More than any other time of year, summer is prime time to shed extra pounds and get healthy. The warm season brings us fun events and activities that help us burn calories and offers lots of delicious, healthful foods to enjoy.
The hectic routines of daily life tend to slow down between Memorial Day and Labor Day, giving you more time to focus on your personal needs. Summer is your ideal chance to take a big step toward looking and feeling your best. If you want to know how to lose weight in summer, here are 10 tips, tricks and reasons for working on your weight loss goals this season!
1. Fresh is Best
Eating four servings of non-starchy vegetables every day is one of the keys to successful weight loss. In summer, you’ll find more choices than at any time of year for fresh produce, such as salad greens, cucumbers and peppers. Many healthy fruits also taste best in summer! When you buy these foods in season, you get them at their peak of freshness, nutrition and flavor. Farmers markets and roadside stands make it easy for you to get your favorites as fresh as can be at affordable prices.
2. Sensational Seafood
Fresh fish such as salmon and tuna, and shellfish, including shrimp, clams and scallops, are the foundation of many delicious summer meals. These foods are loaded with protein, which provides energy for your busy days, but they are low in unhealthy saturated fats. At Nutrisystem, we call seafood “PowerFuels” and they can really power up your weight loss. If you need ideas for how to prepare seafood meals that help you lose weight, we have 12 fantastic seafood recipes that are sure to inspire you. Nutrisystem also offers a few seafood meals that are easy to make, perfectly portioned and weight loss-approved!
3. Grilled Goodness
Cooking over an open flame adds lots of flavor to food without adding on calories. Grilling also keeps your kitchen cool on hot days. And there are so many foods that are easy to grill and taste great. That includes lean proteins such as chicken and fish, as well as vegetables and even fruit. To help you get started, we compiled a list of foods that taste better grilled.
4. Activity Options
Summer weather invites you outside for exercise that feels like play. Swimming, riding a bike or just going to the playground with kids are all great ways to burn calories and have fun at the same time. Hot days also offer you opportunities to try new activities, such as kayaking, hiking or beach yoga to help you slim down and tone up your muscles.
5. The Sun Vitamin
Your body needs a steady supply vitamin D to help keep your metabolism burning calories. When you spend time outside, sunlight on your skin stimulates your body to make the vitamin D you need. That’s right, just being outside in summer can help you to lose weight and be healthy.
6. Lighter Looks
It’s easy to ignore the extra unwanted weight that is hiding under your layers of clothing in the cold months. When the weather turns warmer, your wardrobe gets lighter. Whether you’re putting on a swimsuit or a pair of shorts, you want to feel good and confident in your appearance. That is motivation to focus on eating well and being active, the keys to improving your health and losing weight. Good news: With a Nutrisystem plan, you will begin seeing results right from the start, so it’s never too late to get started.
7. Eating Less
When you’re stuck inside because it’s cold outside, the temptation to eat even when you’re not hungry can be hard to resist. Cold-weather meals also tend to be comfort foods that are high in calories and excess fats. On hot days, we naturally eat lighter meals. Plus, there’s so much to do outdoors that we aren’t sitting around and thinking about food.
8. Pick Your Own
Gardening in summer can be fun exercise that burns calories and rewards you with the best-tasting, most nutritious vegetables possible. You don’t even need a lot of space to reap the benefits of growing your own food. For lots of tips on starting a garden, check out our beginner’s gardening guide. If you only want to do the harvesting, go to a “pick-your-own” farms, where you take a basket and choose the items you want right from the vine. It’s fun for people of all ages!
9. Cool Drinks
Staying well-hydrated helps you lose weight because it keeps your metabolism active even when you’re sitting down. Drinking cold water is not only refreshing on a hot day, your body actually burns a few extra calories warming it up in your stomach. You don’t have to drink just plain water to stay hydrated. We love mocktails in summer and put together a list of our favorite mocktail recipes.
10. Feeling Smoothie
On cold days, a steaming hot cup of coffee can warm up your morning or energize your afternoon. When you need a pick me up in summer, whip up a smoothie. It will be cool and refreshing, and it will treat you to delicious flavors and powerful nutrients. With Nutrisystem protein shakes, you can make a smoothie that tastes like a milkshake and nourishes you like a whole meal. Try one of our smoothie ideas for flavor combos you’ll love.
Ready to start your summer weight loss journey? Lose weight, improve your health and shine brighter with a little help from Nutrisystem! Our delicious foods and easy-to-follow plans are the secret to simple weight loss. We deliver balanced nutrition, powered by proven science. It’s simple. It’s healthy. It works. Get started with a summer weight loss plan from Nutrisystem today! >
