6 Summer Diet Pitfalls and Tips for Handling Them

Here's how to get through the summer without significant damage to your diet: six summer characteristics that pose a danger to your diet, and tips for handling them:

1. Smoothie - The smoothie has recently become a trendy drink with a health connotation that isn't necessarily true. It's a type of shake where fruits, vegetables, and ice cubes are blended as a base, with honey, agave, various syrups, chocolate, milk, yogurt, and even cottage cheese and ice cream added in. To elevate its healthy image, soy milk and green tea are added. Is it really healthy? It depends on the amount of fruit, sugar, and various additions it contains. Advice: Eat whole fruits and vegetables to enjoy fullness and dietary fibers. Reduce additions that can inadvertently turn a cup of drink into the equivalent of an actual meal.

2. Iced Coffee - Frozen coffee drinks are often full of sugar and calories. Many times they contain eight to twelve teaspoons of sugar in one cup. Advice: Prepare cold coffee with coffee, milk, and ice, with a little sugar.

3. Ice Pop - A simple ice pop contains about 150 calories on average. An ice pop enriched with size and ingredients (chocolate chips, cookie pieces, nuts, etc.) can reach more than 200 calories. Advice: Prefer smaller, simpler ice pops or diet ice pops. Today, there's a wide variety of diet ice pops containing an average of 30 - 60 calories and are almost sugar-free. However, remember that diet materials are controversial health-wise and don't overeat diet ice pops.

4. Popsicle - Popsicles are usually made from a mixture of water, sugar, and food coloring, and contain about 100 empty calories on average. Advice: Eat diet popsicles with a caloric value ranging from 12-20 calories, but even with diet popsicles, be careful not to overdo it.

5. Family Pack Ice Cream - Family pack ice cream poses a risk to anyone watching their weight. Many of us can easily finish the entire 400 - 500 gram package, spoon after spoon, as if it was a personal serving. The package is left empty, and we are filled with unnecessary calories. Advice: Don’t overdo the amount. Prepare a portion in a cup or bowl and return the rest of the package immediately to the freezer. It's also advisable to choose ice cream containing milk, cream, or milk powder so that at least it's considered a dairy serving.

 6. Yogurt Ice Cream - Despite its "healthy" name, it is ice cream in every respect, low in fat but containing sugar. Along with the additives usually accompanying yogurt ice cream - Kit Kat, chocolate chips, dried fruits, nuts, etc., it's a significant caloric addition. Advice: Prefer natural fruit toppings and avoid fattening additives.