How to feel my best in a bikini in 2 weeks

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mdlooking4

New member
I'm 32F, current weight 148lbs. I usually sit at 140 but I've had a heavy couple of weeks. Based on the US Navy calculator for body fat% I'm at 21.7% bodyfat. Eyeballing images on the internet, I'd say that's about right. I do feel a bit fluffy after my indulgent couple of weeks. I weight train (upper/lower split, focus on progressive overload, compounds etc.) 4-5 times a week for around 60-90 minutes. I average about 5000 steps a day. I have a vegan diet (ethics - I'm a veterinarian and I've learnt too much about animal physiology and factory farming to be able to eat meat/dairy/eggs) but I try to target protein with shakes, tofu, edamame featuring heavily in my diet. I would estimate I get 130-140g of protein a day and 1600-2000 cals, based on previous tracking of what I eat.

I don't want to crash diet but I do feel fluffy. I've got a walking pad and am going to try to get to 10k steps a day when my job fails me, it's so damn hot here I can't face walking outside. Apart from increasing water intake, lowering carbs, upping my steps, any advice for how to lean out a little in the next two weeks? I've looked into water retention pills for the last 3 days before the beach - is that a bad idea? Thanks in advance!

EDIT: While I appreciate the comments about loving yourself/mindset, that is an ongoing long-term journey for me (I have good and bad days but more bad than good), I'm more looking for last minute tactics in terms of diet/workout or salt manipulation. Think show day vibes haha.
 
@mdlooking4 Your body fat is very healthy and in the lower range.

If you want to further chisel your body for a beach trip or something, you can simply tune up the cardio and reduce the calories to 1300-1400. If you're very diligent about that, 2 weeks of that will definitely show results.
 
@mdlooking4 You can also go normal sodium intake day 1 lowering it day by day and ending with no sodium right before and go low to no carb, but if you’re going on a trip or trying to have fun, you may be miserable doing this.
 
@mdlooking4 I am no expert and am not gonna tell you how to feel, but please know that there’s only so much that can be done in 14 days. Unless you want to really be miserable or put yourself in harm’s way.

You can of course do calorie/ carb/ sodium restriction to an extent. As others have said, I’d avoid diuretics. Just mind your hydration, especially since I assume being in a bikini means summer heat and sun.

Any extreme short-term tactics will yield short-term results, so take care. But like others said, you seem to know what you’re talking about. Be careful and good luck!
 
@mdlooking4 You're doing the right things with walking, hydration and lower carb - I'd also recommend laying off alcohol and sweeteners between now and your trip (both natural sugar & artificial sweeteners, which can lead to bloating).
 
@mdlooking4 I just watched a YouTube video the guy continues weight training but prepares for a marathon in 30 days by starting to run at least a mile a day. You can see him toning in just a week but he ups the miles each day so clearly the results will be fast along with upping carbs. I just tried to start on July 1st, weight training plus one mile, day two and I’m already sore so this is going to be a struggle 😣
 
@mdlooking4 I’m saying this with caring and empathy: if you feel “fluffy” at 21% body fat, your relationship with your body is the issue, not your adipose tissue. I’m probably 30%+ body fat and enjoy wearing my bikini often.
 
@carolsheats Thanks!

I'm usually up at 5, make myself a protein shake (1 scoop pea protein, 15 g, 2 scoops vegan chocolate, 21g) with iced coffee to drink on the way to the gym. Leave the house by 5.30ish, get to the gym 5.45ish. Workout for about 90 minutes, including some stretching (not as much as I should). Chug a vegan chocolate protein shake in my car immediately after the workout (another 21g) - that puts me at almost 60 grams by 7.30 am at less than 400 cals.

I usually don't have a separate breakfast. For lunch I have the left overs of last night's dinner. For dinner I get a big block of tofu, add mushrooms, a bunch of veggies (usually with peas/edamame), fry it up with spices and some nutritional yeast. I add some protein pasta. One serving is about 700 cals, around 50g protein. So if I have a serving at lunch and dinner that puts me at around 1800 cals, 160g protein. I had to weigh out the pasta when I first started eating like this otherwise I'd have way too much. If you add more veggies like lots of broccoli, beans, shredded sprouts etc it's lots of bulk for very low calories. It's also super filling - I like to eat very high volume because I have a big appetite.

It's working well for me so far.
 
@mdlooking4 Engine 2 7 Day Rescue. It will clean up your vegan diet to the extreme, add lots of fresh greens and veggies, eliminates oil, and still tastes pretty good.

It's meant for reducing cholesterol and starting a WFPB diet, and it's a healthy way to get fast results to motivate SAD lifestyle followers to get on board with vegan foods. That's not exactly the purpose but a simple way to describe it. It might work for you. I always lose weight when I follow it because I'm very full with the meals and cut out treats.
 
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