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Summer is officially less than 2 weeks away! Are you ready? Do you look and feel your best yet? If not, it’s not too late!

Let’s talk about small actionable steps you can take to feel better for summer! We’re going to get you feeling better from the inside out so you have the energy to keep up with your kids and the confidence you need this summer!

6 tips to lose those last 5 pounds

Best Tips for Naturally Increasing Energy & Dropping Weight:

1. Cut the sugar.
I know, I know…those pretzel M&M’s make you feel better in the afternoon. I get it, really I do, but I’m speaking from experience when I say that I dropped sugar for lent and literally watched the excess fat melt away and I had more energy. I started dropping weight pretty quickly and didn’t have a ton I needed to lose. This doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally indulge, but try to make it once a week if you do and perhaps limit yourself to dark chocolate or a set amount of something.

2. Throw out the junk.
Literally, if you have bad food in your house, you will eat it or it will be a temptation. My trick is that I buy my hubs food that he likes that I don’t. If he wants cookies that week, then I buy raspberry cheesecake filled ones I detest so I won’t be tempted to eat it. (And, no, I don’t like raspberry flavors or cheesecake, total weirdo! 😉 )

3. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (the produce, fresh meat, etc… is usually there).
I have personally found that eating “clean” is how I feel the best and look the best. This means shopping the perimeter of the grocery store and mostly eating meats, produce, nuts, and whole grains. I add in occasional dairy to include Greek Yogurt or coffee creamer.

more energy naturally & lose those last 5 pounds!

4. Get your sweat on!
Do what you have to do to get just thirty minutes of exercise 4x a week minimum! If that means setting a timer and dancing in your house, grabbing a friend and going for a walk or hitting the treadmill while watching Netflix, just do it! Your body will thank you for it and you will have MORE energy!

5. Drink like a camel.
And yes, I mean water not wine. Try to consume at least 8 glasses of water per day. This should help you feel more satiated and help your body feel better overall.

6. Eat one salad a day.
Whether you swap your lunch or dinner for a salad, it doesn’t matter but it will make you feel better to get in extra veggies (Try olive oil & balsamic vinegar instead of dressing) If you forgo the salad, add in a juice to get in more vitamins and minerals in your diet that day!

Can you do it?  Try it with me for 2 weeks. YES, that’s 14 days to get you started. That should help you break the cycle of bad to implement the good. After that, you will find it easier to kick start the good since your body will start to feel better and motivate you further towards healthy habits.

Check in with me on Instagram to let me know how you’re doing!

*These are just my suggestions and as always I would recommend you talk to your doctor if you have questions or need help with serious weight loss.

A woman standing in a parking lot smiling.I’m Heather~ I blog at My Life Well Loved, a lifestyle blog. I’m also super obsessed with eating healthy and making wise choices.  Just to give you a little background on me: I’m married to my college sweetheart, Eric and we celebrated our 5 year anniversary in New Zealand at the end of last year! I’m a Christian and my passions include Pure Barre, clean eating, social media, workout swag and helping others to love their lives well.

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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10 Comments

  1. Great tips. The sugar one is big with me. When I get rid of it I feel so much better as well.
    I do have to say I just wrote a post about shopping the perimeter, which is not always healthy. Especially now that markets are cross merchandising items. So you will find much more packaged processed foods around the store now and they are just as unhealthy as the ones in the middle.
    Also with the salad you need fat to absorb vitamins and minerals from veggies. Plus fat will keep you fuller. I agree you don’t have to drench it, but hopefully people don’t take your advice to decrease the fat by buying low fat, over-processed dressing! Yuck
    Thanks again.

    1. good point!! I use olive oil & vinegar – I”ll add that in there. 🙂

      1. I love oil and vinegar too. And can I make one more teensy suggestion. There was no link to Heather Browns blog. I found her by googling, but it would be great to have a link to her.

        1. Oh thanks- I am so frustrated w/ the site b/c it should have been in her author page at the bottom. Since the move to the new host, its not showing up, but I did include it in the signature at the bottom of the post. Let me know if you don’t see it there- I see it on my end.

      2. Great insight, Suzy! Thanks for your comment. I <3 oil and vinegar dressing as well, add a little pepper and lemon juice sometimes too for more of a kick. Yum! Have a great day and thanks for searching me out. 🙂

  2. Fabulous tips! I love the ‘one salad a day’ tip! Small changes can add up and are easier to stick to! Great advice! I think I will go eat a salad now and drink some water 🙂

  3. Thanks so much for having me today, Becky!
    Heather at MyLifeWellLoved.com