8 summer diet blunders to avoid

Keep your diet on track by avoiding high-fat coffee drinks and sugar-laden smoothies!Credit: sxc.hu/michelmik, michelmik

Aaah, summer. It's the season for grilling out, poolside cocktails, picnicking at the beach and enjoying the freshest fruit of the season. Many summertime activities revolve around food so you may need to plan ahead if you want to keep your diet on track. Many summertime treats -- think ice cream, iced coffee and even some fruit-based desserts -- can put you well over your calorie quota for the day and prevent you from reaching your diet goals.

Whether you're counting calories or following a strict low-carb plan this season, keep yourself on track by avoiding these summer diet blunders:

1. Iced coffee drinks. Those frozen coffee concoctions can satisfy your sweet tooth and give you a boost of energy, but they're often loaded with cream, full-fat milk, chocolate and sugar. Make your own coffee drinks in a blender at home so that you can control what goes in your drink, or stick with the "lite" menu at your favorite coffee shop.

2. Smoothie overload. While fresh fruit, yogurt and protein powder smoothies can be a great addition to your summer diet, too much of a good thing can kill you in the calorie department. All of that fruit and fresh juice is loaded with sugar, and even too much natural sugar can hurt your diet.

3. Eating fruit without protein. Fresh fruit is a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, but remember that fruit also contains fructose. If you want to avoid the sugar high-low cycle, eat your fruit with a low-fat protein. I eat fruit with low-fat cottage cheese, skim milk or low-fat yogurt to keep blood sugar levels stable and to avoid a sugar crash.

4. Ice cream for dessert. Summer season calls for sweet and creamy treats, but your favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor is probably loaded with fat, sugar and a meal's worth of calories per serving. Trade ice cream for low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurt to keep calories and fat at a minimum.

5. Unhealthy eats at the picnic table. Summer picnics can spell diet disaster. Avoid the seven layer salad, hot dogs and of course, anything fried to keep your diet on track. Marinate and grill up lean meats or stick with the veggie burger to get your protein fix without the extra fat and calories found in burgers, hot dogs and other picnic favorites.

6. High-calorie salad fixin's. From croutons to full-fat dressings, it's easy to sabotage your healthy eating plans when you hit the salad bar. Make sure you're aware of the nutrition facts of different salad items in the buffet line, and load up on steamed and raw veggies, green, leafy vegetables and light vinaigrettes if you're watching your weight.

7. Only choosing fat-free salad dressing. While fat-free versions of your favorite salad dressings can save you some calories, you still need some fat in your diet in order to stay healthy. Try reduced-fat dressing made with an olive oil base to add some healthy fats to your diet. Small amounts of healthy fats can help to reduce or eliminate cravings, and will help you feel more satisfied with that big pile of lettuce and veggies.

8. A few too many margaritas. Or pina coladas, daiquiris and other summer cocktails that are loaded with sugar. Remember that alcohol metabolizes into sugar fairly quickly, and most frozen drinks have a lot ofadded sugar for taste. If you're going to enjoy a summertime cocktail, keep track of the calories or consider going alcohol-free if you want to keep your diet on track.

More content from this contributor: