Love Your Body This Summer

Bathing suit season is here and the first time I put on my suit, I needed to resist the urge to hide under the blankets. The good thing though is that there are so many other ways we can love our bodies this summer.

Drink Water

You hear it all the time, but it’s true. We look better, feel better and our body works better when we drink water. Especially on hot days. I was playing tennis recently and I had to go home because I was getting dizzy. I drank a bunch of water and relaxed for a few minutes and I started to feel better. If you like to drink water, but need flavor like I do, put lemons or cucumbers into your water. It’s super refreshing and adds vitamins.

Go to the Park

Does it seem to you like we humans are solar powered? Go to the park on a sunny day and you’ll see people have a little bit of a spring in their step. You may even come across a runner with a smile on their face. If you can’t get to the park, just go sit on your porch or your deck for ten or 15 minutes. Breathe deep and feel the warm on your skin. It’s like an instant pick me up.

Try a New Style

Whether it’s a new hair style or wearing something you haven’t worn before, summer fashion can be really fun and in the summer, those fashion rules are just asking to be broken. Yesterday, I wore a pleated a-line style dress in orange with brown knee high biker boots and a jean jacket. Some of us think that certain clothes are off limits because we don’t like one part of our body or another, but there’s nothing worse than sweating like a pig in a cardigan because we don’t like our arms. Trust me, on a hot day people are too focused on trying to cool themselves off to look at your arms, so go ahead and try a fun shift dress in a bright color that compliments your skin tone or hair color. Your dress will be so fantastic; no one is going to be looking at anything else.

Play With Color

This goes with the “new style”. I usually wear a lot of blacks and browns but like to make it fun with color. Try a bold coral color dress with a turquoise necklace or red pants with a blue and white striped top and gold accessories. You can wear your basic black bias cut dress to work with a great colored scarf or fun colored print bag (but just don’t do the funky scarf and printed bag at once. I like “one trend at a time”). If you don’t like being adventurous with your clothes, try a manicure or pedicure in a fun bright color.

Eat Fresh Foods

Crunchy spinach or buttery romaine hearts and carrots, creamy avocado, tomatoes bursting with flavor, cool cucumbers, crisp pea pods and tart dried cherries tossed with a light sesame dressing and grilled chicken is a spectacular lunch to eat in the park or a quick healthy dinner on a warm summer day. I also love to make smoothies, but when you buy them prepackaged at the store, they can be full of calories, expensive and have tons of added sugar. If you buy one every day at a smoothie shop or coffee place, that can cost a fortune. I blend a 5.3 ounce cup of vanilla Greek yogurt, one cup of mixed berries and one cup of skim milk. It’s 280 calories and fat free with four grams of fiber and 24 grams of protein. It makes 36 ounce smoothie (or two 18 ounce smoothies if you feel like sharing) for about $3. Try and get that at a fancy smoothie shop! Both of these are a great pick me up because when you eat healthy, you tend to feel better because you know you’re doing something good for yourself.

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