Abs are made in the kitchen. With Summer just around the corner, you can finally do what it takes to let your healthiest self shine in the sun. Follow these steps, and you will feel better in no time.

• 1. Drink Water. Drinking water can help to regulate cravings and hunger cues. A lot of the time, when we think we are hungry, we are actually thirsty. Be sure that your urine is clear or a light lemonade yellow color as opposed to a dark apple juice color. Clear urine for the win! Also, fruit juices may be a good idea pre-workout or to provide energy during a prolonged event, however, watch what you're sipping on. 100% fruit juices can be a good source of energy and nutrients, but most sodas, sweetened teas, and energy drinks have no nutritional value with lots of extra calories. If you are trying to lose weight and are not physically active, sipping those sugary beverages is an easy way to take in excess unnecessary calories.
• 2. Steam or Bake Instead of Fry. When talking about calories, a little bit of fat goes a long way. Oil and plant sources of fats are going to be a much better alternative to animal sources like butter when it comes to nutritional value, but both are fat and have the same caloric load generally. Dishes that require stir-frying or any kind of oil on a skillet, brain storm and see if there is any way you could make a batter to bake to food in to give it a fried-like texture. Also, it would be a good idea to try stir-frying with water, juice, or half as much oil as the recipe calls for.
• 3. Choose the Whole Food. Choosing packaged snack food products make it easy to fall into a desire-hunger confusion trap. There's a reason why it is impossible to only eat one chip, one pretzel, or one cheez-it. It's because they are designed to stimulate our hunger signals to make us want more so that we will buy more. If we transition to buying and consuming foods in their whole form and making our own granolas with ground flax and cinnamon or trail mix with walnuts and dried cherries, we will not only be consuming more nutrients, but we will also be able to recognize our true hunger and satiety and eat when we are hungry, and stop when we are satisfied.
• 4. Read Food Ingredients Labels. Food labels are an important source of information about calories and the nutritional value of the foods that you eat. Be sure what you are buying is really what you are buying and it doesn't have any weird dyes, oils, or syrups added. One to look out for is “hydrogenated vegetable oil". Although labels are allowed to say 0g trans fat per serving, hydrogenated oils are trans fats, and if more than a serving is used or eaten, this can lead to unknown consumption of heart attack risk. Nobody wants that. Common places hydrogenated oils can be found is in cooking sprays, margarines, peanut butter, snack products and baked goods.
• 5. Snack on Fruit and Vegetables. In between meals the best thing to snack on! Full of fiber and nutrients to help feel full and provide hydration and antioxidants to keep the immune system up. Great vegetables to snack on are cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, sliced bell peppers, sugar snap peas, sliced zucchini, and even baked potatoes. Easy grab and go fruits are bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, and any kind of fruit, really. Try ants on a log too, celery with peanut butter and raisins, or broccoli and hummus.
• 6. Go Whole Foods Plant Based. Transitioning to a whole foods plant based diet is a sure fire way to decrease cholesterol and saturated fat, and increase fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and water content. Fiber is essential for maintaining a healthy digestive tract as well as regulating blood sugar, lowering cholesterol, and helps to keep us feeling fuller longer. Potassium is a short fall nutrient in America that is essential for electrolyte balance and may play a role in maintaining muscle mass long term. The antioxidants and water content in a whole foods plant based diet provide our cells with what they need to stay healthy. Antioxidants are only found in plant foods and they help prevent against skin damage from sun exposure (wrinkles), they decrease risk for chronic diseases like arthritis, heart disease, and cancer, they reduce inflammation from exercise leading to less fatigue and soreness and can even prevent us from catching the common cold.

Drink water, use less fat, choose the whole food, read labels, snack on fruit and vegetables, and focus meals on whole, plant based food sources to the best shape you've ever been in. Eating this way will help get you cut and lean not just for the summer bikini, but for the lookin' good naked for years to come.