7 Ways to Kick Your Weight Loss into Overdrive for Summer

Summertime is a time of vacations and hitting up the beach for a little fun in the sun. But it isn’t a whole lot of fun if you’re too busy worrying about how you look in your bathing suit to enjoy yourself. Avoid that by using these seven tips to ratchet your weight loss up a notch or two. Here are 7 ways to kick your weight loss into overdrive for summer:

Feel the Burn

Exercise is an indispensable part of a weight loss program. According to WebMD (webmd.com), cardio is great for burning calories during the moment, as well as for giving your heart and lungs a healthy workout. Resistance training, or weight training, is great for building muscles, which in turn will increase the calories you burn throughout the day. High intensity interval training (HIIT) and Crossfit are two training styles that blend cardio and weight training into one insanely challenging workout.

Keep Moving

Working out is great. But what is the rest of your day like? If your days are largely sedentary, punctuated by one workout, your weight loss progress is going to be slow. Add a morning walk. Go for a bike ride in the evening. When you’re at work, get up from your desk and walk around your office. Take the stairs. Park in the farthest parking spot when you run errands. Participate when your kids play at the park. Chase them around, navigate the obstacles, do a few chin-ups on the monkey bars.

Start Moving and Join a Gym Near You Today!

Add a Bonus Round

See how important exercise is? We’re still talking about it! When preparing for summer, fitness superstar Zuzana Light (zuzkalight.com) likes to incorporate 30 minutes of jumping rope to her already busy schedule. Jumping rope is an all-body exercise that, according to Healthline (healthline.com) burns about 10 calories a minute in the average person. If you don’t like jumping rope, other equally intense bonus exercises include jogging with intervals of sprinting, uphill running and jumping jacks.

Drink Water, Water and More Water

If your diet is great but your weight loss is plateauing, the culprit could be in your glass. Juice, soda, sweet tea, energy drinks and even milk are loaded with calories and sugar. Sugar is the anti-weight loss substance, not to mention it can cause diabetes, heart disease and even certain forms of cancer, according to Healthline (healthline.com). Trying to get the best of both worlds by using artificial sweeteners won’t work, either, because studies have shown that artificial sweeteners don’t help you lose weight and can, in fact, cause you to gain weight, according to Harvard Health Publishing (health.harvard.edu). Water is the perfect solution. It’s exactly what your body needs, and it has zero calories.

Flip-Flop Your Eating Schedule

Your body needs calories for energy, right? So, it stands to reason that the time of day your body will need the most calories is at the beginning. Many of us carry out the ingrained habit of eating our biggest meal in the evening, when all our bodies are going to do is go to bed. Instead, eat a good, healthy breakfast, sustain yourself throughout the day with healthy snacks and a big lunch, then have a light supper at the end of the day. A nice salad of mixed greens with steamed shrimp, for instance, or a piece of white fish with raw tomatoes and roasted asparagus.

Beef Up on the Protein

Protein is excellent for weight loss, according to the Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org). Protein helps stabilize your blood sugar, which keeps you feeling full and satisfied for long periods of time. It also helps rebuild the muscles you break down during your workouts. Before you get carried away, the portion sizes might surprise you.

According to the American Heart Association (heart.org), an appropriate portion size of beef, chicken or fish is just 3 ounces. Beans and lentils should be kept to half a cup. A portion size of eggs is either one egg or two egg whites. Milk should be kept to a cup, and yogurt should be 6 ounces. These numbers will vary, however, depending on how hard you work out. If you’re really pounding the weights, you will need to increase your protein intake.

Be the Designated Driver

Want to go out with friends to the bar? Stick to seltzer water. Alcohol is not going to help you in your weight loss goals. The least calorie-dense liquors such as gin and vodka still pack around 75 calories a shot. Start adding that to mixers and you could potentially drink your entire daily caloric needs in one caution-to-the-winds evening.

Alcohol causes blood sugar spikes that will makes you feel hungry. It also lowers your inhibitions so that instead of picking something healthy and sensible to feed your hunger, you’re more likely to go for the nachos. As if that wasn’t enough, the body treats alcohol like a poison. According to WebMD, it puts all calorie-burning efforts on hold in order to process the alcohol and eliminate it from the body.  

Getting your bod ready to be shown on sandy beaches this summer might take a little extra work and determination, but it will all feel worth it when you feel confident and sexy in your swimsuit. Stick to these seven tips and you’ll be ready sooner than you realize.