It’s freezing outside. Summer might well be the last thing on your mind right now when you are trying to keep warm and free from colds and flu. But, it’s not as far away as you might think. As soon as the frosts break and spring hits, summer will be close behind. Within a few months, the temperatures will be higher, and we’ll all be wanting to spend more time outdoors.
Unfortunately, few of us really think ahead when it comes to preparing our bodies for the seasons. We always think that we’ve got more time than we have. Then, quite suddenly our big summer break is just a few weeks away, and we’re still embracing our Christmas weight. We’ve spent the colder months bundled up enjoying comforting casseroles and warming puddings, and we’re left with a couple of weeks to shed the pounds, tone our muscles and get rid of our acne.
This often leads to unhealthy dieting. We want to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time, and the only way to do it is with an extreme or unhealthy diet. We start missing meals, drastically reducing our calorie intake and completely cutting food groups.
It can work, but it’s bad for you, it’ll make you unhappy, and you’ll just pile the lbs back on as soon as you start sipping those cocktails by the pool. And, while you might lose some weight, you won’t look your best. Skipping food groups can leave you looking tired and haggard, with grey skin and dull eyes.
Instead, take your time. Make healthy, long-term changes. Lose weight slowly, by eating more of the right things and less of the wrong, and moving more. Make sustainable and healthy changes to your lifestyle that won’t just have you looking good for summer. That instead will help you to live a long and healthy life. Looking and feeling fantastic all year around.
Start Your Healthy Eating Plan
Dieting doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, let’s avoid the word diet altogether. Just the word on its own can make you feel down and bring up images of weighing tiny amounts of cereal and throwing out all of your favorite foods. Instead, let’s make some healthy changes.
To lose weight, you need to eat less than you burn off, simples. But, to lose weight healthily, while taking care of your body, improving your health and giving yourself a gorgeous, healthy glow, you need to make sure that you are eating enough of the right things.
Fill your diet with protein, fruit and vegetables, healthy dairy like natural yogurt, and good fats, like those in fish and meat. Eating well, instead of merely eating less might mean that you drop weight more slowly, but it will be sustainable, and you’ll feel great as your energy levels soar.
Get Moving
The other half of burning off more calories than you consume is moving. If you enjoy exercise, get to it. Go to the gym, try exercise classes, workout at home and go for runs.
Try to do cardio exercise at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes a session, and add some strength training when you can. Over time, increase your times and intensity so that your body doesn’t get used to what you are doing.
If you can’t imagine anything worse than hitting the gym, it can seem harder. But, it doesn’t have to be. Any movement counts, as long as you keep doing it. Go for long walks every day after dinner. Get up and walk around your house every hour.
Walk to work or at least a park further away. Dance around your living room with the kids or take them swimming. Just make it your mission to move more, every single day.
Even if you don’t like traditional exercise, it can be worth trying new things. Have a go at the couch to 5k program, try water-based exercise classes or have a go at online pilates videos. Try some new things. You never know, you might find an exercise that you love, and if not, what have you lost by trying?
Focus on Problem Areas
Is there a particular part of your body that you hate? Something that you can’t stand the idea of getting out on the beach? Would you never wear a bikini because you hate your stomach? Or do you cover your thighs with shorts? If you are happy doing this, then that’s fine. Buy some cool shorts and cover-ups. Use it as a way to add some style to your beach wardrobe and don’t worry about it.
If, however, you’d love to get your arms out on a warm day, but you hate them, it’s time to do something about it. Focus on these problem areas. Look at ways to tone up specific areas of your body, or ways to make the most of them. It’s also worth reminding yourself that we all have bits of our body that we’re not happy with. Even people that you think are perfect have something. Try not to let it bother you.
Start Taking Care of Your Skin
Source
Harsh weather can be terrible for your skin. In the winter, cold weather and biting winds can leave our skin sore and dry. Comfort eating can also cause greasy skin and breakouts. Then, summer comes along, and our skin that is already suffering is exposed to UV rays and hot weather. We burn easily and do more damage to our already sensitive skin.
Start taking better care of your skin now, and the weather won’t be able to hurt it as much, in summer or winter. Check out these 13 amazing skin tightening treatments you can do at home and make sure you at least cleanse, tone and moisturize every day. It’s also a good idea to wash your makeup brushes every week, replace old products and have at least one makeup free day every week.
Work on Your Confidence
Often, our anxiety about stripping off on the beach has much more to do with our confidence than it does to our body or skin. Even those women that appear to have the perfect toned bodies worry about taking their top off on the beach if they struggle with their confidence.
Confidence is a tricky thing. One negative comment, and it’s gone. But it’s much harder to build up. Find ways to improve your confidence, take the time to take care of yourself.
Spend time around people that make you feel good about yourself and cut negativity, and remember that you aren’t alone. Doing things to improve your diet and health is great, but working on your confidence, and owning your look, is much more important. After all, there’s nothing sexier than a smile.
Prepare Your Hair
It’s not just your skin that suffers in harsh weather. Your hair can have a tough time too, especially in the summer. Sun and heat can damage it, as can the salt from seawater or chemicals in the pool.
Generally, a simple summer hair care routine is all that you need. Wash it every other day, or less if you can. Condition it no more than once a week and if you can bare it, rinse it in cold water. Try to avoid too many products and too much heat and get regular trims.
If it’s looking or feeling a little dry and limp, have a little more trimmed off the ends and invest in an intensive conditioning treatment to give it a little TLC.
Keep it Realistic
You’re probably not going to lose 50 lbs before summer, but ask yourself if you really need to? Having goals is great, it keeps you on track and gives you something to celebrate. But, only if you keep them realistic.
Many people find that avoiding weight related goals helps them to keep focused — instead, focus on how you feel, and your fitness levels. Your first goal could be being able to run up the stairs without getting out of breath, or being able to walk up a hill without stopping.
If you want to focus more on your size, buy a pair of jeans that you want to get into. If scales help you, fantastic, if they don’t, avoid them.
Don’t Get Hung Up on Bad Days
Source
We all have bad days. It’s fine. When you’ve had a takeout or a few glasses of wine and some chocolates, don’t punish yourself. Don’t feel guilty or try to eat a lot less the day after. Just let it go. Call it a bad day, forget it and go back to normal. Don’t try to make the deficit up somewhere else. It doesn’t matter.
Sleep More
Sleeping is great. It’s your bodies chance to recover, repair and recharge. If you don’t do enough of it, start now by trying to get into a sleep routine. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
Book a Check Up
Book a check up with your GP to make sure that you are in good shape and check for any underlying conditions. They’ll also be able to give you advice on how to take better care of yourself and weight loss if you need it.
Also Read
Tips for carrying outfits in summer vacation| Look Beautiful and stylish
Hair care tips for summer| Protect hair from summer sun
7 Best Face & Body Scrub For This Summer| Get soft and glowing skin
Perenne Broad spectrum SPF 50 & Revitalizing face mist review- Summer essentials
Homemade face masks for glowing skin in summer| Get instant glow
Check out my eBook- Ultimate solution to Acne, dark spots, Dark circles, Tan (Get a healthy clear skin)
Lots of Love
Khadija
Let’s be friends and get social! You can find me on Instagram| Twitter| Facebook
**Sponsored content**
