Lose Weight in Summer

Can you lose weight in Summer? You sure can!

In Australia, we're in the beginning of the second month of Summer. Some states have certainly been having hot summer weather, sending people inside where it's cool. That means people may not be doing their usual jogging or walking to keep fit. They're staying inside instead, and maybe they're raiding the fridge in their search for coolness.

This can lead to eating too many sweet and cool things. This, added to the lack of exercise and combined with the usual Christmas season partying and good food, all adds up to danger time if you're trying to lose weight. There are some ways you can stock the fridge though, that can help you.

Keep the fridge topped up with calorie free drinks - water is still the best thirst quencher there is, so make sure you always have a jug of water in the fridge. There are a great many diet soft drinks available if you want a change from water every now and then.

There are some great cooling foods available in summer, especially grapes. Crunchy sweet grapes are a lovely snack, and don't add too many calories. Other good food ideas are sandwiches - cheese with pickles says summer to me, and I love the sandwiches nice and cool, sometimes with some chicken or turkey slices, yum!

Nuts are also a good snack. Yes, nuts are high in fat, but the fat they have is a fat that's healthy for you body. This doesn't mean you should go overboard and eat nuts all day, the weight would pile on if you did that. Nuts are high in protein though, and they have fibre too, so they fill up your tummy, and your body shouldn't get hungry as it would if you were eating sweet foods.

In summer, salads come to mind, and they can be a great way to have a healthy and low calorie meal. Be careful with the dressing you use though. There are some excellent low cal mayonnaise products available in the shops, and of course lemon juice is a great way to give raw vegetables a zing. Another interesting and no fat dressing is balsamic vinegar - excellent with fresh mushrooms and baby spinach!

For people with Wii Fit games and good air conditioning, there are lots of fun ways to exercise, alone or with friends. And of course summer in Australia is synonymous with the beach or the pool. Go outside and play in the water, fun, fun, fun!

So there are some ideas to help you lose weight over summer, enjoy!

Pre News Years Eve Resolution

We all mean to do well over the Christmas period. We say or think we'll eat wisely and not have too much, and we'll do some exercises too. Sadly, for many, that doesn't happen.

Not meeting these goals though, doesn't mean all is lost. The best time to get back on track if you're trying to lose weight or get fitter isn't next week, or next month. The best time to get back on track is right now!

Right now, you can decide whether you're truly hungry, or simply bored. Right now you can walk up those steps instead of catching a lift. Right now you can eat a piece of fruit instead of the tasty but fat laden cake you've been thinking about.

The new year means party time for many, and party time often goes with lots of food, fattening food. Arm yourself if you go to a party with some low fat and calorie snacks, such as rice crackers. Either take them with you, or eat a meal before you go out, and stay firm when you tell others you're not hungry.

If it's too difficult to do, stick to the healthiest foods you can see at the party, and have lots of water to drink. The water will help you to feel full, and will be good for your body too.

Christmas time is often holiday time too. Get out, walk around your neighbourhood. You can often find interesting things quite close by if you travel by foot. Driving around means you can sometimes drive past things you would have enjoyed, if you'd been going slowly.

There are many things to do to lose weight that a free or at least cheap. Walking is always a good one, swimming is too. Most biggish towns have a heated indoor pool which is available to the public at a reasonable price.

If you've been a couch potato for many years and think you can't do anything, at least get up and walk a little bit. It doesn't have to be a 20 hike to do you good. Just walking to the letter box and back a couple of times can be a good start. Do it twice one day, then slowly increase the number of times every day. Before you know it, you might be going beyond your letterbox!

These small things can all add up. As you get fitter, you may feel more like getting out and about. Getting fitter isn't just about getting slimmer, it's about becoming more comfortable with your own body too. You may realise your body loves the new fitter you you've become!

New Years Eve Resolutions

It's Christmas time as I write this post, and New Years Eve will follow. Christmas for most means lots of fun, and lots and lots of lovely food.

New Years Eve often means New Years Eve resolutions about losing the excess weight you have, some of it caused by that lovely food. I'm not here to bring you down and tell you not to eat any of that yummy food. I'll leave it up to you to find a way to get through this time in a way that suits you.

I have written an article about these issues though, and you might like to go here to find out some health reasons to help you to do the right thing for your body.

I'm going out for Christmas lunch tomorrow, and I know I'll eat more food than I actually need. I can deal with that later, and I will deal with it, and not ignore it. I intend continuing my current exercise program tomorrow morning, even though it's Christmas.

I have multiple sclerosis MS and I'm doing my best to keep active. Doing my best currently means I get up in the morning and switch on my Wii Fit Plus, and do 30 minutes of exercise. I try to do some of the more difficult exercises, not just the easy ones. I feel as though this is helping me to keep mobile.

I've also know about healthy diet, and I'm working toward eating healthy food as much as I can. Nuts and seeds, fruit and vegetables, some dairy and meat. These are my main sources of food. I'm trying to lose some extra weight, but I'm keeping within my ideal weight range.

I hope my words on this blog and here may be of assistance to you if you're struggling to reach your own ideal weight. I have further help for you here. It may be the thing that kicks off the new and slimmer you!

Are you really hungry?

Here's one easy tip to try next time you think you're hungry. Have a glass of water, then wait fifteen minutes and think about it again. Are you still feeling hungry?

You may have been thirsty, rather than hungry. And learning to wait, rather than eating straight away is a good habit to get into if you're trying to lose weight.
It can be as simple as that.

Drinking can be a problem with weight gain too. Try low fat milk with your tea and coffee. And low fat iced coffee is available too, just the thing on a hot day when you need a caffeine lift. Lemonade made at home with real lemons can be a refreshing drink in summer, and lime juice is even better, refreshing, no fat, and so good for you.

Good snacks with satisfying crunch are carrot and celery sticks, with a little salt if you like. They sure beat chips if weight is an issue for you.

It's heading toward cooler weather here in Australia, which can be a danger time for many trying to lose weight. One tip is to use a little water instead of oil to saute food. Try it when making a tomato sauce for spaghetti bolognaise next time. There's still a lot of flavour, with a lot less fat.

Being a good wife!

Encouraging others to get to the weight they want to get to can be a thankless task. Others would much rather whinge and whine about their weight problem, than do anything useful about it.

For women married to chubby chaps, you usually have the opportunity to cook healthy low fat, low cal meals. But so many times you do that, your loved one acts like you're starving them, and say they want what they used to eat.

What to do? Sometimes you have to become secretive, and sneak in healthy bits and pieces instead of the usual high cal foods your spouse is accustomed to. If you are the one who does the shopping, just don't buy the usual nuts and chips that are snacked on mindlessly by others in the household.

Another way of reducing fat in meals is to bake rather than fry, and to cook things in a little water that you used to saute with oil.

Try to have plenty of fresh or dried fruit options instead of the bad old ones. Dates are very satisfying, and breakfast cereal, especially a low fat, low cal one can fill the need for chips quite well.

You can encourage romantic walks in the moonlight - lots of fun to take the kids along too. Visits to the beach, no matter the season, can be a fun way to get a bit of extra exercise too.

If you have a dog, there are no excuses for not doing any exercise - the average canine companion is always ready to go for a stroll, any time, any weather.

One very important thing to remember, is to praise good behaviour. If your man snacks on fruit instead of having a beer, make sure you tell him he's done a good thing. Men can take a lot longer than women to grow up, and they're like kids in this regard. Praise, and find healthy rewards.