10 Ways to Get Your Summer-Loving Body

Summer is about a month away. We want you to feel comfortable and happy in your body. If that means you’re feeling like your best body is still hiding under the winter layers, you want to get more toned, or you just don’t want to feel so “blah” anymore, it’s time to get started. 

Let's tweak some of your habits to change your body composition. We want more muscle and less body fat. We do not want you to focus on the number on the scale. In fact, we recommend that you do NOT weigh yourself. Did you know that the number on the scale does not tell you an accurate picture of your body composition? That your weight can fluctuate 2-5 pounds daily? Right now is a great time to break up with your scale.

10 Ways to Get your Summer-Loving Body

1. Get enough sleep. The hormones that control hunger and fullness get out of whack when you consistently sleep less than 7 hours a night or get poor quality, disjointed sleep. It causes you to feel constantly hungry, especially for sugar and refined and processed food, and never full or satisfied. All of this contributes to weight gain. Turn in earlier and catch more zzzzzs.

2. Don’t eat in front of the TV or computer. Tuning into the tube means you tune out the sensation of fullness and satisfaction. So, when the program is over, you still feel hungry and go back for more. Turn it off and concentrate on the taste, texture, appearance, and aroma of your meal. Eating with all of your senses will fill you up and leave you satisfied.

3. Listen to your gut. Pay attention to how full you feel and put down the fork when you’re about 80% full. Don’t forget that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to receive the “I’m full” signal  from your tummy, so speed-eating makes it more likely that you’ll go back for seconds.

4. Don’t celebrate everything with food. Whether your friend got a promotion, it’s your sister’s boyfriend’s birthday, or it’s a Friday, you find yourself celebrating with drinks and/or food. Rewards can also be in the form of getting your nails done, going for a nice hike, getting a massage, or watching that movie that’s been on your list for the past month.

5. Give probiotics a go. Having a healthy and diverse gut microbiome is absolutely linked to your weight. You can get probiotics from food – yogurt, miso, natto, fermented veggies – or as a supplement. There are so many strains of good bacteria that it can get confusing. We like SBOs like MegaSpore, Saccharomyces boulardii, and Bifidobacterium and lactobacillus blends.

6. Salad – yes; Toppings – choose wisely. A salad for lunch sounds like a healthy choice, until you count all of the add-ons: dressing, cheese, croutons, crunchy noodles, bacon, caramelized nuts, dried fruit. Load up your salad with as many veggies as possible, plenty of protein, and healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, and a killer dressing). Try our easy and delicious dressings in our blog, How To Build the Ultimate Salad. 

7. Don’t join the clean plate club. If you go to a restaurant, you should leave 25-50% of your meal (take it home for tomorrow’s lunch), as the average meal contains 1,000-1,200 calories. One idea is to order a to-go plate when your food comes out, so you can put half of it in there right away. Out of sight, out of mind! Same idea if you order take out – place half the meal in a separate container when you get home.

8. De-stress. We get it. Life can be stressful. However, when you’re always stressed, your cortisol levels are high. This can mess with your hunger hormones and lead you to reach for the more calorie-dense snacks. Instead, spend at least 15 mins every day doing an activity to relieve stress. This could be meditation, yoga, taking a bath, giving yourself a facial, or cuddling with pets. You can also sweat out any frustrations with a workout.

9. Forget family-style. Platters of food on the table is an open invitation for second and third helpings. Serve yourself in the kitchen and then go eat at the table. If the extra food is out of sight…it’s out of mind.

10. Move your body and build some muscles. Muscles = metabolism. The more active muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more calories and body fat you will burn for energy. Plus, toned muscles just look awesome. Aim to move your body everyday, like walking, hiking, swimming, cycling, yoga, pilates, and build more metabolically active muscles with with weight training. You can use free weights, weight machines, barbells, kettle bells, resistance bands, or your own body weight. Go over to our YouTube channel and try some of the amazing, short, and effective workouts that we’ve created.