Fleur East in Bathing Suit is "Trying to Be Cute"

Fleur East is heating things up south of the border–in her swimsuit! The singer and The X Factor alum flaunts her incredibly fit figure in a pink swimsuit via her latest social media post. "Me, trying to be cute and act like these mosquitoes aren't eating me alive!!" she captioned the Instagram snap of herself in her Mexico hotel room. How does the star maintain her fantastic physique? Read on to see 10 ways Fleur East stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

Fleur, who used to focus mostly on cardio, noticed a big change when she started weight training. "With weights I started seeing different results – I was more toned than I'd ever been and I felt stronger. I noticed the difference mostly on my abs and my legs. I was in a lot of girl bands at the time and many of the girls were dancers – they were really fit, so I had some catching up to do. But soon as I started weight training, I was a lot more toned and felt like I was up to their level. I can now squat 80kg. Squats are my strength – people don't expect me to squat as heavy as I do," she told Get the Gloss.

"I love working out to feel strong," Fleur told Marie Claire. "A lot of people equate working out with losing weight, and there's so much more to fitness than that. I like it because, for example, if I get into the radio station in the morning, and there's three flights of stairs, I love to be able to run up those stairs into the studio and not be out of breath. Or when I get to the tube station, it's great being able to walk up the escalator and not feel like completely shattered."

Fleur revealed to Get the Gloss that she is a fan of at-home workouts and uses videos. "One of my good friends is the PT Kyle Maslen – we used to train together all the time so I have learned so much from everyone I've trained with and home workout videos. I have used Insanity, Jillian Michaels' The Shred, Les Mills on Demand. I have even done Joe Wicks's YouTube workouts – I love all of them, the 15-minute ab workouts, or 15 minute HIIT workouts. I've done some of them back to back when I really want to kill myself. I love doing things that are easy, that I don't have to leave the house for. You really underestimate how much of a sweat you can get from working out in your living room."

Variety is a key part of Fleur's approach to exercise. "Now if I ever go the gym, I do classes, circuits spin or yoga vinyasa flow. I like to mix it up because I get bored easily," she told Get the Gloss. 

"A lot of women believe that if you lift weights you are going to look like the Hulk and it's really not true. That's a myth that I'd really love to dispel. It actually promotes lean muscle and it all depends on what you are eating," Fleur told Get the Gloss. "Diet is 80 percent of the results so if you are eating lean proteins and counting your macros, then weight training isn't going to bulk you up. And you burn more fat weight training."

Fleur maintains a mostly vegan lifestyle. "I watched What The Health on Netflix and when I found out what [animal products, according to the documentary] are doing to our bodies, that was really my motivation. I became vegan the next day," she told Get the Gloss. "I used to eat chicken every day – Nando's was my best friend. I used to build muscle very quickly and I was worried that I would lose it. My friend Kyle Maslen said, 'I bet a month into this you will lose your muscle mass, you will gain fat because you'll be eating more carbs to compensate for the lack of meat.' But a month into being vegan, I actually gained three kilos of muscle and my workout stayed the same. Interestingly my protein intake increased on a plant-based diet. That's another myth about veganism, that you can't build muscle." She later revealed to Marie Claire that she added eggs back into her diet. 

Fleur prioritizes her beauty sleep. "The minimum sleep I can function on is five hours. I usually have six or seven hours, anything over eight is a luxury," she told Get the Gloss. 

Fleur tried a no-carb diet once, but it didn't work. "Nothing changed and I just plateaued. My trainer and I worked out that I needed carbs and that I get better results when I eat what I need, in moderation. So I worked out more and reversed meals, swapping dinner with lunch – I'd have a really hefty lunch after I'd trained and a light dinner," she told Get the Gloss. "I wanted to lose body fat rather than weight. I was actually gaining weight because I was gaining muscle. It was more about how I felt. I wouldn't ever weigh myself unless I was with my trainer and then we'd measure body fat. The scales lie – they really freak you out. I don't think anyone should really weigh themselves."

Fleur told Marie Claire that after her first SoulCycle class, she felt like she'd been to a sermon. "I left feeling so empowered," she said. "I think the main thing is your mentality. I think a lot of people see the gym as a punishment, chore, or something that's really tough. Something that you can't do unless you're really fit already. Shifting your mindset to look at it differently and educating yourself about it so that you see it as part of your everyday routine is key. Even if that means waking up in the morning and just doing fifteen minutes – it counts."

Fleur switches up her eating habits and even does time restricted eating on occasion. "I also feel like I don't actually have to eat as much as that I tend to. Sometimes I try intermittent fasting just to reset my digestive system and give it a bit of a break. Sometimes I'll have a green tea and drink loads of water until lunchtime where I'll eat a big healthy meal. It's about teaching my body that I don't actually need as much food as it sometimes thinks," she told Marie Claire.