*This Post Contains Affiliate Links, Please Read My Disclosure For More Information. This means I can earn money if you utilize a product I believe in that I’ve linked to. * 

Full disclosure – I am NOT a personal trainer. I am NOT a registered dietitian. I am NOT a doctor. But, I wanted to share my personal experience with you. Because here’s the deal – I’ve been uncomfortable with my body for just about my whole life. I’ve had an extremely warped view about how we ‘should’ be eating. I also had some mental barriers regarding what I thought my body was capable of. So I decided that for my 23rd birthday, I wanted to celebrate it. These are the same tips and practices that helped me lose 7 pounds and get to what I consider my personal ideal bikini body!

The Proof Is In The Pudding

I’m going to show you what is literally the grossest photo of myself that anyone has ever seen. Because I was pursuing a bikini body, I wanted to photograph my body in just that – a bikini. So I did. The photos you see below side by side are your proof that I’ve come a long way on this journey and that what I did worked for me, and could work for you too!

Striving for Better

During the beginning of my 23rd trip around the sun I was going to be on a cruise. Which yes, sounds like paradise to many. But for me it was also going to be a pretty vulnerable experience, at least if I didn’t have what I considered a bikini body. I’ve been working towards what I consider to be a healthier self since January 1st. Not only mentally and even spiritually, but physically. So I’m going to be honest with you, this probably isn’t something that you’ll be able to achieve in 7, 15 or 30 days. While this has been a goal I’ve been working towards, life has also been happening around me.

So yes, it has taken me some time to achieve it. But it has been so worth it.

Defining Better, A Changing Vision

When I first started this journey towards my bikini body, I knew I wanted to blog about it. I had some pretty lofty goals (which there is nothing wrong with setting the bar high), but as I continued they began to change. I initially started with just wanting to remove weight, I wasn’t even focusing on body fat. Just on a calorie deficit. But let me be very clear – while your weight is not arbitrary it doesn’t tell the whole story. I was wanting to be my high school weight, which was one hundred and twenty-two pounds.

Which to be clear while I was naturally skinny in high school I wasn’t in shape either.

And just because you’re on a calorie restricted diet and you’re losing weight that way – doesn’t mean your diet is healthy.

So the first two months I just focused on maintaining a calorie deficit. There was no strength training, no cardio and the quality of food I was consuming wasn’t necessarily ideal.

As time progressed while I still worked towards a calorie deficit I started spending time at the gym consistently. I also started meal planning to count macro-nutrients and focused on measuring body fat percentage.

Everything that I’m about to recommend I spent A LOT of time researching because I wanted it to be healthy and sustainable for women. You should do your own research and listen to your body and determine what is working and healthy for you and your lifestyle.

How I Lost 7 lbs & Got My Bikini Body While Working Fast Food

1. Maintain a Calorie Deficit to Lose 1 to 2 Lbs Per Week

If you want to lose weight you need to maintain a calorie deficit. You didn’t gain those five, ten or fifteen pounds overnight. Each pound of fat that you put on requires 3,500 calories in overages.

For women, 1200 calories is what you have to consume each day so your body doesn’t shut down. If you consume underneath that it stresses your body. You will not lose weight.

You can safely lose one to two pounds per week. I work Quickservice, so I’m on my feet all the time. So it may be easier for me to maintain a larger deficit than someone who strictly works a desk job. Some weeks I lost one pound, others I lost two.

So now you simply need to do the math. If you want to lose one pound each week, then you need to have a calorie deficit of 500 calories each day. If you want to lose two pounds per week, you should have a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories each day.

But you should also understand your limits and not forget to log your workouts!

Some recommend cheat days and others don’t. In the beginning I felt I needed one a week. Where I wouldn’t overeat but I wouldn’t have a deficit.

Eventually you get to a point where you won’t crave food that has low nutritional value but until then I think a cheat day (as long as it doesn’t get out of control) makes sense.

2. Drink A Gallon of H20

You’ve probably seen the meme talking about all the uses for water. How it not only hydrates you and your skin, but that you could also drown a bad ex. But seriously, water is important if you’re trying to lose body fat to get to your bikini body.

To start off, if you’re a little hungry  from your calorie deficit it suppresses hunger. If your cells aren’t properly hydrated even with a calorie deficit you’re not going to be able to lose weight consistently and effectively. Essentially everything runs less efficiently in regards to your body processes if you’re not well hydrated.

How much water you need varies based upon your body, the environment it’s exposed to and of course if you’re working out. You can find a more in depth article here. You don’t want to consume too much water! That would cause hyponatremia. But what I’ve found worked for me, is to drink like a competitive body builder might when training. So I’ve been focusing on 1 gallon per day (or 128 oz). You should calculate your own water consumption needs for it to be healthy! (I will say that drinking this amount of water through a straw caused bloat and so an insulated thermos solved that problem and kept everything icy.)

3. Sleep 8 Hours a Night

If you’re not resting adequately (like an 8 hour sleep window) your body is going to be so stressed you will not lose weight. So make sure that’s a priority as well!

4. Count Your Calorie Expenditure

I had no idea how many calories I burned while being relatively sedentary or on shift at work each day. That was a problem. I consistently underestimated what my body needed even after a seven, nine or twelve hour shift. So when I was hungry I ate what was convenient which usually had little nutritional value but was still packed with calories. Which caused weight gain.

So I decided to start tracking everything daily to get to my ideal bikini body.

Now eventually, I decided to purchase a Garmin Vivoactive Black (Certified Refurbished) because it helped me track pace when running. Also, it was waterproof. And had a longer batter life. This is the product that I would eventually purchase if you are serious about fitness. It has TONS of capabilities!

But I started with a Fitbit Flex 2 that I got discounted from Marshalls for $30. It runs closer to $50 at most retailers, including Amazon when it’s on sale. It counted my steps to track estimated calorie expenditure.

5. Log Your Food

Both of these devices have partnering applications that you can track your water intake, workout sessions and log your food! I started out with the Fitbit App, but now that I have a Garmin I utilize the Garmin App and  Calorie Counter My Fitness Pal in conjunction.

By the way, the Fitness Pal App is FREE! So even if you don’t have the fiscal means to purchase something to track your steps you can at least get an estimate on the nutritional value of what you’re eating.

And honey, you need to LOG IT ALL. My husband has this rule that he doesn’t log condiments, but they could wreak havoc on your goals if you’re a true sauce eater like him. So log your ketchup and sauces if you’re going to be honest with yourself.

The Fitness Pal App has now given me the opportunity to better track my macronutrients, which leads me to my next tip…

6. Count Your Macros & Meal Plan for Success

We talked about how just having a calorie deficit didn’t make your bikini body healthy. You see, after I started to drop a pound or two I wanted to really take care of my body. Because you can drop weight by building a calorie deficit, but you don’t actually get loads healthier if you just do that.

While I don’t aspire to be a body builder (which takes extreme dedication and I am continually floored by the discipline to attain that physique), I think that people with a passion for that are probably experts at reducing body fat and building muscle. Both which were part of my goal of my ideal bikini body.

And also which is where I first learned about counting macronutrients. Essentially while there a few different types of macronutrients and you can understand more in-depth about counting them in this article here. 

After I  calculated what my body would need to attain my goal physique and read lots of articles I found my body needed 53 grams of fat and 107 grams of protein daily.

In order to find out what your body needs just multiply your body weight by the expenditure needs below:

• .4 to .5 grams of fat per pound of ideal body weight
• .6 – .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight

I didn’t focus on carbohydrates much, except that I wanted to make sure they came from foods with high nutritional value. It’s recommended that half of your daily calorie intake come from carbs in general.

But some quick tips I’ve found on the road to my bikini body that I wanted to share:

• You can eat bread and pasta! Just make sure it’s whole grain.
• Don’t have time to bake a chicken breast but want real food? Then enjoy a Starkist Tuna sandwich on whole grain bread!
• If you need to up your carbs with small amounts of calories and hardly any fat – fruits are great.
• Fat isn’t the devil, it’s essential to your body functioning properly, just make sure you’re eating the right kinds.
• If you’re trying to eat a high protein diet, you may need to consume protein bars/shakes. While you still have to watch the amount of sugars and fats in them (and actual food is better) these are some of my favorites:
  • Muscle Milk Pro Series Protein Shake, Knockout Chocolate, 4 Count
  • MET-Rx Big 100 Colossal Protein Bar, Crispy Apple Pie, 4 Count Value Pack, High Protein Bars to Support Energy Levels and Muscles, Great as A Meal Replacement, Gluten Free, 2 Pack
  • MET-Rx Big 100 Colossal Protein Bar, Super Cookie Crunch, 100 g Bar (9 count), High Protein Bars to Support Energy Levels and Muscles, Great as A Meal Replacement, Gluten Free
  • Gatorade Whey Protein Recover Bars, Chocolate Chip, 2.8 Ounce (6 Count)

So calculate what your body needs, then put a meal plan together and stick to it! I used an excel spreadsheet to track it all. Then I tried to make healthy choices if I needed more nutrients/had a bigger expenditure.

Once you’ve meal planned just simply keep to Tip #5 and log your food into the MyFitnessPal App. You could even plug it into the App beforehand to look at where your calories are coming from in terms of Macros for your activity level which is also important.

Sitting in front of excel for an hour or two over your weekend is anything but sexy. But it’s so worth it if you have the conviction to stick with it!

7. Sweat It Out!

If you want to not just drop fat but actually tone your muscles, you need to use them! So for me, that meant committing to strength training three times a week at Planet Fitness starting in February.

Abs were what I wanted to focus on most, so I did those every session. Some arms each time, and legs once a week. Three sets of 12 reps on each of the machines tailored for that body area. It’s okay to start incredibly light, just do what you can do and gradually increase weight.

Though cardio is essential to be healthy and to lose stubborn fat, I didn’t really start that until the end of March. Which was two months into my fitness journey. But I found that unless I had a deadline there was limited accountability.

So I signed up for and ran my first 5k. I trained consistently for six weeks with this training plan.

Armed with my Wireless Headhpones and Scivation Xtend Hydrasport BCAA Powder (which are great for strength training) I had no excuses to not pursue better.

The 5k went well and since then I’ve not only ran another one but I’m currently training for my first 10k!

How Working Fast Food Impacted My Fitness Journey Towards My Bikini Body

I remember when I started working at our store I was impressed by the human beings that worked there. I still am. All of our team members are striving towards something. Whether that is moving up within our store, within our store or working towards a different career path.

Since everyone who works at our store is striving towards better, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of them are focused on fitness. Several of our night crew kiddos will go the gym after a closing shift. One of our team members carried around a gallon jug for a few weeks to up his water intake. Another employee was hauling around a protein supplement in his car.

I really couldn’t understand what would motivate someone to come of an eight or ten hour shift and then go sweat it out at the gym. But I get it now.

So not only has being around like minded people in Quickservice motivated me, but being on your feet that much also burns calories. It also gives you the opportunity to be around some of the most delicious food.

Closing Thoughts

I’m not all the way there, I hit a roadblock with a nasty sinus  infection two weeks before the cruise. Which prevented me from going to the gym, running and also made me less committed to my diet.

I would love to be at 18% body fat, and have a defined line on my abdominal cavity, and get rid of the lingering puckering cellulite on the back of my legs. And run a marathon next fall. And within reason if that’s healthy for me, I will get there! But I’ve also accepted that the standard model measurements wouldn’t be healthy for me to maintain in my opinion. My hip measurement will always be consistently bigger, and I’m definitely okay with that!

I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way. I’m not an expert, so if you have any thoughts or questions, be sure to drop them in the comments below!

The reason I chose this method was because I felt like it was a SUSTAINABLE lifestyle change for ME. What is sustainable is different for everybody. There are tons of fad diets out there that will allow temporary progress but  that most will yoyo back up in weight quickly afterwards. Whatever is sustainable for your lifestyle you should do. Counting macros may not be for everybody, but it works for me.

Also I want to let you know that the only thing I photoshopped out were blemishes and a few bruises from running into tables at work. I did not smooth skin, I left any cellulite and back fat alone. I want you to know that this is possible for you too!

If you would’ve told me just six  months ago I’d be where I’m at I would have laughed in your face. But if you keep hooked with your New Year’s resolutions it really is crazy what you can accomplish!

If you enjoyed reading this blog post about how I got to my bikini body you’ll probably like reading about:

• How to Set Goals (with a great discussion about New Year’s Resolutions in-tow)
• 5 Frugal Science-Backed Ways to Practice Self-Care
• The Secret Time Management Tip for Small Business Owners
• 6 Steps to Achieving a Sustainable Work-Life Balance 

I’ll also be sharing all the bikini’s I’ve been in love with this summer in a following post!

Thanks for reading!

 

Lauren