Four Places You Should Watch What You're Eating This Summer If You're Looking To Lose Weight

So summer has arrived and you want to drop a few pounds so you can show off your body in the bikini on holiday or feel more comfortable around your mates as you walk around in just your shorts.

Whilst signing up to some type of fitness regime anywhere in the country is recommended, whether it's a gym in Birmingham or a health club in Brighton, you also need to take into consideration what you're eating.

Fortunately, the summer months are generally a naturally healthy time in respect of people's diets. Salads are in abundance, food is often grilled on the barbecue and as it's sometimes too warm during the day, instead of unhealthy snacks, you consume more water.

This is, however, just a broad view and there are several places that eating healthily doesn't come as natural throughout the summer, with the following four points being some of the most obvious.

1. Picnic - almost everyone will have a picnic of some sort this summer, whether it's in a local park or from the boot of a car in a theme park car park.

Whilst it may be easy in theory to be healthy with a picnic, as you can include whatever you want, a lot of people overlook this and as a short reminder, don't pack crisps, use wholegrain bread for sandwiches, ditch the chocolate biscuits for fresh fruit and lay off the fizzy pop - diluted juice is just as tasty but so much better for you.

2. Beach - spending a day at the beach is something a lot of us have been able to do so far this summer and something which we all hope we can do more of.

Remember, however, that just because you're at the beach doesn't mean you have to come off your diet - say no to the ice cream (especially if with a chocolate flake) and don't be tempted by rock or candy floss - they both might be tasty, but they're packed full of sugars.

3. Car journey - the motorways are always jam packed throughout the summer months, as people drive up and down the motorway to go on holiday or visit friends and family.

For the journey, the easiest foods are sausage rolls, crisps and chocolate bars, primarily because they're pre-packed by the shop and require no preparation.

The healthiest foods however are vegetable sticks (such as carrot batons), bread sticks with low fat humus and fresh fruit pieces (strawberries and pineapples work great).

4. Summer lunches - whether it's Sex and the City style lunches with your friends in an uptown restaurant, you and your mates in the pub for an hour over lunch or a romantic brunch in an outdoor cafe, 'doing lunch' is great during the summer.

Having lunch at this time of year is even better if you can resist the cream scones, high carb pasta dishes and alcoholic beverages - once or twice throughout the summer isn't going to harm, but just make sure you don't make it a regular occurrence or you really will regret it when you jump on the scales.

For more information about joining a gym in Birmingham, visit the Fitness First website at http://www.fitnessfirst.co.uk/gyms-in-birmingham.aspx.