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Active Lifestyles: 5 ways to get your body ready for summer

First off, no matter where you are with your “summer body,” you are amazing. You don’t have to have washboard abs and the perfect booty to be ready for summer. How your body is right now is wonderful and you are beautiful just the way you are. 

That being said, I know that for me, I personally enjoy working out to not only look good, but feel good too. It is a pastime I enjoy and I love the feeling of pushing myself to be better than the day before.

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I also recognize that over this past year of college, I may have gotten too many late night pizzas have let myself slack off a little in my routine of working out at the Rec and eating healthy food. I am still happy with the way I am, and if someone handed me a swimsuit and told me to go put it on, I wouldn’t be afraid.

At the same time though, I am always up for a little improvement. And though it is only March, the best way to get the results you want for June is to start slow and steady now. That way you will be able to build new, healthy habits instead of trying to drop a lot of weight in one short burst. These things are what I have been doing to start getting ready for summer break!

1. Eat Fresh Fruit in the Morning.

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(photo courtesy of Ashim D’Silva via Unsplash.com)

A great way to fuel yourself for the whole day is to start off in the morning by eating fruit. This is because fruit is one of the easiest things for your body to digest and eating it right off the bat (before you eat your actual breakfast) will help kick start your body and give it a big dose of healthy sugars, fiber, and vitamins. The key is to eat more than just one piece. It needs to be at least a couple servings. What I like to do is wake up and drink a glass of water, go wash my face and do my morning routine, then come back and eat at least 2 oranges (I love how juicy and hydrating they are). Personally, I like to wait a little bit before going back and eating my actual breakfast for the day, but it’s all personal preference!

I find that by doing this, I start my day off with the mindset that I did something great for myself, which helps me to make better food choices throughout the day, and more importantly it gives me the energy I need to find the motivation to workout later in the day if I don’t choose to do it that morning. Another bonus is that the fiber from the fruit helps keep your tummy super flat and not bloated!

2. Exercise

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(photo courtesy of Maria Soledad via Unsplash.com)

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Gasp! I know it sounds crazy, but yes, exercising needs to be an essential part of your day if you really want to see the results in time for (and hopefully all throughout) summer. I find that what works is making yourself promise to at least just do 20-30 minutes per day, especially on the days you can’t find time to do a super long workout.

Everyone has 20 minutes a day right? For me, I personally love running as my go to form of exercise. I also like lifting weights (not as scary as it sounds), yoga and fitness classes at the Rec Center, but running seems to be most convenient. And, a lot of the time, I find that the beginning is the hardest part, so as long as I can get myself out the door, I am usually able to get at least 20 minutes in. But, exercising isn’t just the time dedicated to an actual workout. Do calf raises while you brush your teeth, or lunges on the way to the kitchen from your room. You can wake up and do 10 quick push ups every day and maybe ride your bike to campus if you have time instead of driving there. All the activities you do add up to what your summer bod will look like.

The more little sneaky exercises you throw in throughout the day, the better you will look and feel by the time you are ready to splash around in the pool.

3. Try the Gallon Challenge

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The gallon challenge is basically just a challenge that is designed to help you drink more water throughout the day. For some, it may be a little extreme to drink a gallon or two a day, but everyone should shoot for half their body weight in ounces, plus 10-20 extra ounces if you regularly work out.

We have all heard how important it is to drink tons of water because of how it helps us with bloating, obtaining clear skin, more energy and creating a better performance in workouts, as well as many other reasons why we should be chuggin’ the stuff in order to get that summer body (as well as just be a healthy human, duh!). Get creative with how you consume it! A great way to spice up boring water is to drink plain or lightly sweetened tea or add fruit to your water bottle for a flavorful twist! Go check out this challenge here and start drinking!

4. Join the Veggie Bandwagon

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I’m not saying that every body needs to go vegetarian just because I like the idea of it, and I am also not saying that you shouldn’t ever nom on a doughnut or some super deep fried whatever, because I think you should definitely do what you want.

What I am saying is that there is tons of really interesting research out on the World Wide Web and in books that advocate for the benefits of eating more whole food and plant-based meals.

It helps with skin appearance, cancer prevention (and curing), emotional imbalances, and of course… weightloss! I suggest substituting one or two meals per day with as many fresh, whole and minimal-to-none processed foods as possible as well as substituting high fat, low nutrition snacks with high carb (like fruit or whole grains), low fat munchies instead. Like they say (who is “they?”), your dream body is made 80 percent in the kitchen and only 20 percent in the gym. Don’t let your hard work and sweat get put to waste by eating so poorly that you don’t see the results. We have to be conscious about what we are putting in our bodies while we are working toward that summer bod.

5. Go Easy On Yourself

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(photo courtesy of Alex Jones via Unsplash.com)

The thing is, you are never going to be perfect (literally, I just had pizza before I started writing this post, so there’s that).

You may be on this great streak of eating great and working out every day, but a time is gonna come when you just wanna skip your workout even when it’s not a rest day or buy a huge Starbucks for a treat! I personally like the caramel ribbon crunch with extra caramel drizzle, hehe. Just do it!

You need to learn to love working out and eating right because you truly enjoy it, not because you hate your body. Not letting yourself slack off once in a while will make you resent what you are doing instead of see positive results not only in your physical appearance, but also your mental attitude toward trying to develop a healthier lifestyle. So, take a “cheat day” once in a while as long as you know that you will be right back on that grind the next day.

A hot summer body is just about confidence in who you are and how you look right now, not punishing yourself because you aren’t good enough yet for swimsuit season. Love yourself and workout and eat well for the right reasons (like just because it’s AMAZING for your health) and the results will naturally appear on their own.

Collegian blogger Katy Mueller can be found at blogs@collegian.com or on Twitter @katymueller13

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When commenting on The Collegian’s website, please be respectful of others and their viewpoints. The Collegian reviews all comments and reserves the right to reject comments from the website. Comments including any of the following will not be accepted. 1. No language attacking a protected group, including slurs or other profane language directed at a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, age, physical or mental disability, ethnicity or nationality. 2. No factually inaccurate information, including misleading statements or incorrect data. 3. No abusive language or harassment of Collegian writers, editors or other commenters. 4. No threatening language that includes but is not limited to language inciting violence against an individual or group of people. 5. No links.
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    Bumpy JohnsonMar 10, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    great article

    Reply