As the warmth of summer unfurls, so too does the desire to feel healthier and more vibrant in our sun-kissed skin. If you are feeling burdened by excess weight, now is the perfect time to embark on a weight loss journey and redefine your lifestyle, leading to a happier, healthier you. Weight loss involves reducing overall body weight through the loss of fluid, fat, and lean mass. Summer will be here soon, and it’s the perfect time to think about getting your body in the best shape possible. It’s not all about looking great on the beach; you also want to feel like your best self as you take on summer fun. Losing weight doesn’t have to be hard. It’s all about putting together a lot of small changes to see big results.
The Foundation of Summer Weight Loss
Embrace Seasonal Produce
Summer provides an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Incorporating these into your diet can help control appetite and reduce calorie intake. Aim to eat fruits and veggies of all colors.
Prioritize Hydration
Hydration is important, especially during the summer, as it helps boost your metabolism and aids in appetite control. Sometimes, thirst is confused with hunger. By drinking ample water throughout the day, you can avoid unnecessary snacking. It’s important to drink plenty of water every day. Drinking plenty of water keeps you hydrated and helps keep you feeling full. It’s also important for flushing out fat. Hydrate - it is easy to become dehydrated with the heat of summer. Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Staying hydrated helps to boost metabolism and remove toxins. Avoid sugary, carbonated, and caffeinated beverages when possible.
Establish a Routine
Establishing a consistent daily routine can help reinforce your weight loss goals. Try to eat at similar times each day and plan your meals ahead of time. This can help prevent impulsive eating and make it easier to stick to your calorie goals.
Track Your Progress
Keeping track of your progress can be incredibly motivating.
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Simple Strategies for Significant Results
Mindful Eating
Start savoring your food and eating slowly. You’ll quickly find that you eat less at meals. Pay attention to feelings of fullness too. When you feel full, stop eating.
Smart Snacking
You can snack and still lose weight - you just have to choose healthy snacks. When you feel hungry and you need a quick pick-me-up, you’ll grab whatever is handy. Instead of reaching for chips or sweets, try to keep plenty of fruits and vegetables around to satisfy those crunchy and sweet cravings. So, if you’re hungry between meals, choose a protein-based snack that will both nourish and keep you full for longer. Summer can be a great time to discover refreshing, nutrient-rich snacks. Turning a snack into a frozen treat can be a fun way to cool down and fill up.
Identify Food Sensitivities
If you have food allergies or sensitivities, eating those foods could keep your body from losing weight. If you’re trying to eat right and the scale won’t budge, consider food sensitivity testing. Some food allergies and sensitivities can cause weight gain and other problems.
Exercise Smarter, Not Harder
You don’t have to log hour-long cardio sessions to see results. You’re busy, so try exercising smarter. Summer is a great time to get active and enjoy the outdoors by hiking, biking, swimming, or trying a new activity. Keeping a routine exercise plan is a crucial step to a weight loss journey, but it can be beneficial to mix up your routine once and a while.
Incorporate Strength Training
Don’t shy away from strength training.
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Beware of Hidden Calories
Sometimes it’s the small extras that are sabotaging your weight loss. Peanut butter, mayonnaise, and other condiments can add big calories.
Prioritize Sleep
Start skimping on sleep and you’re more likely to make poor food choices. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to reach for simple carbs for a quick boost. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule helps your body’s weight-regulating hormones to function normally. Adequate sleep is a crucial, and sometimes overlooked, piece to weight loss and overall health.
Allow for Treats
You’re working hard to lose weight, but you need to allow yourself a treat from time to time. If you never let yourself indulge, it’ll be tougher to stick with your healthy eating plan. Enjoy a treat, but don’t overdo it.
Get Enough Protein
Appetites can slow during the summer, but the body’s natural metabolism often does also. Make sure to consume enough protein even if you are eating less. Protein helps to boost energy levels, improve mood, and allow the body to feel full longer.
Avoid or Limit Alcohol
Not only is alcohol full of empty calories, but it is also dehydrating. Limiting alcohol intake can make a big difference in reaching and maintaining weight loss goals. Check yourself on daytime drinking during summer gatherings and barbecues to avoid the extra calories and sugar.
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The Pritikin Eating Plan: A Summer Meal Plan Focus
Many weight loss programs fail because these programs focus only on instant results, rather than helping patients make the permanent lifestyle changes necessary to maintain their weight loss for years to come. Google “healthy summer recipes,” and you’ll get a lot of recipes. But be careful!
Calorie Density Awareness
A quarter cup of olive oil in the ingredient list? A half cup? That’s good for you? Yes, olive oil is called a “healthy” fat, but how healthy can something be if only a quarter cup of it is a whopping 477 calories? That’s the equivalent of 10 cups of strawberries. Or 3 whole cantaloupes. Whole natural foods like strawberries, cantaloupes, and corn are the focus of the Pritikin Eating Plan, and they’re what you’ll find in our 3-day sample meal plan for summer, detailed below. Fiber- and water-rich whole foods are not only high in healthful nutrients, they’re low in calorie density, which means that bite by bite, they deliver about 5% the calories of a very-high-calorie-dense food like olive oil.
Sodium Reduction
Another thing that’s a killer, literally, about a lot of “healthy” recipes is the massive amounts of salt used. We’re told to shake “generous amounts,” but generous shakes of salt can lead to generous stiffening of our poor arteries, as well as high blood pressure and increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and other crippling conditions. Our Pritikin meal plan is not only healthy - high in whole foods and low in salt and calorie-dense items - it’s delicious, because when you think about it, what’s better than the flavors of summer, pure and strong? Peaches at their ripest? Tomatoes just plucked from vines? Big plump blueberries?
Simplicity and Flavor
We have more good news. For the most part, we’ve kept this summer plan real simple. No 18-ingredient sauces simmering on the stove for three hours.
Sample Pritikin-Inspired Summer Meal Ideas
Here are some ideas inspired by the Pritikin Eating Plan to incorporate into your summer weight loss journey:
Big Breakfast
Afraid this big-sized breakfast is big on calories? No way! Go for peas and beans whenever you can! They’re filling, nutrient rich, low in calorie density, and packed with fiber. Throw in just about any veggies already in the crisper, especially the crunchy ones.
Pluot Power
Never tried a pluot? You’re in for a treat!
Blueberry Balsamic Salmon
Our Blueberry Balsamic Bliss is so easy to make. In a saucepan on the stove, simply bring to a boil ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar and 1 cup of fresh blueberries. Reduce heat and stir regularly until reduced by half. Ladle over your salmon.
Whole-Wheat Couscous
Whole-wheat couscous is real easy, too. For this delish whole grain, you don’t even need the stove. Just combine ½ cup of couscous with ½ cup water.
Watermelon Ice
Here’s a fun version of a summer fruit favorite. The night before, puree about 6 cups of rough-chopped watermelon (seedless) in a blender until smooth. Pour into a shallow airtight container and freeze.
Hot Cereal Advantage
We know it’s summer, but for weight control, go for hot rather than cold cereal. That’s because cold dry cereals are far more calorically dense.
Summer Soups
Want to shed pounds? Enjoy soups, hot or cold.
Tuscan Tomato and Peach Salad
This exquisite summer salad was inspired by a recipe in a 19th century cookbook from Tuscany. If you can’t get good peaches, nectarines work well. All you do is slice up 2 peaches and 2 ripe but firm tomatoes. Combine in bowl and lightly drizzle with aged balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of walnut oil, and fresh lemon juice. Add freshly ground black pepper and a small handful of chopped walnuts.
Lemon Water Refreshment
Lemonade’s always a summer favorite, but did you know that a 12-ounce glass of regular lemonade has about 150 calories? Drinking one every day could add up to a 15-pound weight gain in one year. Get 0 calories and lots of fresh lemon flavor by squeezing several wedges of lemon into a tall glass of ice water.
Grilled Veggie Burgers
Cook it all on the outdoor grill! Veggie patties have only about half the calories of red meat patties, and 0 artery-clogging saturated fat. Good choices are Black Bean Burgers and Veggie Burgers. For whole-wheat buns, look for lower-sodium brands, such as Food For Life®. It’s so important to watch sodium intake. The more sodium, or salt, we eat, the greater our risk of hypertension.
Grilled Vegetables
Grilled vegetables have great smoky flavor. Cut up a bunch of summer veggies in thick, grillable slices. Make enough so that you have leftovers for egg white omelettes, sandwiches, or pasta the next day. Excellent veggie choices include bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, red onions, and portobello mushrooms.
Grilled Pineapple Dessert
Use the Grill for Dessert, too! Sprinkle pineapple slices with cinnamon about a half hour before grilling. Grill about 5 minutes on medium-high heat on both sides.
Leftover Veggie Breakfast Bowl
Use the grilled veggies leftover from last night’s dinner. So easy! For a little kick, sprinkle on hot sauce. If you’re running late, make breakfast-in-a-bowl by breaking your toast into a bowl and topping with the egg whites, veggies, and cheese. We don’t use yolks at Pritikin. Regardless of public relations campaigns saying “eggs are the perfect food,” yolks are far from perfect.
Fresh Fruit Salsa
Use whatever fruits you already have. Great choices are melons, mangos, and berries. Chop them up. Put them in a big bowl. Then add chopped onions, chopped fresh cilantro, and freshly squeezed lime, to taste. Enjoy alone as a snack, and if you have extras, use as a fat-free, no-salt salad dressing.
Water-Rich Foods
Numerous studies have found that eating foods rich in water, like fruits, vegetables, hot cereals, and soups, helps keep you satisfied on fewer calories.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Alternative
Throw in a variety of fresh seasonal produce, veggies as well as fruit. For a dressing, enjoy the fruit salad you made for your mid-morning snack, or use really good balsamic vinegar. Our guests at Pritikin have found that with top-quality balsamic vinegar, they don’t need any oil on their salads. A brand they buy by the case is Roland Diamond Balsamic Vinegar.
Mahi Mahi Ceviche
No need to heat up the stove! In a large glass bowl, simply combine 1 pound of mahi mahi (this dish serves 4) cut into short thin pieces, ½ cup lime juice, ½ cup chopped and seeded tomatoes, a seeded and finely minced habanero pepper, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Toss well, and sprinkle a finely sliced small red onion on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Fresh Tomato Pasta
Another easy summer favorite! The only thing you have to cook is the pasta. In a big pasta serving bowl, toss in about 2 pounds of fresh, diced, richly flavored tomatoes, crushed garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and a big handful of torn fresh basil leaves. Add the cooked pasta. Stir.
Frozen Fruit Dessert
There’s a new counter-top appliance called Yonanas, sold at stores like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, that turns fruit into a frozen dessert that tastes like soft serve ice cream. You freeze really ripe bananas, let them thaw just slightly, then feed them into a Yonanas and add any other frozen fruit, like mango. “It’s perfectly Pritikin ice cream,” smiles Pritikin RD Kimberly Gomer.
Explore weight loss options
For many people, a healthy diet and regular exercise are not enough. Summer can be the perfect time to begin weight loss injections or undergo bariatric surgery.
Additional Tips from Experts
Savor all of summer with our truly healthy meal plan. Still carrying around those extra five pounds from winter? Health Matters turned to Dr. Rekha B. Kumar, M.D., for advice:
- Increase Daily Steps: Take advantage of the warm weather and longer daylight hours and log some extra steps each day.
- Indulge in Seasonal Produce: So many delicious fruits and vegetables are in season right now, so feel free to indulge!
- Cut out sugar-sweetened beverages: Cut out sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, juices, and energy drinks.
- Incorporate Movement: It’s important to incorporate movement throughout the day. Do some pushups or lunges while you watch your favorite TV show. At the pool? Rather than lounging on a raft, tread water for a few minutes.
- Hydrate: It is possible to confuse thirst for hunger, especially when we’re moving and sweating more. Try this: The next time you feel a grumbling in your stomach, drink a full glass of water and wait a few minutes to see if the feeling subsides.
- Choose Protein-Based Snacks It’s easy to overdo it when snacking, especially if you’re reaching for carb-heavy foods.
The Importance of Sleep and Stress Management
Diet and exercise are the basics of weight loss, but there are other factors that can affect the success of your weight loss journey. Sleep and stress can make it harder to lose weight and potentially enable you to fall back on your progress.