Summer is here and you may feel like there just isn’t enough time to focus on your fitness goal, or even maintain what you’ve achieved so far. Don’t worry, it’s not too late to make some changes that will keep you feeling swimsuit ready.
I promise if you stick to these 5 tips you can continue to reshape your body over summer, lose weight, tone up, and feel amazing!
So Get Ready!
1. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day
Drinking water will help to cleanse your body of toxins, and flush out any excess water your body might be holding onto. The extra water will fight bloat, keep you feeling fuller for longer, and make your skin look glow.
Coffee, soda, energy drinks or caffeinated tea do not count as water! In fact some of these drinks further dehydrate us, leave us with jitters, and cause our energy levels to plummet.
2. Get 10,000 steps a day.
Do you know how many steps a day you take? The American Heart Association recommends that everyone should aim for 10,000 steps (roughly five miles) a day for overall health and to decrease the risk of heart disease. Although this goal may be harder than it seems, there are many different ways you can easily reach this. Make it easier on yourself and break this down into smaller bits of time. This way it won’t feel so overwhelming and impossible to achieve.
An example of how this could look: Start you day with a 15 minute morning walk. When lunch rolls around, head outside for 20-30 minutes, and if possible find some stairs to include in your route. After dinner head out for an evening stroll. You can download an app on your phone to track your steps, or gage how many you achieve by figuring out the distance you walk. I use my Fitbit Blaze, and highly recommend one to anyone struggling to get active.
Simple ideas to add more steps to your day:
- Park at the end of the parking lot when shopping or running errands
- Take the stairs rather than elevators and escalators whenever opportunity arises
- Bring your runners to work and go for a 15-minute walk during your lunch break
Get up 30 minutes earlier and enjoy a morning walk through your neighborhood- Sign up for a session of local fitness classes
- Walk over to a coworkers’ desk to talk to him or her in person instead of sending an email
- Early for an appointment? Walk around the block first instead of heading straight to the waiting room
- Set an alarm on your phone to go off every hour to remind you walk around for a few minutes and do a couple stretches
- Instead of reading a book on the couch at night, download it as an audiobook and listen while you go for a walk
3. Cut carbs after 2 o’clock.
This tip is huge. Erin Oprea, Carrie Underwood’s trainer swears by this one whenever one of her clients needs to slim down before a red carpet event. She says that as soon as her clients make this one change in their diet, weight loss takes on a whole new meaning. It’s actually quite simple. All you have to do is cut out are the starchy carbs past 2 o’clock. This does not mean that you no longer eat carbs at dinner. But, breads, pastas, rice and potatoes are out (AT NIGHT)! You want to focus on lean proteins, fresh veggies and salads for dinner with healthy fats (to maximize your intake of those fat soluble vitamins). You won’t miss these carbs because you’re not cutting them out of your diet, just shifting the time when you eat them.
Remember, our bodies primary source of energy is glucose. Starches are broken down into glucose and this is why you need to eat them earlier in the day. Don’t let them sit in your body through the night and store as fat for “use” later. With this one change, Erin Oprea promises big impacts in short amounts of time!
4. Curb Cravings with Fiber.
Fiber has unique appetite-suppressing properties; it expands in the stomach, taking up more space, which helps you feel full. It also slows the digestive process to help you stay satisfied longer after eating and triggers the release of a hormone called cholecystokinin, which tells the brain the stomach is full. Aim for at least 35 grams of fiber daily from non-starchy veggies and low-sugar fruits. I like to add flaxseed, chia seeds and spinach to smoothies to add fiber and top plain Greek yogurt with all natural bran buds and berries as another breakfast option.
5. Keep it short.
Let’s face it. Summer is one of the busiest times of the year. So don’t set yourself up for failure and set unrealistic fitness goals. I like to encourage my clients to “maintain” when it comes to strength training. Pick short, simple full body HIIT workouts (like the ones below) to focus on 3-5 x per week. That’s it. These workouts should only take you 15 minutes.
Click HERE for some HIIT ideas:
You are much more likely to comply if you know it’s only 15 minutes you have to set aside 🙂
Another tip. Fit some basic exercises like the squat, push up, lunge, plank and pull up in while you are out and about on a walk. Playgrounds work great for this! You can do the squats and push ups off the benches and do assisted pull ups on the swings or monkey bars.
6. Be consistent.
Making progress, especially with a time frame in mind, will require consistency. You absolutely can not expect to see results if you put in half the effort. Whether it’s nutrition or training, it will require effort, consistency and patience, “Remember Rome wasn’t built overnight, but there was progress made every single day.”
So whether you implement one, two, or all five of these tips, remember that it all counts and will add up to a healthier you.
ps. Check out my 30 Day Slim & Sculpt if your want a done for you program with meal plans and workouts that you can do from your very own home to keep you fit and lean all summer.
Each and every workout has modifications for most levels as I guide you through.
Click Here to get started!
If you have any questions, please reply!
