The Leaf | Healthy Weight Loss Blog

Summer has to be the most active time of the year, with so many chores to be done and opportunities to get outside and enjoy the warm weather. While you’re busy taking advantage of the season, you can also burn off excess calories, helping to speed up your progress toward your weight loss goal. Here are nine popular warm weather activities that kick up your metabolism while you go about your days—no visit to the gym required. 1. Mopping the Floor The minute the weather turns warm, cleaning tops the “to-do” list in many homes. When you get out the bucket and mop, and move at a steady pace back and forth across the floor, you’ll torch calories plus tone your arms and strengthen your core muscles as your metabolism heats up. Calories burned: 330 per hour 10 Reasons to Go For a Walk Today Read More 2. Dusting and Vacuuming Wiping down your furniture, shelves and decorations gets rid of dust and potential allergens. It also keeps you moving around, bending and stretching as you...

With mouthwatering aromas wafting through the air and tempting treats visible in all directions, the beach boardwalk can easily feel like a diet disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, with just a little bit of forethought and planning, you can seek out some of the healthier choices like dry-roasted nuts, a single serving of frozen yogurt or even corn on the cob. Plan ahead by knowing what options your boardwalk offers, and by all means, avoid these six worst calorie bombs: 1. Funnel Cake With more than 700 calories and 40 grams of fat in a single funnel cake, this popular boardwalk treat is close to half of the calories needed in an entire day. The deep-fried batter of funnel cakes is an artery-clogging nightmare. While deep-frying everything from Oreos to Twinkies to even butter (yes, deep-fried butter-on-a-stick is an actual thing) remains an ongoing boardwalk trend, it’s truly best to avoid anything that’s gone into the deep fryer. Instead of reaching for a deep fried dessert...

Fresh cucumber salad is a hallmark of summer picnics and backyard barbecues for many of us. Just-picked, thinly sliced cukes marinated with onions in a vinegar dressing sounds as delicious as it is nutritious! With warm weather and sunshine season upon us, cucumber recipes are a low-cal, refreshing and surprisingly healthy way to get in your daily veggie servings. Powerhouses of Nutrients, Electrolytes, and Hydration Did you know that cucumbers are about 96 percent H2O? Of course, with all that water they’re definitely hydrating! Keeping up your fluid intake is essential for health and weight loss, particularly during the heat of the summer. Water also keeps your joints lubricated and gives you energy. 1 However, cucumbers are more than just crunchy water. With cukes, you also get nutrients like magnesium, potassium and vitamins C and K. If you don’t peel and seed them, you also get fiber and beta-carotene. According to one study, cucumber seeds are loaded with calcium. 2 Bonus: ...