Swimsuit Competition
 The Winning Diet
Exercise is only the first step in preparing a figure for the
swimsuit competition. The second step is eating to win. "Weight training is what shapes the body," explains Sharon Turrentine, "but if she does not eat right and does not do aerobic activity, the shape remains covered with a layer of excess fluid and
body fat and she won't see the changes. Her physical fitness level will be improving on the inside but she won't be able to see it. Therefore she thinks nothing is happening, she becomes discouraged, and she quits. Eating right is the bottom line."
Debra Maffett, Miss America 1983, is a great example of how proper nutrition can help transform a figure. "I worked my way through college working at a bakery," she recalls. "I didn't know anything about good nutrition and I was very, very unhealthy. I was really into junk food and I had a weight problem." After her boyfriend jokingly called her "thunder thighs" Debra began an exercise program and changed her eating habits. "I started eating fresh vegetables, fruit, and lean meats. To think that years later I won the swimsuit competition in Atlantic City, when at one time I was twenty pounds overweight!"
"If you need to drop weight, aerobics is wonderful," agrees former Miss America, Cheryl Prewitt Salem, star of several aerobic workout videos. "Do whatever kind you like-step aerobics, plain aerobics, low-impact, high-impact-whatever works for you and that you enjoy."
Aerobic exercise can also include stationary biking, cycling, jogging, long-distance running, fast walking, treadmill, stair-stepping, and swimming laps.
What is a winning diet comprised of? "About fifteen percent of your total caloric consumption should be protein," advises Mike Fifrick. "The emphasis in the diet should be on complex carbohydrates: pastas, potatoes, rice, wheat breads, grain cereals and, of course, fresh fruits and vegetables are great."
High-fat foods have no place in a winning diet. "It's simple," says Turrentine. "Fatty foods make you fat. There's no mystery to it." Indeed, fat is the first item yanked off a state winner's menu. "I would recommend that a pageant contestant, like anyone else,
eat a low-fat diet," says Fifrick. "That isn't to deny themselves food. It's to make better food selections. There are plenty of low-fat foods that are tasty.
I encourage them to find those foods that they like to eat that aren't so high in fat."
(1)
Fat calories are converted to body fat much easier than calories from other foods. You eat fat ... you get fat.
(2)
Researchers report that "starvation diets" change the metabolism by putting the body into "survival mode", making it harder to lose weight.
(3)
Water suppresses hunger and helps flush fat and waste out of the body. Aim for at least eight glasses a day.
Swimsuit Competition Overview
Improve Specific Figure Flaws
Swimsuit Diet
Improve your Body
The Best Swimsuit for your Figure
The Best Swimsuit Color
Swimsuit Competition - all tips
All content is from the book "101 Secrets to Winning Beauty Pageants" by Ann-Marie Bivans.
Any use of this content without written permission from the author is plagiarism and will result in legal action.
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