If you have been left with a bit of lodge after a winter of overindulging and still haven’t got around to starting your post-winter diet/exercise regime then there is no time like today! With the weather warming up a bit get outdoors and fresh air into your lungs. Running is one of the best exercises you can take; getting your heat rate up and burning that fat. Get yourself a running buddy, and encourage one another along when the going gets tough. If running is something you are not interested in search for local sports clubs online, sports networks are a useful tool for finding clubs and instructors in you area; and will provide useful information regarding your sport.
Having spent the winter under wraps it is time to shed your winter skin, the solution? Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate… Whether it is with natural brush or an exfoliating cream, try to exfoliate twice a week. If you have sensitive skin use a very mild exfoliate but a body brush used on problem areas will help to bread down the fatty tissue in cellulite as well. Killing two birds with one stone!
Always follow an exfoliate with a good moisturizer, Palmer Cocoa Butter is good for intensive moisture and leaves you smelling nice and sweet, they also have products designed for stretch marks and containing Aloe Vera for more sensitive skin. If stretch marks, or scars, are a worry rub some Bio Oil into them, it is often recommended to post op patients to encourage the healing of surgical scars.
Cellulite can be difficult to banish, especially in a short space of time to minimize the appearance of orange peel use a firming moisturizer such as Nivea Q10 and keep up the exfoliating. In the week prior to your confrontation with bikini it is worth going for a massage and asking the therapist to focus on your problem area encouraging the drainage of any toxins and retained fluid.In the build up to your holiday drink plenty of water and avoid coffee, alcohol and fizzy drinks, water retention is the cause for a many love handles and bulging tums. Eat plenty of fruit and veg, avoiding starchy or bloating foods such as beans or pulses immediately before you are due to go away, as they will bloat you. Following the basic three meals a day, five portions of fruit and veg along with your new exercise regime should produce slimming results.
Try to avoid the tanning salon before you go away, use fake tan instead; we are all aware of the damage UV light can do to us and be aware that you will be subjecting your sun deprived bod to the only sun it gets all year round for a solid week or two weeks; never mind the four weeks of artificial sun you are giving it beforehand. Use fake tan before hand and a tanning lotion with fake tan in the formula to ensure you go a nice bronzed color.
The final preparations to be done before you go are; the bikini wax; home pied and main, paint your toes a nice bright summery color that will go with your bikinis and keep your fingernails neutral, apply a strengthening varnish to ensure to protect them the sun, sea and sand; intensive moisturize your hair, prep your hair for the onslaught of damage the sun will cause; and finally make such your toots are all scrubbed and ready for some major exposure in your new gladiator sandals, no one likes crusty feet!
And finally… just as you are about to wangle that dreaded bikini, apply some bronze to your legs, cleavage and chest, and a mousse or liquid bronze on your face.