5 Expert Tricks to Slim Down in Only 5 Days

Jessica Hart for Seafolly

The Fourth of July is right around the corner—literally, it’s just five days away. But it’s not too late to get in your best shape for all the bikini-clad festivities. Don’t do anything drastic. Instead, strengthen, lengthen, and calm your body with these bikini-body tricks that will last through the holiday weekend. 

• Double Smoothie

  
  
  PHOTO: Courtesy of Pair Mag
  Ingesting a liquid meal is a great way to provide your body the calories it needs without requiring a lot of time or energy for digestion. It helps decrease inflammation and speeds up weight loss by keeping blood sugar balanced in the fat-burning zone and sparing lean muscles. When our clients have a deadline for weight loss, we encourage them to replace breakfast and lunch with a protein- and fat-rich #bewellsmoothie and enjoy a solid dinner of fatty fish and fibrous vegetables.
  
  
• 2 of 5

  Strategic Workout Schedule

  
  
  If you are looking to up your workout plan before the holiday, we like to strengthen and then lengthen. Pick a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout like Orange Theory Fitness early in the week. This type of training will tear up muscles and create a strong afterburn of calories. Then, toward the end of the week, switch to a hot yoga class to lengthen your sore muscles and purge excess water weight.
• 3 of 5

  12-Hour Fast

  
  
  Give your body a break; maintain a 12-hour fast between dinner and breakfast. The first six to eight hours after eating dinner, your body is focused on digestion; however, the last four hours are dedicated to detox and are also the most effective fat-burning time (i.e., stored fat in our thighs, bums, and tums). If we have any food before bedtime or have our evening meal too late, the leptin tells the brain that no energy is required, and no fat burning will occur in the latter part of the night. So that little snack, however healthy it may have been, puts an end to any fat burning and detoxing that evening.
• 4 of 5

  Deep Sleep

  
  
  Sleep regulates your hormones, decreases inflammation, and helps you thin out naturally. Deep sleep will calm hunger hormones and have you waking up refreshed. The best hormone-balancing sleep happens with the natural circadian rhythm of the sun. A dark bedroom is key. Wear a sleep mask or invest in blackout curtains, and get to bed preferable before 11 p.m. Next, turn off the backlight of an iPhone or computer at least two hours before bed. This will allow your body to produce the melatonin needed for restful, cleansing sleep.
  
  
• 5 of 5

  Poop Happy

  
  
  You would be surprised how many women have issues with digestion, constipation, bloating, and gas. It’s not cute, but worse, it is frustrating and slows the weight-loss process. To make sure you are on schedule and feeling lean, aim for at least 50 ounces of water a day and 30 grams of fiber. It is as simple as adding a tablespoon of chia or flax to your smoothie, upping your leafy greens at lunch, and drinking a glass of water before your food arrives. Avoid the sugar; it feeds yeast, candida, and pathogenic bacteria in the gut, causing excess gas and constipation. Still frustrated? One serving of the magnesium supplements like Natural Calm ($15) before bed will calm the intestines and induce natural movement of the colon for a nice morning release.