Ab-tight approved foods, fat-burning workouts
and insider secrets for looking your best all summer long.
By Hope Daniels
As the Jersey Shore gets ready for another butt-kicking summer, most beach-goers are desperate to kick their butts into shape. Summer vibes feel like an eternity away during the dead winter months but once May rolls around, panic ensues as we scramble to find the best weight-loss hacks and sweatiest fitness classes to help us slide into swimsuit season.
The fury over which foods are the healthiest to eat and which exercises speed up metabolism can end with a lot of us misinformed, scarfing down burritos and sipping on cocktail shakes.
But we don’t have to resort to singing the bloating blues any longer. Check out these expert tips to keep you on track – before and after your beach body reveal.
“There is no one size fits all when it comes to nutrition,” said Alison Kucich, certified functional nutritionist, health-supportive chef and founder of Eighty Nutrition in Fair Haven. Comparing yourself to others can lead to confusion and negatively affect weight loss goals, she said. When clients come to her for help, she listens to their nutritional concerns and teaches them how to achieve their specific goals and sustain successes over time, but each client’s needs are treated individually. “Since we all have unique biochemistry and lifestyles, a nutritionist works with each client to craft a specific nutritional plan that is right for them,” said Kucich.
Photo by Lara Robby Photography
“I see a lot of people frantic to a drop a few pounds in the weeks before bathing suit season and willing to do radical things to make it happen,” Kucich said, explaining how the mania can lead to poor meal selection. She said quick fixes like fad diets, shake-only diets, skip- ping meals or over exercising cause many people to peter out after a short while on these plans. Eventually they become hungry, over-tired or feel sick, leading them right back to poor eating habits and gaining back any weight they lost.
“The best strategy for only a few weeks to go is to drink plenty of water, compose your meals from lean protein, good fats and loads of vegetables,” she said. She also reminds dieters to cut out fried and processed foods, refined sugars and those nightly glasses of wine.
If we lost you at no sweets and no wine, read on for the silver lining.
“There are definitely ways to satisfy a sweet tooth without completely jeopardizing swimsuit season,” Kucich confirmed. “I believe some sweets should be included in a nutritional plan in order to prevent that feeling of deprivation.”
She believes deprivation is the culprit that leads to diet mutiny and bingeing. Some of her favorite go-to desserts are her no-bake apple crisps, chocolate truffle energy balls and chocolate avocado mousse. Kucich also advises people to check in on their emotional state.
“Many people cave when they feel stress, loneliness or are invited to a social outing,” she said. She cautions them to remember their goal and ask themselves if they are reaching out for food or alcohol out of comfort or social pressure.
“To improve your body inside and out, you should eat a varied diet of many super-foods,” said Kucich, telling us which summertime foods to load up on and why: dark leafy greens, avocados, lemons, asparagus, beets and berries. These superfoods are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants believed to benefit health and protect against illness. Other super-foods to munch on include eggs, coconuts, almonds and matcha green tea.
“Changing your body composition requires both proper nutrition and adequate exercise, with proper nutrition being 80 percent of the puzzle,” Kucich said. This is her mantra. And why her functional nutrition company is called Eighty. Kucich stresses a good trip to the gym helps burn calories, but the surprising and even scarier thought to keep in mind is, “It is much easier to overeat calories than burn them off.”
More information can be found at eateighty.com.
BEACH BODY WORKOUTS
But don’t think exercise isn’t important. That 20 percent can make a big difference when trying to get swimsuit-ready.
The Two River area is a popular hot spot surrounded by the steamiest, most buzzworthy fitness trends you see posted all over social media. Whether you are searching for a circuit class focused on reps to rip you into shape, a spin on a bike to rev up your heart rate or hot yoga poses to help burn major calories, these gym venues are the perfect kick-start to showing off some skin this season.
YMCA, Red Bank
Clementine, Fair Haven
Poe, Fair Haven
The Bar Method, Shrewsbury, Holmdel
Orangetheory Fitness, Middletown
This article was first published in the May 23 – 29, 2019 printed edition of The Two River Times.
