The sins of summer. You all know what I am talking about when I say this, right? Glasses of wine on patios, cocktails on docks, barbeques on boats, and bonfires on beaches all cause us to wonder why our fall wardrobe is just a little snug come autumn.
Trust me, I am there with you, as are the majority of my clients, and the common conversation during our workouts right now is the thin layer of extra weight we have somehow managed to coat our skeleton with while away on our summer vacations.
Don’t panic! But also, don’t wait too long to do something about this, or you will find yourself going to work in sweatpants when the leaves start changing. If you allow yourself to put on a pound or two every summer, plus another pound or two each Christmas season, in 10 years you will be up 40 pounds without even realizing, and then you are in trouble.
Summer is about having fun, but the fun needs to stop, and for the next four weeks, if you are like me and have put on a little bit of weight, it is time to clean up your act. With a little bit of hard work, dedication and consistency, you will be fine.
Here is the plan, and if you choose to follow it you will see those pounds gone in just a few weeks. Start each morning out with a glass of lemon water. This is not only going to help you hydrate but also cleanse your liver, get your immune system going and help you lose weight (if you are replacing other high calorie drinks you would normally consume in the morning with water).
Have a healthy, high protein breakfast. Starting your day with complex carbohydrates and protein will even out your blood sugars, which will make sure you are not crashing a few hours later and reaching for a sugary “pick me up”. I have three breakfasts that I rotate through: a Vega smoothie with kale, avocado, berries and water, 2 soft boiled eggs on 1 piece of ancient grains bread or steal cut oats with hemp hearts and berries.
Bring a water bottle with you to work and fill it up 3 times in your day and set an alarm to remind yourself to drink if you find you are forgetting. Do not worry if you are running to the washroom every 15 minutes, as once your body rehydrates itself and has secreted the water it had stored, you will find your bladder will be back to normal.
No more unhealthy snacks. Say goodbye to chips, baked goods or anything else that we know we should not be putting into our bodies. If we keep providing our body sugar, why would it need to break into its stored fat? This isn’t forever, so you are not saying goodbye to your favourite treats indefinitely, just for a couple of weeks. However, when those couple of weeks are over it is not as though you can go back to the way things were in the summer. Treats once in a while are ok, just not every day.
Up your workouts. Get your body moving daily. Pick something in the fall to train for, sign up and start training. I always love training for a fall running race as the weather is always perfect. Change your routine and explore new ways of moving. I have one client who just took up pole dancing classes and two others that are training for their first 10km run.
Put down the alcohol, or at least limit your alcohol consumption. Turn your wine into wine spritzers, switch to a light beer and get rid of sugary mixes.
If you start to make changes now, one at a time, by mid-autumn the little layer of fat we have managed to store on our bodies will be gone and the only evidence you will have of a summer of indulgences will be fond memories and Instagram photos.
