If you’re considering a winter holiday beach break or planning to get fit for next summer, preparing a proper health plan will be essential in achieving a toned body. Here are our top 5 tips for achieving your ideal beach body.

Exercise
Healthy eating alone won’t be sufficient in achieving a perfect beach body, regular exercise what you need, and the best way to stay healthy as well as in better shape.
Try and visit the gym or take part in prolonged physical activity at least 3 times a week. The best results are often gained through a mixture of weight training and cardiovascular exercise. It’s advised that you speak with a personal trainer who will look at your BMI using a BMI Calculator, allowing them to properly devise a weight loss plan that is achievable and effective.

Watch what you drink
Exercise will make you thirstier, but daily hydration is essential to the weight loss process, meaning that regular water intake is essential, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Dehydration often causes people to feel unnecessarily hungry, making people turn to processed foods that are high in calories to satisfy this desire. By making sure you’re well hydrated at all times, you will reduce unnecessary eating. Buy a high quality metal water bottle that you can carry around with you at all times, whether it be at work or on your daily commute to ensure that you can stay hydrated all through the day.

Alcohol consumption is also something you should be wary of, as the calories will be stored as fat unless used at the time of consumption. Beer and Cider are extremely high in calories and should be avoided. Spirits contain significantly less calories but should be consumed responsibly and in moderation. Always drink water when consuming alcohol as this will reduce false hunger signs as well as combat the effects of dehydration that come with drinking (so less hangovers when you do over-indulge).

Watch what you eat
If you’re planning on hitting the beach with a trim figure, watching what you eat is a top priority. You will need to have a balanced diet that includes the daily intake of at least 5 portions of fruit and veg. Reducing your intake of high calorie processed foods such as crisps, ready meals and chocolate is often the best method of altering your diet for weight loss.

Portion Sizing
Portion sizing is another, often-overlooked, part of getting a fit and healthy looking figure. In order to lose weight on a weekly basis you need to be burning more calories that you’re consuming and, by cutting down on your portion sizing, you can be making huge steps towards achieving exactly that.

Supplements
Whether you want to bulk up or help lose weight, there are many health supplements you can use to maximise results. Using a fat binder will reduce the amount of fat that gets digested, allowing you to limit your fat intake. If you want to gain weight using protein supplements, be careful as you could end up taking too much protein, resulting in a far from beach-friendly form.