We had a little taste of summer heat last week and if you’re like me it left you saying, “give me more.” I love summer for a lot of reasons including longer days and the warm weather.
Summer presents some unique challenges to losing weight. Things like excessive heat and humidity, bugs, and traditional summer treats such as ice cream and potato salad, and sugary/creamy “adult drinks” aren’t exactly weight-loss friendly, but don’t let that discourage you.
Even those significant challenges are more than compensated by all the ways that summer is the best time to work on health and weight-related goals.
Here are just 9 ways summer is a good time for weight loss and I bet you can find more once you get started.
- The sun comes up earlier and it’s cooler in the morning so it’s a great time to take a long walk. I like to shoot for 5000-6000 steps first thing. No matter what happens later you already have that going for you.
- It’s the growing season. Locally grown produce is at its juiciest, tastiest, sweetest best. Building your food plan on plants is a healthy way to cut calories.
- Summer sports are a fun way to get active.
- Summer clothes show off your efforts and keep you motivated to stick to your plan.
- Relaxed summer schedules with fewer activities to cram into the day helps relieve stress and therefore, stress eating.
- Grilling is an easy way to cut calories. Experiment with new recipes to expand your grilling menu beyond hamburgers, hotdogs, and steaks. Grilling is fast, easy, and less cleanup, especially if you use paper plates and eat outside.
- Summer heat is an appetite suppressant. “Too hot to eat.”
- Summer tends to be a happier time of year and that reduces bad moods and the cravings that often accompany them.
- Getting more sun exposure than in winter results in getting more vitamin D. There is research that shows low levels of vitamin D constrain fat breakdown and trigger fat storage. I’m not suggesting lying in the sun or engaging in outdoor activities without sunscreen. Just the fact that you’re exposing more skin to the sun than in the winter when you go outside can actually help your body use calories for energy instead of converting them to body fat.