Summer is here, and the time is right for outdoor fun, swim trunks and skimpy bikinis. Did you manage to pick up a few extra pounds during the winter? Are you not quite feeling like your usual confident self? It happens to the best of us, and summer is the absolute best time to get yourself back on the right track because that’s when you’re likely to feel the most motivated about getting yourself in the best shape possible. Great health is a whole-body endeavor. In this article, you’re going to get some whole-body tips that can help to ensure that you consistently put your best self forward all summer long.

Lose Some Weight

“Lose weight” – it’s easier said than done, right? Why does losing weight have to be so slow and unpleasant when gaining weight is so quick and fun? Here’s the thing, though; it only takes a few small changes to have a major impact on your weight over the long term. Do you slather your foods with oil? Get some new non-stick pans and use spray oil for lower-calorie dinners with a difference you’ll hardly notice. Do you tend to back-load your calories with big dinners and snacks at the end of the day? If you don’t eat throughout the day, you’ll be much hungrier at the end of the day – and you’ll be much more likely to overeat as a result. Start your day with a healthy breakfast and eat a small lunch during the day to tide yourself over. When it’s time for dinner, you’ll be much less likely to eat more than you should. Crash dieting is unnecessary, and it can actually harm your health over the long term.

Try a Juice Cleanse

Fact: Dieting is hard. If it was easy to simply cut back on food intake and drop those extra pounds, everyone would do it – and our population wouldn’t be so overweight. So, how do you kickstart your diet and lose those first few extra pounds? Try a juice cleanse. Because juice gives you the nutrients of fruits and vegetables without the fiber, some people believe that putting yourself through a juice cleanse regimen can help to give your digestive system a day off and speed toxins out of your system. Juice can also supply your body with powerful antioxidants and cancer-fighting compounds that you may not eat every day. What fruits and veggies should you grab for your juice detox? Try beets, kale, celery, carrots, spinach, lemons, parsley, ginger and turmeric. Alternatively, find a local shop that specializes in cold-pressed juice; they’ll set you up.

Quit Smoking

This is an obvious one. If you’re still smoking, though – well, why? Some experts believe that vaping could reduce the harm of smoking by up to 90 percent. Between the reduced harm and the much lower cost, it would be foolish not to switch to vaping if you’re unable to stop using nicotine entirely. Did you try an e-cigarette during the early years of the vaping industry and decide that it wasn’t for you? Today’s simple vaping devices are nothing like the e-cigarettes of the past. Modern pod vaping systems such as the Aspire Breeze 2 are incredibly simple to use and very reliable. The best aspect of devices like the Breeze 2 is that they work with any vape juice. Why limit yourself to an e-cigarette with a small selection of pre-filled cartridges when you could go to any vape shop and buy whatever e-liquid you like?

Declutter Your Life

When you feel like you can’t get a grip on your weight, habits and fitness level, there’s a good chance that it’s because you’re having difficulty sorting out some other area of your life. Do you ever suffer from a perceived lack of control? Do you have trouble figuring out what you should be doing much of the time? Those are two very good signs that it’s time to remove some of the clutter from your life. Cleaning the house is a good way to start. Have you acquired so much stuff over the past few years that you’re having trouble finding places to put all of it? Hold a garage sale and earn a few dollars for your decluttering efforts. Donate some unused clothes to goodwill. Clean those old condiments out of the refrigerator. The less time you spend looking at stuff out in the open, the clearer your mind will become. Don’t forget that your decluttering efforts can also extend to your digital life. Are your email and social media inboxes filled with messages that you haven’t replied to after months? Delete them. If those messages were truly important, the senders would have followed up by now. If you have a clean slate and an empty inbox, you’ll find it much easier to stay on top of your digital communication.

Pick Up a New Healthy Habit

Spring is a time for change and growth. It’s the perfect time to pick up a new habit that gets your mind and body on the right track for summer. If you don’t follow any of the other pointers in this article, do take this one bit of advice. People are creatures of habit. If you establish a new healthy habit now, it’ll be second nature by summer; you’ll do it without even thinking about it. Are you looking for some ideas? If the juice cleanse goes well for you, consider drinking juice for all of your meals one day each week. It’s an easy and mostly painless way to shed extra pounds. Alternatively, make a commitment to leave a small amount of food on your plate at the end of each meal. Those uneaten bites will add up over time. Could you use a bit more activity in your life? Find a way to get up and move around. Scheduling an evening walk around your neighborhood after work each day is a great way to begin.

Author's Bio: 

Jason Artman is the owner and author of eCigOne.com. A professional freelance writer and SEO consultant with more than a decade of experience, Jason works with vaping companies around the world to increase their targeted web traffic and improve their revenue.