It's almost that time of the year:  BIKINI SEASON!  I always know when pre-bikini season hits because I have a flood of ladies in the gym all desperately trying to get toned up and ready for the beach. They regularly ask for my help and now I'm about to share with you some of my top tips for a slender summer figure.

A lot of women put the halt on eating or work madly at the gym trying to trim off that extra belly or bum fat, but for those women who are my clients, I teach them a much simpler approach to trimming down for summer.  When you spread the tasks out into three main groups, you don't have to suffer as much in one area. So, read on.  Whether you are in a gym or working out at home, with a little dedication and a bit of time, these top tips will help you get into that perfect summer bikini!

Area One:  Nutrition

Replace the boring starch with a rainbow!  Vegetables are best for you when you eat a wide variety and the easiest way to do so is to include one of every colour on your plate.  Replace those starchy sides with vegetable servings that are raw, steamed, microwaved or grilled. 

Cut the Extras!  Are you truly serious about that bikini?  You wouldn't believe how quickly those little extras add up.  Keep the croutons off your salad, replace creamy dressings with vinaigrettes or lemon juice, have your coffee black, water instead of juice or soda, and so on and so forth.  When you eliminate all those little things that don't have to be, then you cut calories that aren't really missed that much.

Stave off the binge!  There's nothing worse than working hard for weeks only to go mad that last three pounds and eat every bite of chocolate or grease you can get your hands on.  Don't restrict yourself so much that you fall prey to the binge monster.  Small doses of your fav's are in order a few times a week to make sure you don't blow it in the end.

Eat often!  Absolutely don't starve yourself!  Your metabolism runs at optimum burn level when you feed your body small quantities of healthy food frequently.  Conversely, when you starve yourself, your body switches to survival mode and your body's metabolism slows down in order to keep every bit of energy you put in your mouth.

Find a plan that works with your life.  It's easy to get all psyched about what you intend to do and succumb to diets that promise you easy weight loss if only you follow their complicated plan.  More often than not, these diets require far too much effort and let's face it, we're all busy people.  The Lunch Box Diet that was designed for busy people like you!

Cardio

Stretch before and after cardio.  It's important you allow for five minutes before and five minutes after to stretch out those hard-worked muscles.  Your bikini isn't going to go well with an ACE bandage my friend.  What's more, if you injure yourself, you're out of the game for a bit and will have to rely solely on diet alone to get into that bikini.

Don't make your cardio a bore!  If you loathe the treadmill, then stay away from it.  You'll never commit to something you find incredibly boring.  Be creative!  It doesn't matter what you do to get that heart rate up and keep it up for 30 minutes, just do it!  Run if you'd like, but if you'd rather jump rope, go for a brisk walk, run up and down the steps, or dance your way to thin, then do so!  Whatever you like to do to work up a good sweat, do it!

Set goals!  If I can't be there kicking your bum, then you're going to have to do it yourself.  Make it a game if you have to; just push yourself to go that extra lap, that extra minute, a bit faster, with more resistance and so on and so forth.  By ramping up your cardio a bit every time, you will be burning that much more!

Toning

Minimize your time by maximizing your toning exercises.   Use resistance via flex bands, medicine ball or low-weight dumb bells to achieve a more intense work out.  For instance, while doing standard crunches, hold a medicine ball on your chest.  Or, use a flex band while doing leg raises.  Simply hold one end with your hand and put the other end on your foot.  Tighten up the slack until it is slightly difficult to do the leg raise.

Try "overall" programs such as yoga or Pilates.  Done three times a week, a good yoga or Pilates routine will tone and firm from head to toe in a matter of weeks.  You can take a class or buy a beginner's DVD that includes advanced poses when you're ready.

Short on time?  Try a class or DVD that utilises both cardio and toning in a power-packed routine.  There are more and more programs out there that combine extreme cardio and strengthening exercises utilizing martial arts or dance.  What's more, they are usually quite fun and you'll be likely to stick with the routine.

I hope these tips have been helpful and you are well on your way to that gorgeous bikini body!

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