Disclaimer: Summer body according to us is not a particular body type and doesn’t endorse unrealistic standards of beauty.

To achieve your summer body goals is to basically be strong, healthy and happy in your skin.

Before any major event or a big vacation, we all feel overwhelmed with fitness goals we couldn’t attain or the numbers on a scale we couldn’t lose. While that approach to fitness isn’t healthy, it’s only human to feel the disappointment of not hitting the targets you set for yourself.

Whether you’re gearing up for a dreamy summer getaway on an exotic beach or prepping for a mega-life event, we’re here to provide you with expert-backed tips and hacks that will help you feel more body positive.

Coach Nazia Khan has a holistic approach towards fitness and health, which makes her expertise objective and well-balanced. In an insightful with Emirates Woman, she shares easy lifestyle changes, workout tips and alterations you can make in your diet for a healthy summer body. 

Can you tell us about your background and experience in the fitness industry?

I come from a corporate background where I spearheaded growth across international markets for leading global advertising agency networks, located out of London — previously, and more recently from Dubai. I’ve always been passionate about fitness, it’s one aspect of my life that I’ve always relied on to boost my mood, and confidence and increase energy levels — however, I had been neglecting my fitness & health journey in the lead-up to and during Covid even more so. I decided to escape UK lockdowns and moved to Dubai 2.5 years ago, here I found myself creating new habits like joining the 5 am club and creating my very own morning rituals program — which includes getting my morning cardio outdoors, followed by a nutritious breakfast to fuel my workout sessions, as well as doing mindset work like setting my day up with intention, meditation, journaling etc. This was just the beginning of my transformation journey, I set up an Instagram page to hold myself accountable for tracking my fitness & health progress. Since then, I ran my online coaching business as a side hustle while working a full-time job that came with long punishing 14-hour office days. Back in September, I took on a challenge to lose 10 kilos in 10 weeks keeping my followers engaged throughout each step of my body transformation journey.

What is your philosophy or approach to fitness and wellness?

For me, fitness has become my oxygen and mind medicine, without it I feel out of balance. It’s my go-to that guarantees mood boost, fuels brain power and drives positive and growth. I always reset my energies after a workout, even if I don’t feel like working out I’ve trained my brain to push through the NO and get a workout in, and I have never ever regretted making this decision. 9 times out of 10, I am ready and willing to train, we have one body it’s our house that we rent and we need to look after it, physical movement is key powered with balanced nutrition is a winning combination that develops a strong mind and approach to life.

How do you stay updated with the latest research and trends in the fitness field?

I always listen to Podcasts in the morning from entrepreneurs, coaches, sporting champions as well as fitness coaches on social media, to keep up to date on the latest trends. Fitness is a lifestyle habit, once adopted and fully embraced it stays with you for life, you go through many changes, for me, the initial journey was weight loss, then reducing body fat to shaping and toning the body, I’m currently in my sculpt and chisel phase of body transformation. The key thing is discipline, consistency and motivation to continue the investment into fitness which will pay dividends for a long time to come.

With everyone planning a summer getaway, what are the dos and don’ts one can implement as a pre-vacation regime?

For a Pre vacation regime, I would recommend hitting daily cardio if you’re looking to lose a few kilos, starting with 10K steps a day you’ll be surprised at how quickly the weight comes off. Including or increasing weight training will really drive the results hard. Hydration is key, I recommend 2-3L water a day to flush out water weight and stay hydrated, especially now during the intense heat period in the UAE.

While there is no quick fix in fitness, what are some of the simple changes one can make to achieve a healthy body for summer?

Physical movement is key to driving weight loss, once you’re committed, you can lose up to 1 kilo a week on the right combination of fitness & nutrition programs. It all depends on your motivation to succeed. Food plays a huge part in driving weight loss, protein levels should be high with the inclusion of only complex carbs like potatoes which are great for energy and promoting good gut health. Good fats should be included as well as vegetables and salads — avoiding heavy dressings. When cooking use a minimal amount of oil. Portion control is essential to avoid overeating.

Resistance training or cardio, what should be one’s choice of workout regime before the holiday for more visible results?

Resistance training is a long-term gain, this is where you see phenomenal results in driving weight loss and body fat down through consistent weight training sessions. This is how I lost 1 kilo a week! Cardio is great but the results are instant and not long-lasting, cardio is great if you’re new to fitness, also as a warm-up or a cool-down from resistance training. People fall into the mistake of doing cardio because they think it will help them get skinny when in fact resistance training burns more calories. Resistance training is like investing in the stock market you know that you’re building a body that is future-proof. When you increase your muscle mass, your metabolism increases, and you look better. In each session, you will want to lift heavier and heavier weights, also known as progressive overload. Your body grows stronger and looks amazing when you lift weights. Over time, your body completely changes as a result.

Besides maintaining a healthy diet, does eliminating certain foods help in avoiding problems like untimely bloating?

Yes, keeping the diet clean is key to de-bloating, eliminating heavy salad dressings, cooking in too much oil, simple carbs that come with starch and high sugars, fast fried and processed food, and alcohol, especially if it is dark in colour as that contains high levels of sugar. Also try avoiding too many sauces, too much of desserts and dairy.

On vacation, while enjoying leisure time – what are some basic fitness activities one can do that don’t involve a gym or any equipment?

I would recommend getting a minimum of 10K steps in a day if possible, I always do long beach walks where you can catch the perfect all-around tan while getting your steps in, swimming is also good as well as body weight exercises. I travel often, so I ensure the hotels I book come with well-equipped gyms which allow me to get a few workouts in when I want to.

Simple 30-minute exercise ideas to implement at home while prepping for a summer body?

A 10-minute non-stop daily ab challenge is great for shredding abs for a beach getaway, high-intensity HIT body weight workouts are great for fat burn and calories. You can also use resistance training using bands, as these provide similar strength gains to using a conventional gym. A daily step target of 10K is a good habit to get into, running for accelerating calorie burn and also swimming. These workouts can be found on my Instagram.

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Images: Supplied by Coach Nazia Khan