Take in More Water!

     We all know we need to stay hydrated in summer. But water-rich fruits and vegetables do more than help replace sweat - they also help fill you up without piling on too many calories. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, obese people who bumped up their intake of water-rich fruits and vegetables while cutting out some dietary fat shed about 17 pounds in a year, and they felt less hungry than those who only cut back on fat. And since produce contains more water (and more volume) when it's uncooked, you'll maximize those benefits. A cup of raw spinach, for example, has a mere 7 calories, versus 41 calories in a cup of cooked spinach.
   More water can even help you fire up fat loss, a German study found. That's due in part to the energy needed to warm the water to body temperature. And research also shows that staying well hydrated can rev up metabolism.

YOUR MOVE Pack your meals and snacks with especially juicy produce, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, watermelon, and berries. For a hunger-quelling, hydrating snack, whirl water-loaded fruits - Cantaloupe, peaches, or apricots, for example - into smoothies, or make cold, raw blender soups like cucumber-yogurt or gazpacho. You can also turn classic gazpacho ingredients into a salad.

Gazpacho chopped salad with mozzarella and prosciutto

Skip the blender, and a classic summer soup, becomes a refreshing main-dish salad fortified by protein-rich fresh mozzarella and thinly sliced prosciutto.

2/3 cup fresh unsalted mozzarella chunks
Kosher salt
2 cups croutons
1 minced garlic clove, pressed to a paste with a little salt on a cutting board
2 Tbsp chopped roasted peppers
1 1/2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 tsp red-wine vinegar
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
8 slices prosciutto, roughly torn

1. In a mixing bowl, lightly salt the mozzarella. In another bowl, combine the croutons, garlic paste, peppers, and sherry vinegar. Mix well and let everything sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add the cucumber, wine vinegar, and tomato to a third bowl; season with salt. Add the crouton mixture, olive oil, prosciutto, and mozzarella. Mix well; add more salt and oil if needed. Makes 2 servings