SUMMERTIME!!
The summertime is here and men want to walk around confidently with their shirts off and women want to wear that bathing suit they have been saving for months.
Now that the summer is here, have you reached your goal? Most of us make New Year’s resolutions of obtaining the perfect body by the summer and will do almost any fad diet to achieve their goal. However, a good percentage of us throughout the year, will eat whatever we want, and not track our calorie and macro intake. Then when it is time to start working on your summer body, you’re starting from a position of great disadvantage. Here’s a solution to help. Yes, you want to be free to eat anything you want, but should we eat those foods of high fat, carbs, and sugar in moderation? What does this mean? One strategy could be maintaining a healthy food intake throughout the week and saving the occasional cookie, small bag of chips, or zesty dessert for an occasion or one weekend day every week. Will this work? 1). Health is wealth. You shouldn’t want to have junk food everyday or even multiple times throughout the week. According to The Checkup by Single Care, “In 2020, Nearly 40% of American adults aged 20 and over are obese. 71.6% of adults aged 20 and over are overweight, including obesity”. Maintaining a solid healthy food intake can go a long way in preventing obesity and other illnesses that can become chronic. 2). You will feel more energetic. Cutting down junk food and adding veggies and fruits (natural sugar), means more energy for us to live out our daily lives. We all can use the extra energy to get us through the day. Food is energy. Intaking veggies and fruits are a simple and great source of natural nutrients we do not get from processed foods. 3). Cut the crap! Cutting out the unnecessary junk food also means decreasing your daily/weekly calorie intake. Without going on a diet you could cut down calories by just eliminating the one or two foods that you intake daily that have high grams of fat and sugar. For example, not adding cream to your coffee, not adding honey to oatmeal, or a large portion of butter on your toast. We will be surprised in noticing the difference by eliminating the “little things” we do not think will make a big difference. 4) Drink water. Remember water is your best friend. Studies show water has many important jobs such as; carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells, flushing bacteria from your bladder, aiding digestion, preventing constipation, normalizing blood pressure, and regulating body temperature.
We can workout all day everyday, but if we’re putting unnecessary food back into our body’s, then it is all for not. Take care of your body, plan accordingly, and avoid the pressure from peers teasing you for taking your health seriously.