! 
• Wheat raises your insulin levels dramatically (this includes whole grains, as they are little better than white), insulin is the hormone that tells your body to store fat, so cutting it out is very helpful in getting much more balanced hormones and reducing body fat.
• Gluten causes inflammation in your gut making it bloated. Grains that contain gluten are: wheat, rye, barley and oats. Replace bread, pastry, muffins and pasta with pseudo-grain alternatives like quinoa and buckwheat or with nutritious starchy veg such as celeriac, beetroot and sweet potatoes. Or simply an extra portion of green veg – a great nutritious weight loss support! 

*OB Tip: Read Dr. William Davis’ book Wheat Belly to understand more about this topic, and check out his fab wheat-free pizza recipe.

2. Balance your energy and curb food cravings

• Cutting out sugary foods as well as wheat is another amazing way to improve your health, mood, energy levels and a great step towards getting a healthy beach body. 
• Steer clear of: chocolate, cakes, biscuits, candy, fruit juice, syrups *OB Tip: Smoothies with bananas and other tropical fruit are not contributing to healthy skin or digestion. Add avocado instead of banana and stick to low-sugar fruit such as berries. 
• Deal with sweet and carbohydrate cravings by taking Organic Burst Spirulina between meals – take x4 tablets or 1tsp in a glass of water with a big squeeze of lemon juice in between meals, or whenever you have a craving. The high protein content helps to keep you going! Drink a small glass of water with 1tsp Organic Burst Wheatgrass powder and a squeeze of lemon ½ hour before meals to increase fullness and prevent you overeating. 

3. Move your body the right way

• Workouts that involve circuits of short bursts of cardio such as skipping or jumping, alongside working the large muscle groups with exercises such as such as squats and lunges are a great way to start attacking your fat stores without depleting your body and causing stress as running long distances can. 
• Team sports, or going to a class with friends will combine a sense of fun with strength, endurance and wellbeing. Help to balance your stress levels by being more active throughout the day, breathing deeply, especially when you’re outdoors in the fresh air. 
  
  *OB Tip: Get up from your desk every 45mins, walk around for a few minutes, swing your arms and take some deep breaths. 

WHY YOU NEED TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE BEACH

Remember that even if you’re not feeling “beach ready” before you head off on your beach holiday, you will still feel amazing once you get there. Here’s why:

• Getting high levels of sun exposure dramatically increases the levels of Vitamin D in your body. This nutrient is closely involved in your immune system, the growth of new cells and healthy teeth and bones. Give your skin 15-20mins of unprotected exposure each day to stimulate Vitamin D production, then go for a natural/organic sun protection product to avoid burning. 
• Walking barefoot on the sand or stones and swimming in the sea have a fantastic effect on how you feel. These experiences have a specific effect on your body known as grounding or earthing, which is incredibly helpful in reducing pain and anxiety. 
• Having a cat-nap on the beach is a sign that your body is recuperating from the pressures of your everyday life. Don’t feel guilty about extra sleep, it is healing and repairing, plus it reduces your hunger hormones and stops you over-eating. 
• Hanging out with your friends or family, playing, having fun, reading an amazing book, socialising and enjoying yourself have benefits for your mind and body, don’t underestimate the importance of happiness! 

*OB Tip: when you see someone on the beach who you think has a better body than you, think about how hard they must have worked for it and in your thoughts wish them all the health and happiness! Then smile and get back in the sea!