Beat Mindless Summer Eating
One of the biggest barriers to shaping up over the summer period remains the indiscriminate consumption of food – usually in the form of off-limits fare. Otherwise known as mindless eating or unhealthy snacking, this practice has most likely sidetracked more people from achieving their personal fitness goals than any other factor. Such snacking is particularly prevalent over summer, a time when we tend be out and about more often and exposed to the delectable array of nutritional delights that everyone enjoys, but which usually end up on the waistline, contribute to much guilt and anxiety, and require extensive cardio to remove. While countering mindless eating is a thing that we all know we should do, so many of us instead choose to throw down an extra 500 or so calories of junk when the urge hits, seemingly oblivious to the fact that our fitness success depends heavily on every morsel of food we consume. And it’s not just weekend warriors but also ‘seasoned’ lifters who fall victim to this all-to-common urge to splurge.6, 9 We should not feel ashamed for our propensity to eat sugary, fatty foods at will. In fact, this compulsion to stockpile calories as energy is a hard-wired human survival mechanism that has kept us evolving for millennia. However, because we did not evolve to sport perennial six-packs and sub-10% bodyfat levels (not to mention the fact that as a species we are less active than ever before), those seeking physical excellence must keep such ‘snacking’ in check. Read on to learn how best to enjoy a few hard-earned snacks minus the guilt and extra padding.
Six Delicious Snacking Alternatives


Top Tip
When to Snack
What to Look for
Summer Snack and Burn Workout
- Bike, Stepper or Treadmill: 25 minutes of HIIT, alternating between 30 seconds moderate intensity and 30 seconds super-high intensity (maintaining a maximum heart rate of between 140-150 beats per minute during high intensity phase).
- -BB Bench Presses SS with Incline DB Presses: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -Flat Bench Flyes TS with Chest Dips: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -Machine Chest Presses: 3 sets of 20 reps per set
- -Lateral Raises SS with DB Front Raises: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -Bent Lateral Raises SS with Arnold Presses: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -BB Military Presses (to the front): 3 sets of 20 reps per set
- -Medium-Stance Squats SS with Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -Leg Presses SS with Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets of 20 reps per set
- -Wide-Stance Squats: 3 sets of 12 reps per set
- -Standing Calf Raises SS with Donkey Calf Raises: 2 sets of 20 reps per movement
- Bike, Stepper or Treadmill: 25 minutes of HIIT, alternating between 30 seconds moderate intensity and 30 seconds super-high intensity (maintaining a maximum heart rate of between 140-150 beats per minute during high intensity phase).
- -Pull-ups SS with Seated Rowing: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -Deadlifts: 3 sets of 12 reps per set
- -Reverse-Grip Pulldowns SS with Bent BB Rows: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -One-Arm DB Rows: 3 sets of 15 reps per set
- -Stability Ball Crunches SS with Hanging Leg Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps per movement
- -V-Ups SS with Rope Crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- Bike, Stepper or Treadmill: 25 minutes of HIIT, alternating between 30 seconds moderate intensity and 30 seconds super-high intensity (maintaining a maximum heart rate of between 140-150 beats per minute during high intensity phase).
- Bike, Stepper or Treadmill: 25 minutes of HIIT, alternating between 30 seconds moderate intensity and 30 seconds super-high intensity (maintaining a maximum heart rate of between 140-150 beats per minute during high intensity phase).
- -Incline DB Curls SS with Spider Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -BB Curls SS with Rope Pressdowns: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -One-Arm DB Kickbacks SS with DB Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement
- -Lying BB Triceps Extensions SS with One-Arm Overhead DB Extensions: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- Bike, Stepper or Treadmill: 25 minutes of HIIT, alternating between 30 seconds moderate intensity and 30 seconds super-high intensity (maintaining a maximum heart rate of between 140-150 beats per minute during high intensity phase).
- -DB Curl-Press/Straight Bar Triceps Pressdowns/Machine Chest Presses/BB Curls/Close-Grip Lat Pulldowns/DB Rows/DB Front Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps per movement
- -Goblet Squats/Leg Extensions/Lying Leg Curls/DB Walking Lunges: 3 sets of 15 reps per movement