5 Tips for Starting Your Summer Beach Body in the Spring

The holidays are behind us, which means it’s time to start getting our summer bodies ready! Even though it’s never too early to make healthy choices, spring is the perfect time to take fun fitness classes, cut down on drinking, stay hydrated, and try meditating in order to make sure we feel as good as possible in our favorite bathing suits. After all, it’s not all about how you look to others, but about the way you see yourself!

Here are 5 tips for getting your summer body ready this spring.

1. Make healthy eating choices.

During the holiday season, maintaining healthy eating habits may seem impossible. It’s okay to relax and enjoy yourself as long as you get back on track afterward!

Your diet is the single most important factor when it comes to your weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. If you want to gain weight, you need to eat more calories, and to maintain your current weight, you need to eat the same amount of calories. You can track these calories with virtually any fitness watch, which allows you to log food and monitor how many calories you burn in an average day. If you don’t own a watch, though, you can calculate how many calories you burn online as long as you know your biological sex, weight, height, and exercise habits.

A healthy diet isn’t all about numbers, though; it’s also about making the healthiest choices you can when you’re presented with lots of options. It can be as simple as ordering a salad instead of a burger while you’re at a restaurant or skipping the snack aisle at the grocery store and opting for produce instead. Generally, fruits, vegetables, and proteins will have fewer calories than junk food anyway; plus, they’re full of vitamins and nutrients that help you look and feel your best! We promise you’ll feel a difference in your skin, energy levels, and, of course, weight.

2. Take advantage of fun fitness classes.

Almost as important as your diet is the amount of exercise you get in a given week! Some people enjoy going on runs, some hitting the gym, but exercise doesn’t come easily to everyone, and trying to make a run or gym session “fun” can feel daunting and discouraging. That’s why we can’t recommend fitness classes enough!

Do you love dancing? Try Zumba. Do you prefer a calmer environment? Try Yoga. Between Pilates, Bootcamp, Spinning, Crossfit, Boxing, Rockclimbing, Aerial Acrobatics, and more, there’s at least one fitness class for everyone. You might be worried about the price, but thanks to deals and free trials that so many gyms offer at the beginning of the year, you’ll probably be able to try any fitness class you want for free. Make sure you have toned muscles to show off this swimsuit season by taking advantage of all of the options available to you!

3. Cut down on alcohol.

Food isn’t the only thing we’re guilty of binging during the holidays; when there’s a lot to celebrate and feel grateful for, it’s easy to lose count of the glasses of wine we share with our loved ones. When you’re ready to get your summer body back, though, it’s really important to cut back on alcohol consumption–maybe even cut it out entirely!

One glass of red wine on occasion can help lower your risk of heart disease, so there ARE some potential health benefits that come with drinking alcohol. But the downsides of drinking alcohol are all the empty calories you’re consuming, the way alcohol contributes to belly fat, alcohol’s dehydrating effects, and the way that alcohol impedes our judgment, especially when it comes to food. Basically, when it comes to weight, alcohol isn’t going to do you any favors. Reduce the number of calories you consume, keep your belly trim, keep your decision-making skills sharp, and stay hydrated. If you enjoy a glass of wine a night, try replacing it with herbal tea instead. It’ll hydrate you AND help you sleep better!

Speaking of hydration…

4. Drink LOTS of water.

Proper hydration is necessary for your body to function normally, but it also has a great impact on your weight. Did you know that drinking lots of water can increase the number of calories you burn, reduce the number of calories you consume, AND keep your appetite at bay? Many studies have shown that drinking half a liter of water before you exercise may increase the number of calories you burn in an hour, which can help you either maintain or lose weight, depending on what your goals are! Try drinking a half-liter of water before your next fun fitness class to see how it benefits you!

Additionally, water has zero calories, which means you can drink as much as you want without fear of gaining weight. In fact, the more you drink, the better! Water makes your belly feel full, which makes you want to eat less. Try drinking a glass of water before each meal to see if it helps you eat less, especially if you know your next meal is going to be full of unhealthy calories.

5. Try meditation to get in a healthier state of mind.

At the end of the day, you can eat as few calories and get as much exercise as you want, but the thing that matters most about your summer body is the way you see yourself. As long as YOU feel confident in your own skin, you already have your summer body! If you need a little help in the self-love department, meditation is a great place to start. It quiets your mind and gives you perspective on the things that matter most. Pair it with exercise and healthy eating choices and you’ll feel great about yourself in no time. If you don’t know where to start, there are plenty of meditation apps for smartphones to help you out!

Summer is coming, and your summer body is just within reach. Stick to a healthy diet, get some exercise, cut down on alcohol, drink lots of water, and elevate your state of mind, and you’ll be there in no time!