Five Tips to Get Your Body Beach Ready

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #TENways http://mydisclosur.es/OBsstV

It’s been a long, harsh winter. If you’re anything like me, the weather has left you wanting to do nothing but hibernate in your house, avoiding going outside in blizzards and below zero temperatures at all costs. Even though it might not seem like it right now, spring and summer are on their way, and you’ll want to be looking your best to hit the beach and wear sundresses after perhaps putting off exercise and indulging in a little too much comfort food over the past few months. So today, I have five tips that will help you slim down and tone up easily.

1. Set Manageable Goals

I get it. We all want to eat healthy and exercise an hour a day and cook dinner every night and organize the house and save the world, but it’s just not possible. It’s not. If you set really lofty goals, you are most likely setting yourself up for failure. One slip up on that long list of goals, and you’ll want to give it all up. However, if you set smaller goals, you are likely to accomplish them and feel awesome! Want to lose twenty pounds? Start with five and set new goals from there. Want to run a 5k? Start by walking for 30 minutes a day. After a week of walking everyday, you’ll be so proud of yourself and encouraged to keep up the great work.

2. Make Exercise a Priority

In order to be healthy, exercise simply has to be a part of life. But this doesn’t mean you need to spend all your free time in the gym, run a marathon, or chain yourself to the treadmill. Instead pick activities you like to do. Have a group of friends in your neighborhood? Take walks or jogs with them. Addicted to video games? Get one that forces you to be active instead of sitting on the sofa. Always wanted to try tennis? Sign up for some lessons. And if you are super busy, park a little further away from your office or the store so you have to walk further, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and exercise while you watch TV. That’s my favorite tip. Hold a plank during the commercial break. Jog in place for one segment. Do crunches for one scene. In no time, you’ll be seeing lots of results.

3. Snack Smart

We all hit that mid-morning or mid-afternoon slump. We’re rushing around and on the go, and hunger is bound to strike, often at the most inopportune times. Heading to the vending machine or reaching for a candy bar is the worst thing to do, because not only are you going to crash following your snack, but you’re also going to feel guilty for eating junk. Instead, stash some healthy energy bars in your bag or pre-portioned bags of your favorite nuts. You can also swap out high calorie tortilla chips for homemade baked ones. They are easy to make, gluten free, low calorie, low sodium, and a wonderful premade snack kids and adults alike will love. Delicious eaten alone, they can also be topped with your favorite healthy dip, like salsa, guacamole, or hummus. Check out the recipe at the end of the post.

4. Cut Out High Calorie Beverages

We all love soft drinks, sports drinks, and fancy coffee drinks. But they are worse for you than any candy bar or greasy burger because they have no nutritional value and don’t fill you up. While adding lemon or cucumber to water is super healthy, it’s not exactly a soft drink replacement. Enter Four Ten Calorie DPSG products. These soft drinks have only ten calories per serving without sacrificing a bit of flavor. That’s right, low calorie, but full flavor! The Four TEN flavors are 7UP, Sunkist, A&W, and Canada Dry. Sunkist has always been one of my favorite soft drinks, so I was so excited to pick up this TEN version to compare to my memories of the real thing. It is awesome! As soon as I opened the bottle, the smell intoxicated me. The flavor took me right back to childhood, but I didn’t have to worry about downing hundreds of calories. I mean, we all have room in our day for ten calories! You can learn more about the Four Ten Calorie DPSG products by visiting their Facebook and Twitter pages.

To further sweeten the deal, Walmart, where you can pick up the Four Ten Calorie DPSG products, is offering $0.50 off the purchase of TWO 2 liter bottles or TWO 4-pack cans of 7UP TEN, A&W TEN, Canada Dry TEN, RC TEN, or Sunkist TEN. Plus, if you would like to share this coupon offer via email, Facebook, or Twitter, that offer will become $1.50 off the same purchase. Offer available while supplies last, from 3/27-4/17. Just head over to Walmart’s site to get the coupon. And if you are interested in a specific flavor, call your store ahead of time to see if they have it, as not all flavors are available at all stores.

5. Reward Yourself

Once you meet your goals and have your body ready for summer, you have to give yourself incentive to keep up the awesome work and set and meet new goals. While one splurge meal a week is an acceptable reward, I love non-food rewards. Perhaps you’ve been wanting a new lipgloss to protect your lips from that summer sun. Oh, or an awesome new book to read while you relax on the beach. Or how about a bouquet of flowers to brighten up your house until summer actually does arrive. Pick a reward based on what your passions are and it is sure to keep you motivated all summer long.

I hope these tips help get you set for summer. Fingers crossed it will be here sooner rather than later.