Foods to Avoid Before Your Fitness Photo Shoot

As you’re getting ready for a fitness photo shoot, you may already be dieting and exercising. Why then, would you go out and blow all your hard work on junk food? Sure there are common sense things to avoid: but what about the little things we might overlook? You have to reduce body fat to have the results you see in magazines and advertising, and part of this is knowing where these naughtys are hidden. To help you out on your big day, here’s the most important foods to avoid before your next magazine shoot.

Avoid Salty Foods Before Your Fitness Photo Shoot

Drinking plenty of water is one of the more recommended tips for dieting: it will flush your body of toxins and avoid bloating.

However, salty foods will have the opposite effect – causing your body to retain water and encourage a fuller belly and appearance. A small amount of sea salt is healthy, but many foods, even meats such as ham, turkey, and chicken, have added sodium which adds up quickly. Be sure to read your labels—yogurt, cheese, dressings, hot sauces, broths—all have added salt.

It’s best to cook for yourself so you can monitor your intake.

Avoid Spicy and Greasy Food

Like salty food, spicy foods and greasy foods will cause water retention, as well as putting extra strain on your stomach. Think of this as an opportunity to have a detox: your skin will appreciate the break, and it will also benefit your fitness photo shoot.

Avoid Sugar Drinks and Soda

Soda, and sugar based drinks such as juice, power-drinks, and artificially enhanced beverages, all have added calories and sodium. If you’re looking to quench your thirst before a photoshoot, the best drink is lots of water. If you don’t like the flavour, you can add green tea, lemons or limes to your water, and experiment with different teas. If you choose to drink coffee, drink it black (don’t add sugar and cream) and drink with a straw to avoid discoloring your teeth.

Avoid Alcohol, Red Wine, and Beer

Alcohol, including red wine and beer, are just drinks with empty calories. There’s no benefit to drinking away your hard work with alcohol. Like coffee, red wine and carbonated sodas used to make drinks will yellow or stain your teeth. The best is to avoid drinking any form of alcoholic beverage, especially three to four days before the fitness photo shoot.

Avoid Excess Fats

No, you don’t need to eliminate all your fats: but to drop your body fat the last week, limit your fat intake to a small amount of good fats such as avocado, salmon, or nuts. Don’t be misled, fats are healthy, but they have more than double the calories of vegetables and lean protein, and cutting back on calories will help you achieve a toned body. Be sure to get unsalted nuts. Raw if you can. Remember, one handful of oil-roasted mixed nuts has 175 calories, which is a lot when you are trying to reduce calories.

Careful Preparation Leads to Chiseled Abs

The best way to prepare for your fitness photo shoot in the weeks beforehand is to avoid the foods mentioned here, and perform a full body cleanse instead of a set of restrictions. The aim is to flush out toxins that will improve your overall health, skin, hair and energy levels. The best is to drink lots of water, eat whole foods centered on vegetables, and having smaller meals more frequently than a few large meals. For advice on what to eat while preparing for a photo shoot, read the article “Foods to Eat before a photo shoot.”