The Bikini Body Motivation and Habits Guide by the global fitness phenomenon looks to provide the tools needed to make a change that lasts well past January. Here are its key points
Named by Forbes as the world’s number one fitness influencer and with a global community comprising of 20 million women (the largest of its kind), Kayla Itsines is one of the biggest names in the wellness world. Her first book, The Bikini Body 28-Day Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Guide and series of Bikini Body Guides have been runaway hits and her new book looks to build on their success, by covering a topic that acts as a stumbling block for most of us these days - motivation.
The Bikini Body Motivation & Habits Guide provides a 311-page guide on how to stop bad habits, create new ones and ‘leverage your motivation’ to reach your fitness and health goals. The inspiration for the book stems from the results of a 40,000 person survey that Kayla and her partner Tobi sent out to their community. It gives a telling insight into the most common roadblocks to fitness. They found that demotivation cropped up again and again, whether as a result of women feeling insecure about their bodies or because they weren't seeing results.
It’s a common dilemma and one that Kayla has experienced first-hand. She acknowledges in the book that her own focus can often peak and trough, but because she’s developed good habits over a long period of time, her discipline kicks in and she can power through those moments of low motivation. In her new 28-day guide, she looks to impart the lessons she’s learned along the way to equip women with the tools needed to stick to a plan long-term.
The main message
Kayla pinpoints motivation and education as the drivers for long-term success. With this in mind, she’s devised an equation to help readers make good habits stick: value x expectancy = motivation.
“If our value for something is high, but our expectancy for success is low, we won’t be highly motivated to achieve that goal,” says Kayla. This works vice-versa too. The idea is that by devising a defined set of values for your goals and building up your confidence in your ability (to increase your expectancy) you feel good about yourself and have belief in not just what you’re doing, but why you're doing it.
The term ‘bikini body’ might be off-putting for many however, Kayla’s attitude is one that’s miles away from the controversy that surrounds the term. As she says in the book: “To me, the idea of a ‘bikini body’ isn’t a certain body shape. It’s a state of mind where you feel confident, healthy and strong. It is when you feel good about yourself.” It’s about building strength rather than being skinny.
The tools
The book comes with a 28-day meal and fitness plan, more than 200 recipes, helpful checklists and templates, shopping lists and a pull-out workout poster.
The nutrition plan
Kayla’s ethos is based on a balanced diet rather than a restricted one. For her, ‘good’ nutrition means eating a wide variety of healthy foods from all of the six main food groups (except where there’s an allergy or intolerance). She’s often found that those who adhere to extreme (very low-fat or low-carb) diets more often than not suffer detrimental effects on their health and quickly regain the weight that they may have quickly lost at the beginning.
There are sections outlining her insights into macro and micronutrients and in the case of vegetarian and vegan diets, she emphasises the importance of planning to meet recommended dietary intakes.
Her 28-day plan has an added dose of flexibility to it courtesy of her A, B, C & D labelling system - four meal variations that allow you to fit the plan to suit your individual lifestyle and preferences.
The workout plan
It comprises of two weeks of workouts to be completed twice. Each week includes:
1) Three resistance sessions that focus on different areas - legs, arms and abs, and full body (all illustrated in the pull-out poster).
2) Three to four low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio sessions, (e.g. walking, swimming or cycling for 30-45 mins).
3) One rehabilitation (active recovery session - a brief five to ten-minute walk followed by foam rolling and stretching).
The launch date
Kayla's new book is published by Bluebird on 14 December 2017, RRP £16.99, currently £9.50 on Amazon.co.uk