Summer time’s here, so ditch that winter weight away and look ridiculously fabulous by employing these superb summer diet secrets. During the summer, nature is actually working to your advantage—if you know how to use it in the right ways, your excess pounds will be shed naturally from your body. Below is a list of advice from the pros on how you can be in peak shape this bikini season minus a lot of efforts on your end.
1. Go out of town
Vacations can present an amazing opportunity to refresh and reinvent your routines because it takes you out of your regular environment. In the absence of triggers for your current habits, it’s easier to break free from your existing routines and create new ones—like, say taking time out for total relaxation or amping-up your fitness routines.
2. Bulk up breakfast
Smoothies are always enticing, especially during the summer months, but chances are, that by lunchtime, you’re already drooling out of hunger. Your smoothie blend should contain nutrients that can give you a lot of staying power: good fats, protein and fiber. An example of such is a coco-mango smoothie, a drink that’s not only refreshing but is also packed with nutrients that can keep you going for long periods of time. Ingredients include 1 large ripe mango, half a cup of coconut manna, 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, fresh lime juice, a teaspoon of ground turmeric, and a cup of ice. Mix ingredients and voila, a refreshing summer smoothie you can enjoy.
3. Go for volume
Load up on fruits that are high in water content—that way, you’ll stay feeling fuller longer without consuming a ton of calories. A study conducted at the Pennsylvania State University has shown this effect. Summer brings with it a lot of produce that
are packed with water, so go crazy with watermelon, peaches, zucchini, strawberries, cucumbers and more.
4. Motivate yourself: Don a bikini
People tend to motivate themselves more if they can visualize what they want to look like after their pursuits. Example, you’d think about what you’ll eat for dinner later because you’re thinking of heading to the beach tomorrow and you’d naturally want to look good at it.
5. Try al-fresco dining.
It’s a fact that if you dine outside, you’ll almost always eat a bit healthier. A study was done examining a bunch of restaurant diners and results have shown that those who sat by the windows were more likely to request for salad than those diners who were seated at the other parts of the restaurant. Apparently, seeing others being active and leading healthy life styles primes you to indulge less.
6.Go for grills
Nothing screams summer more than grilled burgers and hotdogs, but did you know that you can fire up your backyard grills for much more than just meats? Grilling is proven great to produce as well. Zucchini, asparagus, peaches and water melons are some of the produce that tastes great when grilled. Cooking outside can also mean fish! Bass is especially great when grilled, plus it doesn’t need a lot of butter, oil, or any heavy sauces.
7. Switch up your caffeine
Coffee is good especially during winter. But now that summer has hit, try exchanging your regular coffee fix for iced green tea. If you don’t like it plain, you may add a touch of honey to sweeten it up. Green tea consists of antioxidants that can help speed up the
body’s metabolism. Back in 2014, the Penn State University has released the results of a study wherein mice were fed with a high-fat diet plus decaffeinated green tea extract. The test subjects lost about 27% of their body mass and a whopping
36% of their belly fat.
8. Go for no-cook side dishes
Given the scorching hot weather outside, it’s a given that no one really wants to slave over a hot stove or oven. And taking your food raw may very well be your next big advantage towards losing excess weight. A study conducted in Harvard University back in 2011 had two groups of mice as test subjects—the first group was fed with cooked food and the other were given foods in the raw. It was found out after that the body absorbs fewer calories from ingesting raw food than it does with cooked food. So
when dieting, why not try some raw sides on your meal like crisped greens, carrots, jicama, julienned beats and others more.
