Get Active Stay Active this summer

How to stay in shape for summer!

Summer is a wonderful season, but it can be debilitating. Garden parties, dance festivals, barbecues … Before you know it, you’re exhausted, broke and a couple of stones heavier! If you want to make a change, follow these tips to stay slim, healthy and full of energy this summer.

Tip 1: Drink lots of water!

Water is your best friend in the summer. It keeps you cool, helps to remove waste and ensures radiant skin. Water also fills you up, making you less hungry. if you find it hard to drink lots of water, try drinking at least one large glass of water every time you. You’ll quickly reach the recommended 1.5 litres and anything else is a bonus.

Tip 2: Know what you eat

Barbecues, a food truck festival, getting an ice cream; the summer is full of delicious easting opportunities and that can be disastrous for your figure. If you want to stay slim and fit, it is useful to find out as much as you can about what you eat so that you can make good choices. Swap that baguette with herb butter (65 kcal) for some raw vegetables, and change a glass of red wine (85 kcal) for a slimline gin and tonic. Did you know that a yoghurt ice cream has about the same amount of calories as normal ice cream (about 100 kcal per scoop)? Opt for a sorbet (65 kcal).

Tip 3: Summer diets

Do you want to lose a few pounds before (or during) the summer? Forget about crash diets! Healthy and responsible diets are totally hip this season. A few examples:

– DASH: the DASH diet helps to reduce or prevent high blood pressure. Eat lots of vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, wholemeal products and nuts. Salt is a no-go, as is red meat, saturated fats, sugar and sugar substitutes. It’s really good for your health, according to the Heart Foundation, and also for your figure!

– Whole 30: for thirty days, avoid all sweeteners, legumes, grains, alcohol, dairy and fats (except coconut or olive oil in cooking). The Whole 30 diet is meant to boost your health. The fact that you usually also lose weight, is, of course, a bonus.

– Mediterranean diet: this is based on the traditional cuisine around the Mediterranean Sea and involves a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, chicken, fish, olive oil, wholemeal products; this diet can be perfectly maintained in the summer and is recommended by Heart UK and the NHS for its overall positive effects including reducing the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Tip 4: Get active

Eating healthy is fine, but if you continue to lie in your hammock all day, the effect is minimal. Exercise is just as important for becoming and staying slim and fit! Choose a mix of cardio sports, such as running or cycling, and strength sports, such as boxing or weightlifting. Cardio training burns a lot of calories, while strength sports strengthen your muscles, which stimulates fat burning (even after exercise!).

The sport that combines cardio and strength training? Bootcamp!

You can often do that outside as well, so you can benefit from extra oxygen and vitamin D.

Tip 5: Supplements

Dancing the night away, insomnia caused by jet lag or just because the sun rises so early; in the summer you can get pretty tired. Combined with irregular or imbalanced eating, you can feel weak and tired or suffer from ailments. Dietary supplements can then be a godsend. A few examples of supplements that come in handy during the summer:

– Melatonin: helps to restore a disturbed sleep-wake rhythm.
– Multivitamins: supplement any deficiencies and make you feel fit again quickly.
– Magnesium: supports the functioning of the muscles and the nervous system.
– Probiotics: keeps your intestinal flora and therefore your immunity in top condition.

Of course, you must go to the GP for serious/persistent complaints or if you are worried.

What else do you do to stay fit this summer?

Sources: NHS, Telegraph