Summer is almost here!

1. Load up on water

Drinking water rids your body of bad toxins, while also keeping you hydrated so that your summer workouts are more effective. It is best to start each meal with a tall glass of water, as it prevents you from mistaking thirst for hunger and thus overeating. As a rule of thumb, you should drink at least half your body weight in ounces every day. Additionally, drinking ice-cold water helps to speed up your metabolism, pushing your body to work harder – or burn more calories – to maintain its ideal inner temperature. Drinking the right amount of water is one of the easiest ways to say slim this summer, so get to it!

2. Eat breakfast

Eating breakfast is the best way to kick-start your metabolism for the day. By keeping you energized early on, it ensures that you get the most out of your workouts and continue to burn calories for the remainder of the day. When we wake up, our blood sugar levels – the fuel used by our brain and muscles – are usually low. Eating breakfast is what helps to replenish this. While sometimes we feel rushed to leave the house and therefore skip out on eating breakfast, it is important to remember that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. If we don’t fuel our bodies in the morning, our low energy levels will likely cause us to snack on high-fat, high-sugar foods and overeat later in the day. So get your beach body by making sure you eat a healthy breakfast; load up on some fruit and oatmeal, yogurt, or hard-boiled eggs!

3. Three meals a day keeps you energized

Make sure you eat three meals a day to keep you full and energetic. Giving yourself three opportunities to eat throughout the day gets rid of your chances of overeating and gaining weight.

However, while monitoring the amount you eat is important to both losing and keeping off weight, make sure your meals are jam-packed with protein complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables.

4. Load up on protein and fiber

An essential part of slimming down is by building more lean muscle. Aside from giving you a fit and sexy look, muscle aids in boosting your metabolism so that you can burn more fat. To receive the benefits of added muscle, fill your plate with sources of lean protein – fish (ie. tuna, salmon, and mackerel that are high in omega-3 fatty acids), eggs, chicken, and turkey.

Aside from protein, fibrous foods can also help you get the body you want for the summer. Fiber works by keeping you feeling full for longer, reducing your appetite and helping you eat less without trying. You can find fiber in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (ie. brown rice, quinoa, whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, etc.). Unlike conventional carbohydrates, fiber is not easily digested by our bodies, meaning it passes quickly through our systems without making our blood sugar levels rise. Women: aim to eat 25 grams of fiber a day. Men: shoot for 38 grams a day.

5. Control your portions

Keeping your portions in check is crucial to maintaining a slim physique. As a rule of thumb, your servings of carbohydrates and protein (or anything besides fruits and vegetables, for that matter) should be about the size of your fist. The rest of your plate – about a half of it, actually – should be filled with nutrient-packed fruits and veggies. It is important to note that while you may think eating a lot of “healthy” foods is good, eating too much of anything is counterintuitive to weight loss.

6. Cut back on liquid calories (Ie. Alcohol)

One of the easiest ways to cut back on your daily calorie intake is by substituting all liquid drinks with water. Not only do drinks such as Lemonade or sodas increase the amount of sugar you consume and thus lead to weight gain, they also slow down the progress you make at the gym. This is the same with alcohol. By replacing cocktails with water, you are likely to save you an average of 200 calories per day.

7. Don’t eat after 9pm

It’s important that you give your body enough time to digest your food before bed. Eating too close to your bedtime does not allow your body to burn off the calories from your food, therefore leading you to store more fat. Additionally, eating a large meal close to the time your head hits the pillow means you are more likely to get worse sleep. This is because your stomach needs to work to digest your food, often causing you to stir. In effect, sleep deprivation slows your metabolism and aids in weight gain. So, to get beach body ready, lock up those snacks to ensure that you aren’t tempted to munch after 9 pm. This will also help prevent you from feeling and looking bloated the next morning. Now who would want that when wearing a swimsuit?