Sun’s out, the heat is turned all the way up, and it’s time to hit the beaches/pools letting that golden sun sink in for a tan you’ve been waiting all year for, don’t worry though it is never too late to get that summertime body you’ve been dreaming of!
All of our lives change during quarantine, some of your friends may have turned into gym nuts, others took up yoga, maybe adopted a pet, became a food blogger and lastly added on some couch potato weight! We’ve all been waiting for the moment we could break out of our homebound cocoons and step out into the real world and what better time to do that than to dive right into summer! Book a vacation, plan a barbecue, hit the mountains, but before you do all that, you might want to shed off some of that winter/homebound/quarantine weight! All bodies are beautiful but there’s nothing more beautiful than being and feeling healthy and today we’re going to give you the tips and tricks to being all that this summer!
Getting that hot body ready for the summer isn’t as simple as just stepping out into the sun, but rather adjusting that everyday diet and adding some exercise time into your day! We won’t make it too drastic though!
Step 1 : Lifestyle Adjustments
STAY HYDRATED : One of the most important things if not THE number one thing is to stay hydrated! Drinking around 3-4 liters a day (100-150 fl oz) is the suggested amount to stay hydrated. Being hydrated promotes cardiovascular health, increases energy and brain function, helps joints and muscles function correctly, maximizes physical performance, cleanses your body and treats ailments!
GET SOME SLEEP : The recommended amount of sleep for an adult is 7 or more hours PER NIGHT, not per week or per afternoon! A good night's sleep can boost your immunity, help prevent weight gain, strengthen your heart, keep you in a better mood, increase productivity, increase exercise performance and improve your memory!
STEP 2 : Dieting
Dieting is not as scary or as difficult as you might think, you do not need to barely eat or be ridiculously strict about food to lose weight. You’d be surprised how much of your favorite food can be incorporated into your diet and how easy maintaining a diet can truly be!
The number one diet plan you ask? Calorie Deficit!! What is a calorie deficit? A calorie deficit is simply reducing the amount of calories you consume in a day to activate weight loss.
Maintaining a calorie deficit is much simpler than you may think, all you really have to do is find your favorite food, check it’s calorie count (apps like myfitnesspal work great for calorie counting) and work it into your daily calorie range!
Replacing butter and oils with cooking sprays, fresh fruit instead of dried, fresh homemade popcorn instead of store bought will all make your calorie consumption much lower while letting you enjoy the best of your favorite foods without the guilt!
Just make sure you are eating 3 full meals a day with 2 snacks in between so your energy levels are high and you don’t feel drained!
Step 3 : Summer Body Workout
We know what you’re all thinking “Working out is so time consuming and exhausting!” well what if we told you you’re wrong? Working out doesn’t mean you have to go all olympic trainer on us and train 3-4 hours a day while maintaining a strict plan! Working out could be as simple as going for more walks, getting a jump rope and hopping around your yard, walking your dogs to the park and going on a hike!
Now what if we told you there’s an alternative to doing hours of Cardio? HIIT (High-intensity interval training) is a specialized type of cardio where you alternate between higher your heart rate and lowering it! HIIT is one of the most effective, most highly recommended cardio routines for weight loss and the shock factor? It only takes between 15-30 minutes depending on your endurance! There are tons of free HIIT at home workout routines you can try just by searching for it online and we highly recommend doing so!
Believe it or not, just doing cardio every single day is not an effective way to lose or maintain weight loss and frankly it’s kind of boring. Investing in a couple of dumbbells for your home gym may sound like a bit too much but trust us on this! Doing simple upper and lower body workouts are how you’re gonna get your body shaped the way you want it in time for summer! You won’t only be losing weight by building muscle.
Weightlifting isn’t just about bulking up and building muscle mass, it improves posture, will help you get better sleep, gain bone density, maintain weight loss, BOOST YOUR METABOLISM, lower inflammation and stave off chronic diseases, among a long long list of positives!
Working out whether it’s doing HIIT or weightlifting up to an hour a day will show extreme and quick results in your weightloss journey! We promise you’ll be able to see a difference in as little as a week with these small tips and tricks!
We know finding that push to get out there and get that summer body you’ve always dreamed of is never easy, but the satisfaction of trying and bettering yourself everyday is unbeatable! Just remember there’s no such thing as “failing” , every journey has its ups and downs so if you miss a day or two don’t beat yourself up about it! All bodies are summer bodies and all a summer body is, is a healthy body you feel good showing off! Happy summertime fine everyone!
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