When the forecast looks like this every day:

And you don’t have air conditioning (or, maybe you have it in your bedroom but can’t justify using it all day), a girl needs to make some changes. It’s times like these that the thought of any sort of hot food is enough to make me queasy. Since I’m home all day in the heat this summer vacation, I thought I’d offer a few pieces of advice that keep me (relatively) calm, cool, and collected.

1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. This seems like a total no-brainer, but I find that I sometimes don’t want to do anything when it’s this hot. I love regular old water, but I also hit up the coconut water, iced green sencha, iced yerba mate, and sparkling water to mix things up a bit.
   • Coconut water is awesome. I drink it quite a bit when it’s super hot out, and almost always to hydrate after workouts. I’ve heard it described as “nature’s gatorade” since it’s loaded with potassium and other goodies to replenish what you’ve lost in sweat.
   • Iced teas are easily my most refreshing “discovery” this summer. Yeah, I know iced tea is not exactly a discovery, but I’ve only recently stumbled upon it’s excellence. I like my tea straight up, so I invested in a few glass pitchers.
2. Bookend your day. The “coolest” parts of the day are obviously going to be the early morning and the nighttime. Plan most of your activities accordingly. I prefer to workout outside, so on these nasty-hot days, I’m up at 5:30 and running. I’ll try to do housework (laundry, cleaning, etc.) in the morning too. At night, it’s usually really nice. That’s a good time to finally head out, enjoy the summer for a walk, or some drinks outside.
3. Eat seasonal food. Okay, so this isn’t specific to heat necessarily, but it could be. I think there’s a reason that there are so many fruits and veggies that are in season right now – they taste awesome raw. I keep the heat down at home by eating salads, raw veggie kebabs, and smoothies. Here’s a tasty raw corn salad I made with CSA corn and onions.
4. If you must cook, time it well. It’s times like this that I really love my steamer, slow-cooker, and toaster oven. I can use each (early morning or late at night, of course, since I bookend) without totally heating up the kitchen too much. This is also a good time to make large batches and hang on to leftovers. I’ll steam a ton of brown rice and use it throughout the week for different dishes.
5. Suppress the urge to workout like a maniac. Even if you’re used to workin it out like a maniac, summer is not always the time to do it. Neither is a heat wave. And neither is the middle of the afternoon. If you’re following the other rules, you should already be hydrating and bookending your day. So as long as your workouts are early morning or in the latter half of the day, you should be okay. Now my pitch for early morning workouts: if you live in a major metropolitan area (like here in NYC), smog and pollution levels tend to be at their lowest first thing in the morning and build throughout the day. (And if you’re interested in morning workouts, check out my post on starting them). Just sayin’. And while I hate treadmills, they become a good friend on days like this. Here are some great tips on working out in the heat:
   • Ten Ways to Stay Hydrated on Fit Sugar
   • Tips for Exercising in the Heat also from Fit Sugar
   • Running in Hot Weather from Healthy Tipping Point
6. Siesta, baby. This is perhaps my favorite rule of all. On days when I’m home, I’ve really gotten accustomed to a post-lunch nap. Not necessarily a long one, but just 30 minutes to refresh myself. Other days, my “siesta” may just be a matinee at an (air-conditioned) movie theater, a few hours in a nice cool coffee shop/bookstore, etc.

So that’s how I keep cool! What do you do to beat the heat?