“Farmers’ tans, ice cream and Championship football. Ireland is hard to beat in the summer.”

The dos and don’ts of what to consume during the summer months

Summer has arrived, the suns out, the BBQs are on…and it’s deadly. Farmers tans, ice cream and Championship football. Ireland is hard to beat in the summer. The weather’s only really came good for us over the last week or so and already I’ve been contacted by numerous people who want eating tips for the summer.

So with that in mind, here is a summer themed FACT or FICTION!

“I will put on weight if I eat a BBQ every night”- FICTION!

When it comes to weight gain it’s more often than not a question of calories in versus calories out. So whether you’re getting your dinner from the oven, the hob or the BBQ it’s a more a question of how much rather than where from. Plus, BBQ’s are awesome. Stick on a few chicken fillets and a nice thin steak, pair that up with a big green salad and you couldn’t beat it!

“If I’m getting an extra few runs in with the good weather I can eat an ice cream every day and no worry about getting fat.” – FACTION!

Much like with the previous answer, weight gain, and more specifically fat gain primarily comes down to calories in versus calories out. While in theory if you’re exercising more, therefore expending increased calories, you can afford to eat more – in the form of an ice cream as this particular gentleman inquired – the reality is that sometimes the calories in via deserts and treats aren’t offset enough by the calories out to stop a surplus occurring which means weight gain is possible. (For what it’s worth, in my opinion if you want an ice cream you should have one. Or better yet try a smoothie or something equally tasty yet lower in calories!)

“I’m sweating more in the heat so I need to drink more water.” FACT!

We should all be aiming for 3-4 litres per day, depending on your body weight, but when the heat is up and the sweat is on we need to make sure we replenish the water we’re losing and stay hydrated! Your body doesn’t function as well when it’s dehydrated. You’ll fatigue quicker, lose concentration easier and generally be on an internal go-slow. I always encourage an extra 1.5 litres of fluids around the training window as water is both lost through sweat and used in muscular function, so if you’re finding yourself sweating during the day I would heavily encourage upping your daily water intake by at least half a litre!

Hopefully that answers at least a few of the questions you might ask yourself over the next few weeks!

For more training and nutritional advice you can catch me on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by simply searching PGthePT, or go to www.pgthept.com and sign up to my email club to receive some top notch info every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

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