Eating healthy in summer

1. Follow a balanced diet. in hot weather we're often less hungry so we're more likely to eat raw vegetables instead of a heavy dinner. This can be dangerous because in the absence of carbs and protein you will get hungry at one point or another. So by all means eat lots of salad, but make sure you include meat, fish or eggs for protein, and rice, pasta, wheat, dried vegetables or a piece of bread for carbs. 

2. Eat 3 meals a day and keep your mealtimes regular. Even if your routine changes during the summer months, force yoursel to eat regularly: a good breakfast (fruit + dairy + carbs + a hot drink). This foundation is important for mainaining hunger and sateity mechanisms. 

3. Don’t give in to high calorie foods too often (ice cream, donuts, waffles, hot dogs, chips and other treat food). These can soon lead to weight gain and too much is not good for your health and wellbeing. Treat yourself now and then, but not more than twice a week.

4. Go easy on the pre-dinner drinks. Nibbles and cocktails can rack up the calories, so go for non-alcoholic drinks and crunchy vegetables when the nibbles and drinks are passed around, or instead of eating empty calories, have a proper 'starter' with foods like bread, prawns, meat and cheese. 

5. Easy on the seasoning. 1 tablespoonful of oil contains around 100 calories, so don't drown your salads! Use lemon juice, fresh vegetable coulis yoghurt or other sauces. 

6. Eat seasonal fruit and vegetables. Summer is the best time to benefit from them! In summer, aubergine, courgette, tomato, melon, watermelon, apricot and red fruits are full of vitamins, minerals and fibres, essential for health and fitness. They're low in calories, you can eat as much as you want without regret and thanks to their high fibre and water content, they fill you up. 

7. Don't snack. In the absence of routine (and the scales), not eating between meals will stop you from putting on weight. If you do graze, try and do it in a structured way and compensate, so that your body finds it more difficult to store excess calories.

8. Reduce your salt intake. Salt encourages water retention and makes you  hungrier. Reduce your intake of food with a high salt content (dried meat, cheese, smoked fish, sparkling water, tinned food, biscuits, ready meals etc.) and replace salt with other condiments (lemon, vinegar, herbs, spices, gherkins etc.) or use lo-salt. 

9. Watch what you eat when you go out. Eating out is part of the pleasure of going on holiday, as long as you don't overdo it. Try to avoid rich dishes and balance out your treats (for example, raw salad as a starter and fruit salad for dessert if you have steak and chips for your main course). Don't eat out more than twice a week max.

10. Drink plenty. Stay hydrated by glugging lots of still or sparkling water (flavoured water is fine as long as it's sugarfree). Drinking little and often prevents dehydration and suppresses appetite.