A while back I wrote about the foods you need to keep in your kitchen is you want to lose weight.

I was amazed at all the comments I received about it, both on line and in person.

Some of you recommended some great foods that I did not mention in that article.

There were too many to mention in a single post.  So I picked the ones that I thought would go well with the warm sunny days ahead.  And make them a lot more enjoyable.

These foods go great with barbecuing in the back yard, picnicking at the beach or just tanning (with sun block of course) on your deck.  And they also go great with a fat loss diet.

1.)  Watermelon – I will bet you a free session that even though you ate lots (and lots) of watermelon as a child, you have dropped the habit as an adult. Why?  Nothing say summer like a giant wedge of juicy watermelon.  Not only is watermelon about 96% water, it is also an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and lycopene.

And for you guys, it also helps with the blood flow down there.

2.) Summer Squash – Unlike the stuff that gets served at Thanksgiving, you can easily add this form of squash to stir-fries, cook it on the grill or eat it by its lonesome with a nice (low-fat) dip.  With only 36 calories per serving and a high amount of phytochemicals to ward off heart disease, cancer and strokes who wouldn’t want to eat some.

After looking at this photo I not to happy with the fact that I am not allowed to have a grill.

3.)  Blackberries –  Put down the strawberries, it is time to grab some blackberries instead.  Not only do these berries taste great by themselves but they also go great with yogurt and in smoothies.  Also, these little fat loss power houses are almost 1/2 fiber, so they help keep you regular

You didn’t here this from me but blackberry Mojitos are the official drink of the summer.

4.)  Papayas – Papayas pack on heck of a nutritional punch.  Not only are papayas very high in vitamin C but they also contain loads of folate, potassium, and fiber.  You probably have heard that papayas helps with digestion but did you also know that eating them can help reduce your chances of getting colon and prostate cancer?  Well you do now.

5.)  Water – I know.  I know.  Water isn’t a food.  Well guess what?  In Train To Sweatt land it is.   During the hot summer months you should increase the already copious amounts of water that you drink.  And no, soda, beer, and other alcoholic beverages don’t count.  If you like some of my clients don’t drink water due to its hopefully lack of taste, you can flavor it up by adding a slice of orange, lemon, lime, watermelon and/or some blackberries.  Talk about refreshing.

Drinking pool water is also not recommended for hydration purposes.

6.)  Cantaloupe – Cantaloupe is yet another great source of vitamins A and C on this list.  It is such a great source of vitamin A that it is even better for your eyes than carrots.

Maybe Bugs should switch to this instead.

7.)  Marshmallows –  Kidding.  Well sort of.  You all should know by now that I am a big proponent of OCCASIONALLY cheating on your diet.  Well nothing screams summer like s’mores around a campfire with family and/or friends.  Just make them with dark chocolate to keep them somewhat healthy.

Bet you want a s’mores now.

So to make sure that you have and keep your best body ever this summer go back and reread  this post and 9 Flat Stomach Foods You MUST Have in Your Kitchen.  Then make sure that your kitchen and your picnic basket is stocked full of the aforementioned foods.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Wellesley’s Summer Body Expert

P.S.  Keep the marshmallows to a minimum please.

Tags: blackberries, cantaloupe, easy fat loss, easy weight loss, fat loss, papayas, summer, summer squash, water, watermelon, weight loss

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted by Paul | in Nutrition | 5 Comments