How to deal with Summer!

 

WE all know that it is really flipping hot right now, and has been for quite a few weeks.

I visited my Mum this week and she has no grass left, just a dead brown patch, we have a little here as we have had some rain, but it's really looking like summer out there eh?

IT'S not everyone's favourite season, I like the heat, you can feel the vitamin D seeping into you, making you well, but it's not the best for being stuck in hot cars or offices, and if you work outside in it all day, it gets really tiring.

SO today I thought I would share some hints and tips with you on how to deal with the niggly bits that summer brings with it!

THE HEAT

- Keep curtains closed and windows open at home if it's safe to do so.

- Wear a hat! 

- Use freezer packs in cars, offices, lunch bags! Ice packs will be your best friend, and if you put them behind a fan you can guarantee a cold breeze rather than warm air being blown about.

- Wrist-cooling is far more efficient at bringing your core temperature down, run your wrists under a cold tap or plunge them into iced water. 

- Portable fans, particularly re-chargeable ones are great for on the go, particularly the ones that can clip on to things!

- Don't be annoyed with the heat, remember these temperatures when it's icy out and you are moaning about the cold, it's summer, this should be normal for summer so enjoy it when you can, little and often in the sunshine, feel the warmth on your face.

- Wear loose clothes, floaty clothes, remember that sunscreen is full of chemicals that are more than likely carcinogenic, get some sun on your skin, but you are better covering up with clothes than chemicals.

- Exercise yourself and your dogs very early in the morning, I get up between 5-5.30am, it's cool out and you can make the best of it, rather than risking sun/heat stroke later in the day, and remember, you don't have to exercise every day anyway, use it as valuable rest, maybe do some yoga in the shade.

- Remember to hydrate, but what is also important is to ensure that you are also putting back lost minerals into your body that you lost from sweat. Particularly sodium - use sea salt, magnesium - I take a supplement for this, potassium - spinach, salmon, dairy products. My favourite trick when exercising is to lick the back of my hands and forearms, then you are putting some of your own lost minerals back into your body! You look weird doing it, but it really works! Trust me!

- AVOID diving into lakes, rivers, the sea etc unless it's something you do regularly, or make sure there are others around. The shock from cold water can still harm you even with these temperatures.

There are lots more things I could write, but you aren't stupid, you know how to keep cool!

NUTRITION.

- Eat salad! Easy to eat, no warm ovens, lots of vitamins, and you can make them special, add grated carrots, olives, nuts and seeds, go crazy and creative with them.

- BBQ your meat, cooking outside so no hot ovens again!

- When you feel too hot and bloated to eat, use this as a period of fasting, it's really good for your body and then you can eat when you are ready to. Just because culturally we are forced the 3 meal a day plus snacks doesn't mean that you have to do it! 

- As with the 'heat' section, make sure that you stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and caffeine as these will severely dehydrate you even more. 

- Milk is extremely hydrating!

HOLIDAYS.

- Not everyone can afford a summer holiday, I know that I can't, I can't even afford to take two days off work being self-employed, so make sure that you treat yourself at some point this summer, even just an evening out once a week if you can do it. Or put your bikini on at home and have a picnic, with the weather we are having at the moment when you close your eyes you could be anywhere!

- All inclusive holidays are great, but I often see a lot of stress around them, people going off their usual diet plans because they don't want to waste the money! Here's what you can do, eat and drink what you wouldn't normally do, make it special, if you usually drink lager, have yourself a special cocktail and savour it, don't fill up on tacky carbs, eat exotic meats and fish, taste something different but keep it to a minimum. But if all else fails, you have the joys of intermittent fasting and training when you get home! Live a little! 

WHAT TO WEAR TO FEEL GOOD.

- We are all very different shapes and sizes. I get a lot of people doing fitness with me to get fit and toned for a holiday, but what if you haven't lost as much weight as you would have liked for summer? Wear clothes that suit your body type, and ask a VERY honest friend what they think of what you are wearing. Sarongs could be your friend, floaty yoga pants, but make sure that you are cool and what you wear flatters your body type, then you can have more confidence to go out in less! I know that some swimsuits and bikinis make me look a bit too 'athletic' because I lack the boobs and curves to carry off some outfits, so I choose sporty-type bikinis and outfits that suit me, giving the confidence I need to keep cool in less. 

- AND you could just go with the thinking that if you are happy, then stuff everyone else! That works too!

I'm not going to waffle on any longer and insult your intelligence, but maybe something I have written you haven't thought of and it's helped you.

Most importantly have a healthy, happy summer, make the most of every day and create some wonderful memories!