Swimsuit Season? Already??

With Memorial Day Weekend behind us, swimsuit season is upon us! But no need to panic. Whether you’re seeking a better beach body or just a healthier lifestyle overall, here are some quick nutrition tips to feeling better and looking better this summer.

·         Keep a Food Log: No need to calorie count – unless you have a particular love for accounting. Simply recording your food intake helps you stay accountable to yourself. After all, most people already have an innate sense of what a healthful diet looks like. Look for patterns like plentiful fruit and vegetable consumption, less eating out, and smaller portion sizes to ensure your diet isn’t sabotaging your summer.

·         Drink Fewer Calories: Sugar sweetened beverages like lemonade, fruit cocktail, sweetened iced tea, soda, and sports drinks run rampant in the summertime; stick to water to not only cut out those excess calories but also stay hydrated during those warm months. Additionally, keep alcohol to a minimum (if you chose to drink at all). Drinking in moderation means no more than 1 drink per day for women (who make less alcohol dehydrogenase and have less lean body mass) and no more than 2 drinks per day for men. Alcohol packs in calories, as alcohol contains 7 calories per gram while carbohydrates and protein only contain 4 calories per gram. That’s nearly as calorie-dense as fat, which packs in 9 calories per gram. Binge drinking (drinking 4 or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting for females or 5 or more drinks for men) is especially associated with abdominal fat – not usually the desired summer look!

·         Eat Whole Grains: Cut out the refined starches and replace them with fiber-filled whole grains. This means looking for the word “whole” in the ingredients list. If the word isn’t there, then the food is typically an imposter! (Exceptions to this rule include oatmeal, wheatberries, and brown rice.) Start with switching to all 100% whole grain bread, and follow with other frequently consumed grains, like cereal, pasta, and rice. This will vastly increase your fiber intake, filling you up on fewer calories automatically – no calorie counting required. Just be sure to give yourself a chance at feeling full on smaller portions by serving yourself a little less than normal and eating more slowly. Using smaller plates and bowls can help with this.

·         Put Away the Salt: Fight bloat by reducing sodium intake. Remember, salt included in your diet is not just what you use at the dinner table or at the stove, but also what has been added by manufacturers. Most of the sodium in our diets comes from processed foods (such as boxed foods, canned foods, and pickled foods) as well as restaurant foods. By eating foods that are closer to their natural state (such as using dried kidney beans and herbs and spices instead of using a canned chili bean product), you can significantly decrease the amount of sodium in your diet. Since water follows sodium in the body, this can also lead to less bloating.

·         Lay Off the Sugar: Added sugar packs in empty calories, and can hide in all sorts of foods. Check ingredients lists for culprits, and avoid any foods that list sugar, syrup, cane juice, honey, molasses, agave, nectar, malt, or any words ending in –ose (like fructose, sucrose, maltose, etc). Some foods contain natural sugars – for example, milk has a sugar called lactose in it, and fruit contain natural fructose as well. It’s the added sugars that need to be eliminated; that’s why the ingredient list is so important. Keep in mind a teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4g of sugar (or 16 calories), while a tablespoon of sugar is equal to 12g of sugar (or about 50 calories).  Watch what you’re adding to your morning coffee or cereal – that all adds up too!

·         Eat More Fruits, Veggies, and Beans: Add them to salads, have them for snacks, puree them and sneak them into dishes, whatever it takes – just get them into your diet! It will not only fill you up for fewer calories, but also give you countless benefits from phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals, and both soluble and insoluble fiber. Fresh and frozen fruits and veggies are your best options, but rinsed canned vegetables or fruits canned in their own juices are great options as well. As for beans and legumes, either rinse canned beans before using them or pick dried instead.

Remember, numbers follow, they don’t lead. Sure, you can use extreme diets to drop a few pounds quickly, but unless you make lifestyle changes, those pounds will creep back. Instead, focus on making lasting behavior changes to your health to find your best version of yourself.

Don’t forget exercise either! No ladies, resistance training won’t bulk you up, I promise. And although we can’t target fat burn, we can target muscle building. This means countless crunches may not get rid of all tummy flab, but it will define your stomach as well as strengthen your core. Add in plenty of stretching to make those muscles long and lean, and include daily cardio to torch calories and keep your heart and lungs healthy.

Last but not least, always remember the benefits of confidence and good posture – wherever life takes you, from career to parenthood to beach vacations, put your shoulders back, head up, and smile. I learned this one from my mother J

Thanks for reading!

Anna