If you think a summer diet means filling up on salads, downing fruity mocktails and skipping dinner, then you’ve got it all wrong! Rhea Dhanbhoora tells you about the most common diet mistakes you’re likely to make during summer
Eating Salads Instead Of Meals
A nice, cooling salad seems like a better idea than a hot meal. But, if you live on salads through summer, you’re missing out on a lot of nutrients and possibly eating several hidden calories as well. You can’t live only on vegetables and instead of keeping you healthy and cool, it will make you feel more irritable, because you’ll be unsatisfied.
Ice Water & Drinks
If you can’t stop chewing on ice, you need to go and get checked for anemia. However, even if you just prefer ice cold water to cool off during summer, think twice before guzzling it down whenever you step in from the sun. It won’t cool you down and it definitely won’t keep you slim, trim or healthy. In fact, it will give you a headache because of the sudden cold rush to your head. Even iced drinks, apart from the sugar content, will not help you cool down or stave off the calories.
Beer Before A Meal
We know how tempting it is to reach for a cold beer before a meal, or during lunch, but this isn’t good for your health. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea and during summer, it gets worse, because the sun drains you of energy. If you are going to indulge, make sure you’ve eaten properly before.
Sugary Treats
We know that while hot rum is a good drink to have during winter, picking a ‘summer’ cocktail isn’t the best idea when the temperature soars. Most summer cocktails, such as daiguiris and pina coladas, have high sugar content, which combined with the heat, will make you feel sluggish instead of being as refreshing as they promise to be.
Drinking Your Breakfast
A smoothie is not a good breakfast option for summer. Smoothies are full of calories, even if you make them with no sugar. They also don’t leave you feeling full for long; in fact, the actual fruit could be more satisfying. So, it’s better to eat than drink, especially when it comes to breakfast.
Eating Light
You need more nutrients during summer and eating light defeats the purpose. Summer reduces your appetite, but you must eat a balanced diet as the heat drains your energy faster.
Too Many Fruits
Think you can drink less water because your tummy is full with the so-called nutritious fruits you’ve been walloping? Think again. A lot of fruits, such as grapes, have more sugar content than nutrients and since sugar makes you sluggish during hotter months — well, you know that’s not a good idea.