Bikini boot camp: Drop a dress size and lose a stone in just two weeks

Summer is almost here, but it's not too late to get your body beach-ready.

It might not seem possible to drop a dress size and lose up to a stone in two weeks, but stick to the diet and fitness regime devised by our health gurus to the stars and you could be flaunting your best figure ever.


Celebrity nutritionist and naturopath Max Tomlinson and fitness trainer David Kirsch, who count A-listers such as Liv Tyler and supermodels Heidi Klum and Linda Evangelista among their clients, claim you can lose inches and change your body shape, as long as you stick to their plan.


You will eat five small meals a day - you may even find you are eating more than usual. But because the food is healthy, you will be losing pounds.
And as this is a diet combined with exercise, you will lose up to eight per cent of your body fat - that weight will stay off as your body becomes a fatburning machine. The best thing is that after two weeks, you'll find crisps, chocolate and other unhealthy foods no longer seem appealing.

"Naturopaths have always said you are what you eat, but I believe exercise plays an important role in helping you to come to the right decisions about what to put in your body," says Max. David Kirsch agrees: "You learn what foods will get you up and about and which will make you slump on the sofa." The idea is that you go on a healthy food detox.

The combination of healthy eating - fresh, organic, seasonal foods instead of processed and refined meals - and strenuous muscle-toning exercise will act as a cleanser for your body.

Your skin and hair will look great and you will have lots of extra energy. There's one catch: to get great results, there can be no half-measures. This is not for the faint-hearted. Your dare-to-bare action plan starts today!

THE EATING PLAN Your body is a sensitive, intuitive organ, says leading naturopath Max Tomlinson. Based in London, Australianborn Max combines naturopathy and nutrition, offering a holistic approach to healthy eating to his clients - a mix of A-list celebs, socialites and royalty.


"You need to be clever with your diet to see optimum results, especially within a relatively short time-frame," he says.


"Crash dieting or starvation will only lead to weight gain down the line. In the short term, you are likely to lose weight from all the wrong places - usually your face and breasts - rather than your thighs and tummy."


Working on the basis of calorie expenditure exceeding intake, Max's golden rules for slimming safely include:

•Kick-start your metabolism. To lose weight, you must eat regularly. Start skipping meals and your body will store the little food you do eat, often laying it down as fat rather than burning it immediately as a source of energy.

Breakfast is by far the most important meal and will raise your metabolic rate - meaning food is used effectively for the rest of day, helping to burn fat and encourage weight loss.


Go for a protein-rich breakfast of eggs, as the body uses more calories to digest protein than quick energy-releasing carbs, such as toast or cereal. Fruit salad is packed with energy-giving nutrients.

• Portion control. It's easy to overeat, especially with high protein meals. Aim to reduce your intake at every meal by up to 45 per cent.

• Aim to consume 1,000 calories a day - enough to encourage weight loss without affecting basal metabolic rates.

What to eat • Steer clear of empty calories. Make sure all the food you eat is seasonal, organic and nutrient rich, packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and enzymes.

• Eat organic fish and lean meat; eggs; poultry; brown rice; brown wheat-free, yeast-free bread; oats and quinoa.

• Limit fruit to two portions a day, making up the remaining Recommended Daily Amount with three portions of vegetables.

• Stick to green, leafy vegetables, avoiding peas and sugar-rich root vegetables such as carrots, swede, sweet potato and parsnips.

• To regulate your blood sugar, eat a low GI snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Aim to have it half an hour before you normally feel hungry.

WHAT TO AVOID: All junk food. This includes packaged, processed or fried foods, white flour (including bread and pasta), alcohol and other stimulants such as coffee, tea and fizzy drinks.


Steer clear of saturated fats, not just animal fats, but hidden forms such as palm kernel oil found in ready-made meals, especially Thai food and fruit juice, which is packed with sugar.


Cut down on dairy - ideally, cut it out altogether and replace with goat, sheep or soya milk and cheese.


No refined sugar. Don't be fooled into thinking diet foods and 'skinny' options are OK because they are still empty calories.

Cut out all treats such as cakes, biscuits, crisps and chocolate - it is only for two weeks - and become a willpower hermit, putting your social life (and its associated temptations) on hold.

• Don't overdo the fluids. Most people drink too much water when they cut back on food, but going OTT on the H2O taxes your kidneys and waters down your digestive juices, reducing their overall efficacy. The result? Poor digestion, which leads to bloating.

• A lean, flat stomach calls for a healthy gut, so swap cold mineral water for warm herbal teas. Go for blends that aid digestion, such as lemon verbena, camomile and mint. Dandelion coffee will help detox your liver by breaking down fats, and also acts as a mild diuretic to reduce water retention.

• Stock up on supplements. Most of us suffer from a blood sugar disturbance, so counteract the dizzying side-effects of a calorie-reduced diet with chromium. Taking 200 micrograms with breakfast will also help to ease any hunger pangs.

• For added fibre (essential to weight loss) and again to help keep you satiated, take a heaped teaspoon of psyllium husks in a full glass of water before lunch.

• Diet for a maximum of 14 days, but a totally committed 14 days for best results, and appoint a mentor to help keep you on the straight and narrow. After familiarising them with the rules, keep a food diary and send it to them every day to monitor your progress and, finally, to ensure you return to a normal eating regime after your diet fortnight.

• Clean up Your Diet by Max Tomlinson (Duncan Baird, £12.99) is available in book stores and offers long-term advice on healthy eating. For more dietary advice, visit www. maxtomlinson.com

THE TRAINING REGIME


Follow the exercise regime to lose weight
The man supermodels turn to when they need to get in shape for the runway is David Kirsch. His advice helped Liv Tyler and Heidi Klum lose their baby weight in weeks and can get you looking gorgeous for the beach.


"You can lose a lot of weight quickly by not eating, but you won't keep it off," he says.

"When you diet without exercise, at least half of your weight loss comes from lean body mass (that's muscle and non-fat tissue). This slows your metabolism, setting you up for weight regain as soon as you increase your food intake."


By following David's New York Fitness Plan for 14 days alongside the diet, you can slim while training your body to burn fat.


Before exercising, David recommends assessing the problem areas that need toning and to establish your basic level of fitness.


Stand in front of a mirror and jiggle your arms, bottom and legs. If everything stays motionless, you're fit and toned. If your skin is flapping, you need to work out more. The pre-workout test will gauge your starting point.

TEST YOUR FITNESS Knee bends

Perform with your back against a wall, making sure your thighs are parallel to the floor.


Make sure your knees don't jut out beyond your ankles and hold the position for as long as you can bear it, recording your time.

Around the world twists

Stand with your legs hip width apart, knees bent and holding a medicine ball, or 3kg dumb bells, above your head. Bend forward and to the right, bringing weight down to your right foot. Then reverse the motion returning to the upright position, before repeating on the left.


Continue for as long as you can, recording the number of movements from side to side.

Push-ups

Resting on your knees or on your feet with your legs extended. Perform as many as possible and note down the number.

Knee-lifts

Bend your standing leg slightly and raising the other knee as close to your chest as possible, without collapsing your spine and keeping your balance


Perform on alternate legs, keeping arms up, elbows bent, so your fists are in line with your jaw.


If you managed 15 repetitions of each exercise and can balance for at least 30 seconds in the knee lifts, you can start the programme. Otherwise, practice these moves daily until you can reach this standard.


Equip yourself with:


A stability ball: 5ft 4in or shorter, go for a 21in ball; 5ft5in to 5ft 11in, a 25in ball; 6ft or above, 29in ball.

Dumb bells

Start with 2lb or 3lb weights and move up to 5lb.

Medicine ball

Weighing between 2lb and 10lb, or 1kg and 4kg.


Perform at least one ten-minute workout a day for a fortnight. For best results, aim for three daily sessions.

THE WORKOUTS

Pile squats

Stand with feet hip width apart, feet turned out and with a dumb bell in each hand, palms facing in. Bring your weight into heels and squat down. As you squat, curl arms up to shoulders, keeping elbows tucked in. Hold the squat and push arms up, locking out elbows. Lower arms in the reverse order you raised them and come out of the squat. Do 20 to 30 repetitions.

Shadow boxing

With a dumb bell in each hand, hold abs tight and punch right arm diagonally out at torso level. As you pull back, bend into a squat. Push up and repeat with left hand.


Next perform an uppercut with your right hand, tucking elbow in and punching upwards. Sit back down again and, as you raise up to standing, repeat with left hand. Bend right arm and bring it up parallel with floor. Throw a hook punch to the left and sit back down again, repeating as you stand up, on the left side. Do sequence 20 to 30 times.

Incline dumbell on a stability ball

Rest shoulders on ball, feet out in front of you, knees at 90 degrees to floor, your body forming a flat plank. Grasping a dumb bell in each hand, raise them up to the ceiling from chest. Bend elbows to the side, bringing weights towards nipples into the starting position.


Lower arms out to side, elbows slightly bent and then press them in as if hugging a tree. Finally, keep hands close together and, arms extended, lower dumb bells overhead behind you. Rise, rest a moment and repeat 15 times.

Bench dips

Sit on floor, legs straight and heels on the stability ball. Place hands behind hips, fingers facing ball. Raise yourself off floor, elbows straight and then bend elbows, lowering bottom to floor without touching it. Extend elbows again and repeat 20 to 30 times.

Wide dumbbell rows on a stability ball

Lean tummy or chest on to ball, feet straight out behind you, toes touching floor. Take dumb bell in each hand and bend elbows as if rowing a boat, pulling weight up. Lower to the starting position. Repeat 15 to 20 times.

Repeat entire sequence for a total of ten minutes.

Reverse lunge with torso twist

With feet shoulder width apart, arms outstretched, hold a medicine ball in both hands. Keeping core stable, transfer weight into your heels. Lunge one foot backwards until front and back knee are at right angles. As you sink into the lunge, twist torso to left, then return to centre and extend legs, bringing feet back together. Repeat on the right side. Do 15 lunges on each side.

Good mornings with rotation

With feet shoulder width apart, hold stability ball overhead, keeping elbows soft. Bend knees slightly and bend forwards 90 degrees from hip, keeping arms near ears.


Keeping abs tight, reach forwards with fingers and back with your tailbone. Lift left shoulder blade to ceiling and lower right shoulder to floor, continuing to stretch. Hold for 15 seconds. Do 15 repetitions and then repeat on the other side.

Handoff

Lie on back, holding stability ball between knees and shins, then extend legs at 90 degrees to torso.


Raise your arms overhead, and curl your tailbone toward your navel, lifting the ball up and over into your outstretched arms. Grasp the ball and lower your hands and the ball to the floor. Reverse the move passing the ball from your hands to your legs. Perform ten to 15 switches in total.

Trunk crunches

Lie on your back, knees bent and feet on the floor with your arms out to the side. Lift your feet until your thighs form a right angle with your ankles.

Keeping your lower back pressed into the floor, slowly lower your legs to the left until they just touch the floor. Slowly lift your legs back to the start position and repeat on the other side. Do ten to 15 on each side.

Double crunch with ball

Lie on back, pinching stability ball between knees and shins. Grasping medicine ball, take arms overhead. Bend knees and lift feet up until thighs are perpendicular to your torso.


Exhale as you simultaneously curl your tailbone and crunch upper body, bringing the two balls close together. Lower. Repeat ten to 15 times.

Forward and reverse crossover lunges with bicep curl

With feet shoulder width apart, grasp dumb bell in each hand and extend arms down by sides.

Take a large step diagonally forward to the 11 o'clock position with right leg, sinking down knee to form a right angle while performing a bicep curl.


Extend legs, raise right knee to chest and plant it behind you at the eight o'clock position and sink into a reverse lunge, with a bicep curl.


Repeat 15 to 20 times with right leg before switching to left, adopting the one o'clock and four o'clock positions.

Squat jumps with medicine ball

With feet slightly wider than hip width apart, hold the medicine ball out in front of your chest.


Squat down, keeping your knees above (not in front of) your toes.


Spring up, thrusting your arms overhead and tap your heels together before landing back in the start position.

Sumo lunge with sidekick and frog jump

Stand in a sumo position, knees bent and your body weight over your heels. Take a large step sideways with your right leg, bringing your right knee into your chest and over to the right in one continuous motion.


As soon as your foot touches the floor, bring your knee back into your chest and perform a side kick at hip height.


Lower your leg back into the sumo position and squat down, before springing up, arms overhead and landing with your feet hip width apart. Repeat on the left, performing ten moves each side.

Platypus walk with medicine ball

Sink into a plie squat, grasping medicine ball above head with both hands. Push bottom back as far as possible and, keeping core muscles tight, walk forward, pushing off through each heel.


Expect your bottom and inner thigh muscles to burn as you walk across the room in one direction and then reverse and walk backward.

Repeat the sequence for a total of ten minutes.

More ten-minute exercises for top-to-toe toning plus David's food and fitness plan are available in his latest book The Ultimate New York Diet (McGraw Hill, £14.99).


THE ONE-DAY DIET
Start the day with cleansing hot lemon and ginger: Add the juice of one whole lemon and freshly-grated ginger to hot water and drink.

Breakfast: Berry fruit salad 5 of each of the following: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries
1 green apple 1 pear
1 tsp (heaped) chopped raw nuts (almond, brazil and hazelnuts)

Method: Chop up all the fruit, sprinkle over the nuts, mix and serve.

Lunch: Chicken Ginger Skewers with Quinoa Tabbouleh Serves: 2
2x110g/4oz skinless organic chicken breasts in 1cm cubes
4 tbsp plus 2tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp plus 2tsp lemon juice
1/2 medium clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp ground ginger
85g/3oz quinoa
Large bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, coriander and mint, chopped
6 salad onions
To serve: Lemon quarters
Method: Soak four wooden skewers in water for ten minutes. Put the chicken, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, garlic, fresh ginger and ground ginger in a bowl and stir to coat chicken. Leave for 15 minutes to marinade. Cook the Quinoa (see packet instructions) and cool. Put in a bowl with the chopped herbs, salad onions, 4 tbsp olive oil and 4tbsp lemon juice. Preheat grill to high. Skewer chicken and grill for three to four minutes on each side, until golden. Divide the quinoa on to two plates, top with the chicken skewers and serve with lemon quarters.

Dinner: Roast salmon and beetroot salad
4 small beetroot, unpeeled
1 medium red onion
2x110g/4oz salmon fillets
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large handfuls watercress
2 tsp cider vinegar

Method: Preheat oven to 200c/ gas 6. Put the beetroot on a flat baking tray and roast for 30 minutes. Add onion and roast for a further 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Brush salmon with 2 tsp oil, put on a baking sheet and bake for ten minutes. Peel the cooked onion and beetroot and cut each into eight pieces. Put watercress, warm onion and beetroot into a large bowl. Add the vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil and toss well. Divide between two plates and place salmon on top.

Snacks a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Choose from cucumber, radish and celery crudites, or one of the following: a handful of strawberries or raspberries; a green apple; three apricots; or a peach, pear or two plums.

source : www.dailymail.co.uk