10 Tips to Get in Shape for Summer
Recipe for 'Metabolism Boosting Salad' and 'Edema Reducing Drink'...
Editors 
Don't Fear Carb Intake, but!
Avoid Crash Diets!
Recipe for 'Metabolism Boosting Salad' and 'Edema Reducing Drink'...
10 Tips to Get in Shape for Summer
MEDİCENTERTV.COM / TÜRKİYE
Due to the decrease in activities and water consumption due to seasonal conditions in winter, as well as the lengthening of nights leading to increased nighttime eating, many of us inevitably gained excess weight. However, with the arrival of spring, it's possible to enter the summer season free from excess weight by rolling up our sleeves! Nilay Kayım, Nutrition and Diet Expert at Acıbadem Altunizade Hospital, says, "Nighttime snacks, fast food, decreased water consumption, increased consumption of tea and coffee can lead to edema, increased fat percentage, and weight gain in the body. However, it's not difficult to revitalize metabolism and get rid of excess weight to enter summer healthy and fit with some simple but effective measures. It's essential to avoid crash diets as they can cause serious harm to health."
Nutrition and Diet Expert Nilay Kayım listed 10 methods to get in shape for summer, gave important warnings and recommendations, and provided a recipe each for 'metabolism-boosting salad' and 'edema-reducing drink.'
Don't eliminate fat intake
When we talk about dieting, we shouldn't think about completely eliminating fat intake! However, it's necessary to avoid foods with high saturated fat content such as fast food, packaged foods, and fried foods. Adding foods like walnuts, hazelnuts, avocados, and olive oil to the diet actually facilitates weight loss, contrary to popular belief.
Don't fear carb intake
Carbohydrate intake is significant in fat-burning metabolism. Except for special diets, removing carbohydrate-containing foods from the diet indiscriminately can lead to increased hunger, cravings for sweets, and larger portions. You should add high-fiber healthy carbohydrates (such as bulgur, buckwheat, legumes, whole wheat pasta, oats, etc.) to your diet with portion control, and eliminate carbohydrate-containing foods (sweets, sugar, fruit juices, pastries, etc.) that cause weight gain.
Avoid low protein intake
Inadequate protein intake reduces metabolism rate and muscle synthesis, leading to increased edema. Especially in exercises aimed at fat loss and muscle gain, sufficient protein intake must accompany. You can increase the protein content of your diet by adding more fish, kefir, and eggs.
Move more
The increase in temperatures reduces the excuses we produce for moving less. Moving speeds up metabolism, increases motivation for dieting through hormonal changes. The World Health Organization recommends at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. Aim to walk briskly for at least three days a week for an hour each.
Add vegetables to every meal
Vegetables contain high fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Especially vegetables with high potassium content (such as spinach, chard, lettuce, parsley, carrots, etc.) facilitate edema elimination. Additionally, vegetable consumption prolongs the feeling of satiety. You can facilitate edema elimination and stay full longer by preparing main meal salads that include all food groups. Kidney patients should be careful about vegetable consumption and consult a nutritionist.
Watch out for sugary drinks!
Nutrition and Diet Expert Nilay Kayım says, "With the warming weather, consumption of ice cream, sugary and fizzy drinks, fruit juices, creamy/syrupy coffees increases, leading to weight gain. Instead of these foods in your diet, you can add plain mineral water, sugar-free cold coffees, and homemade sugar-free vegetable/fruit drinks."
Increase water consumption, limit caffeine
Your daily fluid requirement is weight (kg) x 30-35 ml. However, you should not include tea and coffee due to their caffeine content. Caffeine dehydrates your body by creating a diuretic effect. Meeting your daily fluid needs speeds up metabolism and helps rid the body of toxins.
Support your gut health
Gut health is among the factors affecting weight loss. To maintain or improve gut health, you should consume the required amount of fiber (25-35 grams per day), consume fermented foods like kefir, and use probiotic supplements when necessary after consulting your doctor.
Pay attention to your sleep schedule!
Disturbances in sleep patterns cause imbalances in hunger-satiety hormones. Additionally, increased cortisol secretion due to insufficient sleep leads to a tendency for high-calorie/carbohydrate foods. The fatigue caused by insufficient sleep affects both food intake and decreased physical activity. Adults are recommended to sleep for at least 7-8 hours. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to your sleep schedule.
Avoid Crash Diets
Nutrition and Diet Expert Nilay Kayım says, "Crash diets containing very low-calorie or single-type foods cause muscle and fluid loss. The numbers quickly decreasing on the scale do not actually reflect fat loss. Additionally, food supplements used in an uncontrolled manner for this purpose can cause serious harm to health, even leading to life-threatening risks. Therefore, stay away from crash diets."
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Nutrition and Diet Expert Nilay Kayım also provided a recipe for a metabolism-boosting salad and an edema-reducing drink...
Metabolism Boosting Salad
7-8 lettuce leaves, ½ bunch parsley, ½ bunch dill, 1-2 boiled artichokes, 3 tablespoons boiled lentils, 2-3 strawberries, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, plenty of lemon juice, 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (preferably)
Preparation: All ingredients are chopped and mixed (you can increase the amount of greens). Olive oil, lemon, and vinegar are added on top. Instead of salt, you can use spices (such as red pepper flakes, sumac, etc.). It can be consumed as a main meal with a glass of kefir. Don't forget to add a protein group to your other meal.
Edema Reducing Drink
1 bottle of mineral water, 2 slices of pineapple, 1 cucumber, 1/3 bunch of parsley, 1/3 bunch of mint, juice of ½ lemon, 100 ml green tea
Preparation: Green tea is brewed in 100 ml of water and cooled. Mineral water, pineapple, cucumber, parsley, mint are added and blended. Finally, lemon juice is added and enjoyed.
