Last month I did a photoshoot with Nylon in bTempt’d bras. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I’m perfectly comfortable prancing around the beach in a bikini. But posing in my undies in front of a room of people? I was terrified!

Luckily, the team at Nylon was super cool and made me feel very comfortable. I also felt confident thanks to the diet I went on a few days before the shoot to get rid of bloating.

Five days before I left for New York I totally freaked. I’m happy with my current weight. But I haven’t worked out in two months. And being nomadic thanks to my renovations have made me eat more unhealthy than usual. The result? I felt flabby and bloated.

So I immediately texted my best friend and go-to health expert Jeannine Morris. Jeannine is a beauty and wellness expert and certified holistic health coach. She suggested a strict diet that would help to quickly reduce inflammation and bloating.

Cut out alcohol, dairy, carbs and sugar.

Jeannine said that removing these four ingredients from my diet would really help make my stomach slimmer and get rid of bloat. She suggested starting ASAP (two weeks is ideal). But of course, I didn’t get to it until three days prior to the shoot (it was Labor Day weekend after all!).

Here’s what I learned from my crash diet on how to get rid of bloat:

Alcohol
Honestly this was hard for me because I love a glass of wine in the evening. But three days was doable. I replaced my nightcap with a cup of chamomile tea.

Dairy
This one surprised me the most. After cutting out dairy for three days I felt amazing! Since the shoot I have significantly reduced my dairy, substituting regular milk for almond milk and ordering everything without cheese. While I am majorly craving a cheese plate, overall I feel so great that the splurge isn’t worth it.

Carbs
I know it sounds ridiculous but I couldn’t cut out carbs, even for just three days. So I asked Jeannine to recommend what carbs were the best for me. She said if I had to eat carbs, to stick to “complex carbs,” like whole grains, since it takes the body longer to break them down. “Simple carbs,” like white bread, quickly break down into sugar.

Sugar
I took this one with a grain of salt, or sugar rather. I eliminated refined sugar (basically any desert or sweets) but I still ate fruit. I’ve never been a huge desert person so since the shoot I’ve continued to avoid sugar from my diet.

Like Jeannine told me, “If you’re looking to lose weight for the long haul, it takes more time along with a consistently healthy eating plan and workout regimen to achieve sustainable goals.” I’m excited to get back to working out soon and see the results with my now limited dairy and sugar diet.

Here are a few more things I tried during my three day crash diet that really helped flatten my stomach:

• AVOID SALTY FOODS – Salt majorly causes bloating and a puffy face so this one was key for me since I favor salts over sweets.
• DRINK WATER WITH LEMON – The water helped flush out my body. But the morning of the shoot I just had one espresso and one glass of water.
• ADD TURMERIC – I started taking turmeric pills two days before because I fell off a bicycle and I was told the spice would help with inflammation. I’ve since taken it daily and feel much healthier.

A huge thank you to bTempt’d and Nylon for having me be a part of such a fun shoot! You can read the full article here. And thank you to Jeannine for giving me the kick start to looking and feeling my best!

Publication: Nylon I Photographer: Jin + Dana I Stylist: Shabdiece Esfahani I Hairstylist: Liz Olivier I Makeup Artist: Elena Miglino

Shop the Bras