During the summer season our eating habits change. Summer vacations, as well as our tendency to spend more time outside the house can affect the choice of meals and drinks and therefore the calories consumed.

However, many factors can affect our mood and appetite, contributing in a beneficial way to maintaining or even losing our body weight.

Adequate hydration of the body

An increase in ambient temperature significantly affects nutritional intake. Our body heats up, causing intense sweating and a consequent increased feeling of thirst. This can lead to reduced food intake and at the same time to a preference for foods that contain large amounts of water.

In addition to fluids that contribute significantly to the hydration of the body, fruits, vegetables and by extension oily foods offer equally significant amounts of water as their content reaches up to 90%. At the same time, these foods, in addition to being rich in water, contain a lot of fiber and are relatively low in calories. If we are careful about the amount of olive oil added during the preparation of the oils and the salad, then the total caloric content of the diet can be kept low. The increased amount of fiber they contain leads to the filling of the stomach and therefore the feeling of satiety, helping those interested in maintaining a normal body weight.

On the contrary, high temperatures act as a deterrent to the consumption of large meals, as well as fatty foods. Meals that contain heavy sauces and saturated fat are more indigestible and cause discomfort during digestion, while increasing the heat produced by our body.

Small & light meals

A good alternative is small and light meals that will contain protein with little fat, such as poultry and fish in combination with a carbohydrate source (bread, rice, pasta, potato) and salad with fresh vegetables and a small amount of olive oil. At the same time, for intermediate meals (snacks), prefer cool fruit, low-fat yogurt or smoothies. Also, avoiding strict deprivation practices, you can choose a simple scoop of ice cream for dessert 1-2 times a week, so that you do not greatly exceed the intake of calories.

Consumption of alcohol and sweets in moderation!

Continuing on the same reasoning, in order not to completely deprive yourself of the enjoyment of a favorite cocktail or drink, for those whose physical condition allows, limit yourself to 1-2 drinks or cocktails per week. Remember, though, that cocktails usually contain drinks with high levels of alcohol but also sugar, which implies a higher caloric content. Alternative lower calorie option is a glass of cold beer or a glass of wine.

Exercise by swimming or walking

As the days are longer, the summer months are a good opportunity to increase your physical activity. Swimming in the sea, summer walks and any other form of exercise that pleases you are ways to keep active on a daily basis, enhancing the functioning of the metabolism and the burning of fat mass.

Finally, good weather contributes to improving our mood and mobilizing us, in contrast to the winter months, where the cold and bad weather can lead us to resort to eating comfort food in order to feel, temporarily, better.

So to summarize, the adequate hydration of our body either through the consumption of plenty of water or foods rich in liquids, the observance of small and light meals, the adoption of moderation in the consumption of drinks and sweets, as well as the inclusion of any form of physical activity are factors that they can act synergistically in maintaining our body weight.