Madison LeCroy's Fat-Burning Food Rules, Say Dietitians

Madison LeCroy is looking good! The Southern Charm cast member recently did a 30-day clean eating plan and there's no denying the incredible results. She told Bravo, "I just started to feel really bad. I just said, 'This has got to stop, so I'm gonna make these foods and I'm gonna eat this kale salad and eat grilled chicken and broccoli four days a week, or whatever it was, and no alcohol for 14 days.' That kind of thing was very tough." While she "felt a lot better," she admitted, "It's definitely been a struggle. I go back and forth. I'm good for a week and bad for a week." In addition, she enjoys working out and gives fans a glimpse of her exercise regime on Instagram. Here's what she did to help stay in shape. Read on to see 7 ways Madison LeCroy 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!

LeCroy told Bravo she's stopped drinking alcohol for 14 days as a way to help stay in shape. Bess Berger, RDN, PCOS dietitian and owner at NutritonbyBess.com says, "Limiting alcohol can help you maintain or lose weight. While there are health recommendations for alcohol or more specifically wine intake over the course of the week, most people who enjoy alcohol can easily go over recommended weekly allowances. Calories from alcohol add up often without us realizing it. If we enjoy mixed drinks, calories and sugar can add up even more easily.  Recommendations for drinks per week are one per day for women and two per day for men. One drink counts as a twelve ounce beer, five ounces of wine, or a shot. In addition, alcohol slows one's metabolism. As a PCOS dietitian I've watched women struggle to lose weight or get an edge on insulin resistance until they try to cut back or limit alcohol." 

The salon owner turned reality star has revealed to Bravo that she stopped eating dairy during a 30-day clean eating plan. Dr. Steve Hruby, a Doctor of Chiropractic and founder at Kaizen Progressive Health explains, "Dairy products are high in unhealthy saturated fat and cholesterol. They also contain lots of sugar. All of these factors can make it difficult to lose weight and stay in shape. When you avoid dairy, you automatically reduce your calorie intake. You also avoid eating foods that are high in unhealthy fats and cholesterol. This can help you lose weight and stay in shape. Dairy products also contain lots of sugar. Sugar is a major contributor to weight gain and obesity. When you avoid dairy, you automatically reduce your sugar intake. This can help you lose weight and stay in shape."

As part of the 30-day strict diet plan, LeCroy eliminated artificial sugar and according to Dr. Hruby, "Artificial sugar is a major contributor to weight gain and obesity. When you avoid artificial sugar, you automatically reduce your calorie intake. You also avoid eating foods that are high in sugar. This can help you lose weight and stay in shape. It also contributed to diabetes and other health problems. When you avoid artificial sugar, you automatically reduce your risk of developing these health problems. This can help you lose weight and stay in shape."

LeCroy posted a quick video of her running on a treadmill to help maintain her toned figure and Robert Dodds, a Certified Personal Trainer, a fitness coach, and  founder of nothingbarredfitness.com, a fitness coaching service for busy parents says, "Running helps you to stay fit because it works your cardiovascular system (your heart and lungs). Working your cardiovascular system helps it to become more efficient. Your heart will become stronger, and able to pump more blood with each beat. This means it doesn't have to beat as fast, so your resting heart rate will become slower. This is generally associated with high fitness levels. Your VO2 max will also increase as you become better at running. This means you can get more oxygen with one breath. Every cell in your body requires oxygen, so improving your VO2 max makes your lungs more efficient. You don't need to take as many breaths to get as much oxygen. Running may also help you to lose weight, but again the principle of energy/calorie balance must be adhered to. Running will result in you expending more energy (burning calories), but no amount of running will result in weight loss if you cancel it out by eating too much food (taking in more calories than you burn)."

In the same Insta video as mentioned above, the Southern Charm star shows off her strength by doing squats with heavy weights. "Squats with, or without, weights, will challenge the muscles in your lower body," says Dodds. "These include your glutes (buttocks), the quads and hamstrings in your thighs and muscles of your core (abs/obliques/lower back), though this is more the case when using weight. Working these muscles will help to develop them more. Combined with a relatively low body fat percentage, this will give the 'toned' appearance coveted by many people."