8 Must-Read Tips for Summer Dieting ...

This tip for summer dieting is vitally important — stay hydrated, honey! Keep a bottle of water with you at all times, and sip from it frequently. Your body will thank you… and you’ll be a lot less likely to overeat if you’re not thirsty.

Summer means fresh, sweet, juicy peaches, berries, and watermelon, not to mention crisp cucumbers and tasty green beans. Enjoy five servings of these fresh, in-season fruits and veggies every day. You’ll be filled with fiber, and you’ll have lots of energy for your fun summer pursuits, without the calories other, less healthy snacks, would have provided.

Smoothies sound like healthy food, don’t they? But take this tip for summer dieting to heart — often times, unless you make them yourself, they’re not! If you’re buying a smoothie from a stand or restaurant, check the ingredients and ask for nutrition information to make sure you’re not wrecking your diet when you thought you were sticking to it.

While you’re considering skipping the fast-food smoothies, you might also want to consider this valuable tip for summer dieting: ban fast food! Did you know that one fast food combo meal can contain all of the calories you’re supposed to eat in an entire day? And most of those calories are from fat… eww!

So if you can’t eat fast food, what are you supposed to consume while you’re out and about? Why not try a nice, crisp summer salad, loaded with healthy greens and topped with veggies? Skip the extra calories in croutons and cheese and bacon bits, and choose fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing (or go without). If you’re hankering for some protein, opt for grilled chicken. Yum… much better than a burger and fries!

It’s too hot to eat a big meal, and besides, there’s this summer dieting tip to consider: rather than eating three big meals a day (and feeling sluggish), eat five small meals. There’s a small breakfast, a light snack, then lunch, another snack, and dinner. Eating these small meals will keep you from feeling hungry, and will keep your metabolism rocking all day.

Did you know that our brains don’t register the fact that our stomachs are full for as many as ten minutes? So slow down, chew your food, and enjoy your meal, pausing now and again to see if you’re full yet. Use these pauses for light conversation… and give your brain time to catch up to your belly.

You might be tempted to cut calories by skipping a meal, but don’t! If you skip a meal, you’ll be more likely to stuff yourself silly at your next sitting, undoing all your hard diet work for that entire day. Skipping a meal will also slow your metabolism, which is the opposite of what you want!

With so many tips for summer dieting, if you’re not bikini-ready yet, you will be soon! Which of these tips surprised you? Which do you think you’ll find most helpful? Do tell!

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