Healthy All Summer Long

By Martina Navratilova

The sun is shining, the thermometer is rising, and everyone is in shorts. Summer is here! I live in the beautiful state of Florida where it is practically summer all year round. I am an outdoorsy kind of person, so I love summer and try to enjoy it to the fullest. That means communing with nature, doing lots of outdoor activity (which usually burns more calories), and enjoying the fresh fruits and vegetables of the season. Even if you’ve spent the winter months as a couch potato, here are some ways to get a healthy summer body without trying too hard.

1. Make over your kitchen. If your fridge and pantry are filled with cookies, chips, and other diet disasters, hide them, or better yet, get rid of them entirely. Then hit places like specialty stores, co-ops, gourmet delis, farmers’ markets, and community-supported agriculture programs to stock up on organically grown fruits, vegetables, and grains. Summertime means there are more fruits and vegetables in season, so take advantage of the season’s offerings.

2. Pile more “raw foods” on your plate. I am not talking carrot sticks and celery stalks! I have been to restaurants catering to the raw foods trend that serve “cake” of raw nuts layered and iced with carob fudge, or veggie burgers, lasagna, or banana ice cream with chocolate fudge. There is nothing rabbit-like about that! At its very basic, a raw foods diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted whole grains eaten in their raw state but prepared very tastefully. No one can deny the wisdom in telling people to eat more fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods. Enjoying them raw, however, offers some additional health benefits, according to everything I’ve read on the subject. A few examples: raw foods fill you up so you lose weight more easily. They can reduce total cholesterol, as well as LDL cholesterol (the kind that gums up arteries and help normalize blood pressure. And, they improve your digestion.

3. Juice up. It is easy to get dehydrated in the heat so besides drinking plenty of water, consider enjoying fresh juices. I’ve been “juicing” since 1981, and I try to have at least two fresh juices daily, one in the morning and one in the evening. I have noticed that I am much more energetic in the morning if I start the day with a fresh juice. One of my favorite juices is carrot-apple juice made from six large carrots and two apples. One tall glass of that juice gives my body immediate access to carbohydrates, vitamins, carotenes, minerals, and other performance-boosting nutrients. Juicing is also a refreshing way to introduce raw foods into your body. In the summer, I start juicing like crazy, and my skin takes on a healthy glow. Begin with one glass of fresh juice daily. Gradually work up to a second glass. Some of the simplest juice combos I know are orange-grapefruit juice (2 oranges and 1 grapefruit), triple citrus juice (2 oranges, ½ grapefruit, and ½ lemon), carrot-beet juice (3 carrots and ½ beet), apple-pear juice (2 apples and 1 pear), and vegetable tonic (4 carrots, 2 celery stalks, a handful of parsley, and a handful of spinach). Most of these require a juicer, but it is a worthy appliance to have around.

4. Break out of your exercise rut. I never did like conventional exercises – you know, like repetitive calisthenics. In grade school, I’d go to any length to avoid them. Can you relate? But if exercise has a lot of mix-it-up variety in it – I have a short attention span – then I am game. Here are some of the things I might do on any given summer day – though not all at once: basketball, mountain biking, swimming, hiking, soccer, softball, or running on the beach.
Mix it up by performing many different summertime activities. That might include playing some sports you enjoy, working in the yard, or doing easy-on-the joint aqua activities such as swimming, or walking and running in the lake, or taking some water aerobics classes.

5. Be sun savvy. The summer sun -- I love it, but it is not always kind. Too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation can lead to sunburn, which leaves skin red and painful and may increase the risk of developing skin cancer. Make sure to slather on sunscreen and wear protective clothing. And, do not exercise when the heat index reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Exposure to high heat and humidity can result in heat cramps or exhaustion. The best time to exercise is earlier in the day or later in the day, when it is cooler. If you have a chronic health condition like diabetes or high blood pressure, be extra careful about overexerting yourself during the summer months. People with chronic diseases are more susceptible to overheating.

Follow my seasonal, easy to follow, tips and advice for maintaining a healthy lifestyle throuhgout the year. click an icon below to read other seasonal tips