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How to Keep Summertime Food Habits in Check

Posted by Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD on July 9, 2015
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How to Keep Summertime Food Habits in Check | Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD | Improving Health blog by CareATC, Inc.The summer heat tends to have a negative effect on a healthy appetite. It’s not uncommon to lose the desire for food when your body is pouring sweat and you’re suffering from heat exhaustion.

However, the opposite is true when the sun goes down, the heat subsides, and the night is young. Summer hours last longer than the winter hours. Going from dark at 4pm to dark at 9pm can do a 180 on the brain.

It’s a mind trick, really. It’s rather simple — the day lasts longer, so we stay up later, which often leads to eating later. When the temperature is too hot to bear, it’s quite easy to survive on very little calories to get through the day. However, when the sun starts to lower, the hunger can come on stronger, especially with the smell of grilled food in the air.

This is the season for BBQ, potato salad, and desserts galore — and even though you may have missed eating a healthy amount of calories throughout the day, this does not mean you should make up for the calories lost. You need a healthy caloric intake throughout day every day!

What happens when we eat more calories at night than during the day?

The body does not burn much energy as the night wears on. If more calories are consumed later at night, that leaves a chance of more calories being stored as fat.

When your body doesn’t need calories, it stores them. It’s true that food becomes more appealing the later we stay awake. To crave and desire calories late at night is a common phenomenon that simply can’t be broken unless controlled. Yes, it’s summer, warm, and primetime for late night cookouts and social events, but it’s still important to keep calorie intake at a healthy level.

Just because it’s summer and you’re having fun doesn’t mean that those extra calories you enjoyed late in the evening aren’t accounted for! It’s important to maintain balanced meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whether it’s during the coldest season or the warmest.

Eat throughout your day as you would on any given day and make sure you don’t let yourself get too hungry. Getting too hungry may lead to overeating too late at night.

What can we do to keep our meals balanced?

I encourage fun gatherings with family and friends, but I also encourage healthy food portions each day. A balanced meal includes lean protein, vegetables, starch, and fruit with a healthy fat. Not one food group is neglected!

This is certainly possible at late-night summer cookouts. Grilled food is one of the top healthiest cooking methods, and fortunately many summertime favorites are tastiest when grilled!

Many foods can be grilled and make for a tasty summertime meal including:

  • Chicken with a light glaze of BBQ or Canola oil*
  • Lean beef (97/3) or turkey burgers with grilled Oroweat sandwich thins for the bun
  • Sirloin steaks
  • Pork chops
  • Veggie kabobs: mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers (any color)
  • Pineapple (This is one of my favorites that goes well with any meat dish, making it a healthy, tasty, and balanced meal!)

* I recommend using canola oil for a glaze when grilling meats and veggies. Canola oil is a healthy source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which can help to lower cholesterol.

Photo credit: Maya83
Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD

About The Author

Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD

Marla has a longstanding passion in wellness and healthy living. After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas and completing the dietetic internship in 2011, she embarked on her professional career in wellness, working for an integrated health and wellness facility in Northwest Arkansas.

Post Topics Healthy Eating