Summertime Eating Tips: - How to Look & Feel Your Best

Summertime Eating Tips: - How to Look & Feel Your Best

The desire to look good during the summer months hardly requires an explanation. Simply put, the weather gets warmer and the clothes get smaller. The bulky sweater that hid your midsection so well has been retired to the back of the closet, and your summer clothes aren't nearly as forgiving.

We all know that the key to looking your best is to exercise regularly and eat right. But for many, eating right is a vague concept with no clear boundaries and countless variables. That's where YOU Magazine comes in. We're alleviating the guesswork by providing you with some... ahem, digestible tips on proper eating.

What you are about to receive is not a diet. Instead, it's a collection of sound concepts that will improve your eating habits and, in turn, snap you into swimsuit shape.

Control Your Portions
Throughout the years, the average American meal has grown in size. From frozen dinners that boast huge servings, to fast food establishments upping the portions for an extra 30 cents, the temptation to gorge is everywhere. It is important not to buy into this.

Minimally speaking, the more calories you ingest, the more calories you will need to burn. But even more crucial are the scientific findings on calorie intake. It's been shown that on average, people who consume fewer calories live both longer and healthier lives.

Summer is the perfect time to start reducing the amount of food you eat. Heat and humidity are natural appetite suppressants so allow them to work to your advantage. Start your day off with fresh fruit and juices. For lunch, you'll want to stick with salads and healthy sandwiches or wraps.

When it comes to dinner, reduce your portions by one third. One trick is to divide your dinner plate in half. Fresh vegetables should take up one side of the plate. The other half should house equal portions of a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate. Use this visual to establish reasonably-sized, well-balanced dinner portions.

Try to limit any unconscious snacking in between meals. However, if your body is telling you it needs fuel, you need to honor the request. A good trick is to stock your kitchen with healthier snacks. Pre-cut raw veggies, fresh fruit, and nuts are three great choices for bridging the gap between meals.

Pace Yourself
Consciously remind yourself to eat slowly. Doing the opposite is one of the major causes of overeating. Once you've cleaned your plate, wait 5-10 minutes before helping yourself to seconds. Chances are you'll realize that your stomach is already full.

Eat Whole Foods
Eating whole foods, as opposed to processed foods, serves two purposes for controlling weight. For starters, whole foods actually have the ability to fill you up. This is largely due to the presence of dietary fiber, the indigestible portion of plant foods that move nutrients through the digestive system. Dietary fiber not only gives you the sensation of being full, it is highly important for maintaining proper health.

Processed foods are actually designed for overeating. The exaggerated tastes of savory and sweet, along with the lack of dietary fiber, allows for mass consumption.

The second benefit to eating whole foods is their ability to aid digestion. Simply put, our bodies want to process, or digest the food we ingest. The problem occurs when we introduce food that has already been processed. The calories exist but the nutrition is gone. These are known as empty calories, and they're perfect for packing on weight.

Stick to eating foods that are fresh or, at the very least, minimally processed. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables (many are at their best during summer), meats and fish, nuts, eggs, legumes and whole grain products. If it sounds boring, read the list again. It actually includes a large variety of food. If you're at a loss for what to prepare, consult websites like www.foodnetwork.com for healthy recipes.

You Are What You Drink
While it is important to keep your body properly hydrated in warm weather, it is equally important to be mindful of the beverages you consume. Soda, bottled fruit juice, and any drinks sweetened with sugar are all loaded with calories. Drinking several 8 oz. glasses of these in one day can equal the calories one would consume in a substantial snack.

The good news is that the best beverage for properly hydrating your body is also one of the least expensive. You guessed it – water. Keeping plenty of drinking water on hand at both home and work is a great way to avoid making a bad choice when you're parched.

Fruit juices are a better choice than either sodas or sweetened drinks, but they still contain a fair amount of sugar. Limit your consumption of these and try to stick with fresh-squeezed or bottled varieties consisting of 100% juice with no sugar added. Don't be afraid to dilute your fruit juice with a little purified water.

For a refreshing twist on plain water, try adding slices of lemon and cucumber to a pitcher of cold drinking water. Allow the pitcher to sit in the refrigerator for an hour and pour into a glass filled with ice. Another idea is to brew a large pot of herbal tea and allow it to chill in the fridge. Poured over ice and flavored with a squeeze of lemon, it is a healthy alternative to sweetened and caffeinated iced tea.

Limit Eating at Restaurants
Generally speaking, restaurants serve large portions of high caloric food. If you decide to dine out, commit yourself to looking for healthier choices on the menu. Upon being served, divide your meal into two equal portions. Eat half at the restaurant, and take the rest to go.

Write It Down
One of the best practices for maintaining awareness of what you eat is to keep a food journal. The journal can be nothing more than a pad of paper. The point is to write down everything you eat during the course of the day. Before you go to bed, review your recordings. The accountability that comes with reading your journal is a powerful force in helping you to make the right choices.

As you can see, eating "healthy" in order to stay fit does not mean you have to deprive yourself of food. All it requires is taking responsibility for the food you eat. Along with responsibility comes reward. The more regularly you practice sound eating habits, the less guilty you should feel about treating yourself to something decadent every so often.

Diets that count each and every calorie or control nutrients like fat and carbohydrates will most likely result in weight loss, but they do not make great lifelong eating plans. Oftentimes they result in the eventual return of any weight that was lost. Sticking to a set of sound eating concepts, on the other hand, is much easier. It satisfies your appetite, maintains good health, and keeps you looking and feeling great when it counts the most. Have a healthy and satisfying summer!