5 Tips for Getting Rid of Summer Bloat

This is not my stomach. I wish this was my stomach. No one who really needs to lose weight would pose for a picture.

As usual, I am rolling out of summer hair fried, liver angry, skin neglected and jeans tight. About a week ago I was lamenting the end of my favorite season, but I took a look in a full length mirror by accident yesterday and realized it is time for fall. Yes, I am hoping big sweaters will help disguise the damage done, but I am also hoping reentry to the real world will make it easier to cork the wine, put the guacamole away and find my running shoes. Just as my kids will have to remember to brush their teeth, get up early and read words not on the side of an ice cream truck, I too have to get back to the fundamentals.

Here are the 5 most simple, most useful tips I know to drop the summer weight gain, which I affectionately call bloat. Bloat is less intimidating than fat, don’t you think?

1 – Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Drink more if you can. I do understand if you’ve given birth to too many children, this may require you to stay indoors close to a toilet at all times. Do it anyway.

2. Cut back on sugar. Until you are back to normal, say no to dessert, drink your coffee unsweetened and avoid all sugary drinks.

3. Eat fiber. Not only is eating more fiber great for your health (it helps prevent cancer) it will fill you up, and keep things moving in the right direction — think beans, whole grains and brown rice.

4. ONLY eat sitting down at a table, and no, your dashboard does not count as a table.

5. Skip a meal. You heard me. I am aware this goes against what everyone else is telling you. Not only will this result in taking in less calories, you will remember what it is like to be hungry. It is not the most terrible thing in the world, and you will not starve. We’ve become a culture terrified of hunger. Not surprisingly, we are also a culture of obesity.

MOST OF ALL, do not go on a diet. Diets don’t work. They are depressing to the person on one, and annoying to the people around the person on one. Make simple, healthier choices and be patient. The “bloat” will come off.