Spring is officially here, which for most women is a sign that summer is coming, which means bikini season. Oh boy! Not to mention, the weather is finally warming up, rosé season is upon us, and there’s nothing better than sitting on a rooftop with an adult beverage (or three) in hand. Ok, wait, let me back up and tell you who I am. My name is Justin Gelband—I’m the guy who created ModelFit—and now I have my own fitness studio in NYC. But I’ve spent the past 15 years training the world’s top models and A-list actors with my workout method (obviously called the JG method), so I guess that’s why Betches asked me to give you my tips on how to get summer body ready without giving up alcohol.
Most of my clients want have to maintain their bodies, whether it’s for a new role, or for walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. They work hard and dedicate themselves to being the best they can be. But guess what—with hard work, comes reward! For the purposes of this article, that reward would be alcohol, right?! Now, I’m not telling you to slug a cocktail after every workout, but you also don’t have to give up a drink at Sunday brunch or a champagne toast at your best friend’s wedding altogether. With my method, I want to help women build the connection between their minds and bodies so they can not only look their best on the outside, but feel their best too—and I promise, a little alcohol won’t kill you with my method of functional movement based on Movement, Motivation, and Moderation!
Movement
Movement speeds up your body’s metabolism so you can burn the calories that come with alcohol! Dancing or simply moving around during your night out can help burn the calories you’re putting in your body. I would also suggest holding off on food an hour or two before drinking, and not eating at all after party time is over—I know drunk munchies are real, but you’re strong-willed, I believe in you! If you crack under tipsy pressure, and you HAVE to eat, stick to fruits, vegetables, or anything light. This way, you are balancing the toxicity of the alcohol with foods that won’t add to it. Especially since heavy amounts of sugar and salt are huge contributors to holding water and water weight!
Motivation
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broke a sweat getting my sports bra on so now i’m going to bed | @jessiejolles
This might seem like a small piece of the puzzle, but motivation is a big key to success in getting ready for the summer (and life in general). If you’re motivated to look fantastic, you will put your energy towards treating your body with respect—that not only means working out smart, but drinking smart as well. You don’t need to drink til you drop, no matter how stressful your work week was. Put yourself towards the mindset that you are drinking to enjoy yourself, not drinking just for the sake of getting wasted. Then, your hangover days will (hopefully) be behind you and you can wake up in the morning feeling motivated to work out and sweat out the alcohol from the night before, so one equalizes the other.
Moderation
Drinking is going to cause you to gain water weight and can cause other body image problems, so please moderate your drinking! So, if you’re used to drinking three drinks in a night, drink two. If you’re drinking (even one drink) every day, cut that down to three days per week. If you find these simple ways to cut some corners, you will still be able to get summer body ready without giving up alcohol. Drink red wine instead of white, and keep in mind a glass or two doesn’t mean a bottle! We’ve all been there. Look at the calories in the hard alcohol you’re drinking and go with whichever has the least number of calories and sugar. And try to steer away from mixers—it’s the sugars in mixed drinks that really get you. If you can’t drink something straight, then add a mixer (sip, no slugging) and have one or two less drinks. This will cut down on the body holding water or gaining weight.
A common misconception in today’s age puts being “skinny” in the same category as being “healthy.” This is not the case, trust me. Sure, you can give up alcohol and maybe see some weight loss, but does this improve your overall health? Have a drink or two, but discipline yourself and commit to exercising, and you’ll be summer ready… but start NOW! Don’t wait until May and say, “Okay JG—I need to transform my body by Memorial Day—help!!” You have 2 months to get your sh*t together, so zombie walk over to my studio with some betches, and I’ll be there to whip your butt in shape.
Images: Elevate / Unsplash; Justin Gelband (2); dietstartstomorrow, justingelband / Instagram
Nicole Nam has a Bachelors of Science in Public Health Nutrition Specialization and a Masters of Science in Kinesiology. She has a personal training certification from the American Council of Exercise, and has trained a variety of clients, including a contestant in this year’s Miss Nevada competition. Follow her on Instagram here.
As a personal trainer, I see a lot of my clients struggle with information overload. So much contradicting information is thrown at you that you don’t know wtf to believe. I always want my clients, and Betches readers, to approach every piece of information you read/hear/come across pertaining to fitness and wellness with a subjective mindset. No two bodies are the same—so what works for one person might not work for you for many reasons, whether it’s biological makeup or cultural preferences. (Example: you won’t find me on the keto diet—I’m Asian, I was raised on rice and noodles and carbs.) Fitness and achieving your dream body is about finding what works for you.
That said, I want to give you five general diet and exercise mistakes that I’ve seen hinder my clients’ progress despite their age, their genetic makeup, and their lifestyle. Get ready for some harsh truths. Take from this article what you will, because maybe some of these mistakes are things you’re doing and finding success with. If that’s the case, IGNORE ME. Listen to your body first.
1. Doing Only Cardio, Or Only Weights
A lot of my beginner clients were cardio addicts. They loved cardio because it’s easy. It’s one movement for an extended period of time—they don’t have to mess with equipment, they don’t have to come up with a routine, and they don’t have to learn how to properly execute movements. But weights changed their lives. The thing is, cardio alone will not give you the muscle tone that you want. What it WILL do is make you lose weight. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you. On the other hand, if you hop on social media you’ll see fitness models praise the weights-only method. They don’t do cardio, or they’ll do 15 minutes max. They lift heavy weights only. From personal experience, doing weights ONLY (especially if you lift medium-heavy) can cause weight gain (due to increased muscle, but the same amount of fat) and a bulkier look. Again, whether that’s good or bad is up to you. My clients want to lose fat and increase muscle simultaneously, so the best solution that I have found for myself AND my clients is to split it 50-50. If we have an hour to work, we do 30 minutes of cardio with 30 minutes of weights.
2. Not Drinking Water
Drink that sh*t. It helps your body to recover from physical activity, flushes out toxins, and it will also help you figure out REAL hunger—not hunger from thirst or hunger from boredom. Don’t drink Vitamin Water, don’t drink diet soda…WHY. Why do that to yourself? Your body doesn’t need that. Your body needs clean, pure WATER.
3. Not Taking Days Off
How I work out:
-Run a mile or whatever
-Spend the next 2-3 days too sore to move
-Rest
-Repeat— Betches (@betchesluvthis) February 11, 2019
Some of my clients are super ambitious and strong-willed, or they’re working on a time crunch to be a certain size. They’ll train a total of six days a week, and do the same body parts all six days a week. Then they’ll complain to me about not seeing results. Well sweetie, that’s because you’ve torn down your muscle fibers to shreds! You’ve not given the fibers time to repair themselves (which is where you see results). Regardless of their deadline, I require my clients to take two days off from training a week and take one day to do restorative low-impact exercises such as yoga or Pilates. The other four days, you have my permission to go balls to the walls with it.
4. Trying To Outrun A Bad Diet
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you know you pictured a specific type of pasta when you read this | @dylanhafer
I can’t help you work off all the bullsh*t you eat if you’re steadily eating bullsh*t. Just because we did a 90-minute session does not give you an excuse to eat whatever you want, especially if you’re serious about your goals and ESPECIALLY if we’re working with a four-week deadline for your wedding. Throw out all the crap in your house, and do not restock your cupboard with all that damn junk food just to torture yourself. What are you gonna do? Stare at it, until you give in and finally eat it anyway? That’s not going to work. There’s a reason they say “you can’t outrun a bad diet”.
The more you cook, the more you know what is going into your body. Try to find the joy in cooking, even if it’s something that a 6-year-old could make like scrambled eggs. Keep eating out at restaurants to a minimum if you’re trying to lose weight. That’s because restaurants’ main concerns are the taste of their food and their Yelp reviews—they could give a damn about your fitness goals. For example, restaurant scrambled eggs often have unnecessary sh*t like cream, cheese, or tons of butter that could turn your innocent scrambled eggs into a calorie bomb. Invest in a good nonstick pan, make your own scrambled eggs and spinach, and you’ve probably just cut the calories in half.
5. Not Taking Vitamins
When your body is deficient in a certain vitamin, it translates into a craving. Craving “fatty” foods like butter and cheese? Could be a lack of Omega-3’s. Craving chocolate? Maybe your magnesium levels are low. Craving super salty or super sweet foods? A zinc supplement could help. Bottom line is, when your cells are hungry you will most likely be too. This is also the case for those that are cutting out whole food groups such as those on any low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets.
Now that you’re aware of these common diet and exercise mistakes, you can stop falling into these traps and start achieving your fitness goals.
Images: betches (2), dietstartstomorrow, daddyissues_ / Instagram; betchesluvthis / Twitter
