Read 39 times since Wednesday, July 28, 2010
When you think of summer, what's the first thought that comes to mind?
Is it spending hours and hours on the beach, turning your British-white skin a beautiful golden colour, whilst jumping in and out of the sea and eating beautiful Mediterranean salads, full of lettuces, peppers and olives?
How about spending days out with the family, taking a picnic with you whilst you go to a theme park or play football or cricket in the park with dozens of other families who are all thinking the same thing?
Now what about your second thought, the one that becomes apparent when you think a little deeper?
Maybe a barbecue with all of your friends every weekend, where copious cans of beer are drunk alongside bottles upon bottles of wine, whilst eating burgers, sausages and kebabs, before finishing off with ice cream?
And for some, sitting and relaxing at home without the stress of work is all that the summer is about.
At first, the summer seems like a particularly healthy time of year, but as soon as you look into it a little further, it becomes apparent that it is in fact one of the unhealthiest - that is, unless you keep an eye on what you're doing.
For anyone who doesn't have a gym membership which they use two or three times a week, saying "staying fit" during the summer months can seem to make them instantly a little depressed.
Miles and miles of running? Only eating a leafy salad? No alcohol? It's understandable if you associate these things with staying fit and healthy that it's not going to be a particularly happy time.
The truth is, however, whilst these things are ways to stay fit, they are generally for those who are looking to slim down and get ready for an event, such as a race or a marathon.
For everyday people who just don't want to pile on the pounds throughout July and August, things don't need to be as strict as this.
Take your eating and drinking habits through the summer as an example. Look at a standard barbecue; you might think that a barbecued burger in a bun, a sausage, some potatoes and a salad would all be healthy.
And they are - until you look at the white bread of the bun, the mayonnaise and cheese to accompany it, the salad dressing over the salad and the butter you put on your potatoes.
Ditch these, however and you've got yourself a particularly healthy summer meal.
In addition, with alcoholic beverages, stay away from beer and lager and stick to a clear spirit with a diet mixer. Apart from being particularly refreshing, you'll save yourself around 100 calories per drink.
As for exercise, just do what we all are given two legs for - walking.
As tempting as it can be to get a taxi to your friends house for the barbecue, spending 30 minutes walking there - a great amount of time to spend walking each day - will do you a whole lot of good, as well as saving you a few pounds.
And if you're finding it difficult to fit 30 minutes waking into your schedule, look at how you can walk a little further in your normal activities. For example, most of us could park a little further away from work and so if you can park 15 minutes away, that's a 30 minute walk each day.
Staying fit this summer is a lot easier than you might initially believe -it just requires for you to think a little about what you're eating, what you're drinking and how you get from A to B. It really is that simple. For more information about gym membership, visit the Fitness First website at http://www.fitnessfirst.co.uk.
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