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Nutrition Information |
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Three Steps to Preparing your Body for Summer
Summer is not too far away. It is almost time for shorts, tank tops, and bathing suits. Time to prepare the body for not only looking good in such few clothes, but preparing the body for the effects of the heat and sun. Three important steps to this preparation include exercise, eating foods high in antioxidants, and drinking plenty of water. The National Weight Control Registry and a Consumer's Report survey of 32,000 people both show that people who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off have all followed some consistent guidelines, which has included regular exercise, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, following a low fat diet, and eating primarily healthy fats. The advantage of regular exercise not only includes weight loss, but more important is that consistent exercise results in body fat loss and development of muscle tone, which shows most when clothes are skimpier. This improvement can be felt quickly, as the muscles are worked and get used to the demands made of them. When you feel more fit, you start to hold yourself up, stronger and prouder. Posture improves and you just look better, overall. For someone who has not been exercising regularly, after a quick checkup by your doctor, simple walking can be a great way to get started! But, in order for it to be effective, you have to do it on a regular basis; at least 3-5 days a week. When just starting out, 3 days a week of 20 minutes per walk may be plenty. It may even be a challenge at first! If you keep it up, though, shortly it will get easier. As it gets easier, progression to 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week will be more effective. If someone started walking 4 miles per hour (15 minutes per mile) for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, they will start burning roughly an extra 1500 calories a week. Although this will only result the loss of a few pounds in 10 weeks, the increase in your resting metabolic rate will also increase with regular exercise. Your resting metabolic rate is how many calories you burn at rest. The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you burn when just sitting! So, without even changing the way you eat, you're already working towards some weight loss. This brings us to the second step for preparing the body for summer, which is making some changes to the diet by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables. There are three advantages to a diet high in fruits and vegetables; 1. these foods are rich in antioxidants, which help protect the skin from the harmful, oxidating effects of the sun and toxic chemicals from the hot air, 2. they also have been shown to help fight against heart disease, cancer and obesity, 3. finally, they will fill you up on fewer total calories because they are high in fiber and bulk. If a person were to eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which is the recommendation of many health organizations, today, they would feel fuller on fewer net calories by the end of the day. Theoretically, they could end up eating 200-500 fewer calories per day, which further helps with weight loss. Plus, you would feel better, your hair, skin and nails would look better, and you would become more regular. The final important step to preparing for summer is to increase your intake of water. Sixty percent of our body is water. Studies have shown that a diet adequate in water helps with weight loss, helps moisten skin, decreases dryness, can help prevent the development of wrinkles, keeps the hands and lips moist, can help fight heat exhaustion, and even has shown to decrease bladder cancer in men. Although there is a lot of debate over just how much water each of us needs, a good individual rule of thumb is to drink enough water so that your urine is clear by the afternoon. Worry about staying up all night going to the bathroom? Then drink most of your water in the first half of the day. Don't like water? Then experiment with various temperatures of plain water, or add a slice of lemon or orange to your water. Perhaps you can find a flavored (not sweetened) water. Even eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and getting plenty of other fluids can be adequate for some, because these foods and other fluids also provide free water for the body's needs. Now is the time to start getting ready for summer! It is not too late. If you start on these steps now, you will be well on your way to feeling great, looking great, and be prepared for a new you this summer, strutting your stuff in those brand new shorts that are sitting in your closet. Marjorie Geiser is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. Marjorie has been the owner of a successful small business, MEG Fitness, since 1996, and now helps other nutrition professionals start up their own private practice. To learn more about the services Margie offers, go to her website at http://www.megfit.com or email her at [email protected].
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MORE RESOURCES: Top 5 most-read stories last week: Vacation rentals, workforce housing and housing inventory SummitDaily.com Committee seeks to halt vacation rental requests Evanston RoundTable Do you support Maui’s proposal to convert some 6,100 vacation rentals into longterm rentals? Honolulu Star-Advertiser Why Boutique Vacation Rentals Are the New Luxury Luxury Travel Magazine Maui panel passes bill curbing vacation rentals to boost housing supply after Lahaina wildfire CBS News Maui County Council committee approves bill to phase out thousands of vacation rentals Hawaii News Now Maui Plan To Phase Out Thousands Of Short-Term Rentals Advances Honolulu Civil Beat Vacation rentals back on council agenda Evanston Now Restore Zoning to Safeguard Nantucket’s Seasonal Economy Nantucket Current Maui measure to phase out half of the island's vacation rentals moves forward Hawaii Public Radio Shock Vote: Maui Committee Passes Rental Ban Proposal Beat of Hawaii ‘We don’t have a neighborhood’: Residents feel outnumbered on this Hilton Head street Hilton Head Island Packet 5 Stays Where Pets Are Treated Like Guests, Not Tagalongs Luxury Travel Magazine This Battle Over Maui Rentals Just Hit A Boiling Point Beat of Hawaii Don Miller | Maui moves to ban vacation rentals two years after Lahaina fires Santa Cruz Sentinel Top Vacation Rentals Near Golf Courses Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism Changes coming to Sarasota's vacation rental ordinance Your Observer Main St. request on hold, but ‘Kitschy 2 BR House’ gets vacation rental OK Evanston RoundTable Top Vrbo Coupon Codes for July 2025 Condé Nast Traveler Maui County To Phase Out Thousands Of Short-Term Vacation Rentals For Addressing Housing Crisis On Island Travel And Tour World Inside The ‘Out-Of-Control’ Debate Over Axing Maui Vacation Rentals Honolulu Civil Beat More complaints, lawsuits against Florida vacation rental company Gulf Coast News and Weather Alders flip on vacation rentals Evanston Now Honolulu Sees Doubling Of Vacation Rental Registrations Under New Rules Honolulu Civil Beat A novel idea for Maui’s housing crisis: Using vacation rental profits for residents’ down payments Maui Now Plan To Convert Maui Vacation Rentals To Long-Term Housing Delayed Honolulu Civil Beat Honolulu Hasn't Fined Airbnb, Vrbo for Illegal Short-Term Rentals Honolulu Civil Beat Study: Maui Should Phase Out Vacation Rentals With Caution Honolulu Civil Beat Deep Wood Vacation Home Rentals Visit PA Key amendments proposed for vacation rental phase-out bill ahead of Council committee hearing Maui Now Vacation Rental Study in Goleta Tells More About the Neighbors The Santa Barbara Independent Maui Council hears another 70 testifiers on vacation rental phase-out bill; still more to come Maui Now Emotions Are High As Maui Considers Phasing Out Short-Term Rentals Honolulu Civil Beat Maui Council To Take Up Bill Phasing Out Vacation Rentals This Summer Honolulu Civil Beat Vacation Rentals of the Desert Accused of Owing Property Owners, Renters Over $1 Million NBC Palm Springs Vacation Rentals of the Desert Accused of Owing Millions; Riverside DA Launches Investigation After Public Outcry NBC Palm Springs New state law requires vacation rental and hotel managers, other workers have training in human trafficking awareness Island Free Press Lanzarote already has more than 10,500 vacation homes, with more listings than registered homes La Voz de Lanzarote ‘More than doubled’: Jacksonville Beach locals blame vacation rentals for rising home costs Yahoo Home Couple who owns Manasota Key vacation rentals welcomes first renters since Hurricanes Helene, Milton FOX 13 Tampa Bay Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly Planetizen Combatting human trafficking: New training, reporting requirements for hotels, vacation rentals WRAL.com Maui vacation rental bill continues to draw passionate testimony from both sides Hawaii Public Radio City has no mercy for illegal vacation rental operators Hawaii News Now Airbnb removes 65,000 unlicensed vacation rentals in Spain and Consumer Affairs identifies another 55,000 La Voz de Lanzarote AirBnB Just Started Letting Strangers Cook in Your Rental Property (And You Don't Get Paid) KPEL 96.5 Santa Cruz County moves to rein in vacation rentals Lookout Santa Cruz Owners claim Maui residents can’t afford converted vacation rentals, UH study says otherwise Yahoo Home Community invited to briefing about proposed registration process for short-term vacation rentals Big Island Now Uncertain Economy Contributes to Slow Summer Rental Bookings The Vineyard Gazette Supreme Court: cities cannot limit vacation rentals based on owner occupancy Idaho Public Television Owners claim Maui residents can’t afford converted vacation rentals, UH study says otherwise Honolulu Star-Advertiser Maui Gets $1.6B—Can Vacation Rentals Survive What’s Coming? Beat of Hawaii Vrbo offers last minute deals on vacation rentals Short Term Rentals - News Maui mayor's plan to phase out vacation rentals would increase housing but shrink the economy AP News Housing panel looks at new rules for rent-setting algorithms, vacation rentals - Evanston RoundTable Housing panel looks at new rules for rent-setting algorithms, vacation rentals Evanston RoundTable With housing and economy at stake, Maui County weighs phase-out of 7,000 vacation rentals Hawaii Public Radio No More Vacation Rentals In Maui. Here's How The Mayor's Plan To Strip The Island of Short-Term Rental Will Affect The Economy Yahoo Finance Hawaiʻi County Council seeks more oversight with passage of vacation rental bill Hawaii Public Radio |
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