Summer is kicking my ass right about now. Late nights, lack of routines…too many summer indulgences. The luxury of being able to slack off a little bit. (Or a lot.) How do you balance summertime slacking with your real life goals? Have fun without complete anarchy?
We spend a lot of time away over the summer. We are blessed to both be home for the summer since my husband is a teacher. It might be financially irresponsible, neither of us working in the summertime, but I don’t think we’ll ever regret these summers with our kids. Before we know it they’ll be off on their own.
So summer means lots of lazy mornings and late nights. Ice cream and cheeseburgers. Lounging by the pool and drinks on the porch.
It also means “clean eating” falls by the wayside. My blog is being neglected again. And I post in my groups less often.
I love the sense of freedom we have in the country bungalow where we spend most of our summer. But it can be hard to build a routine and it’s definitely hard to eat right! Right now, in this house, there are donuts, Double Stuff Oreos, Chewy Chips Ahoy, a plethora of sugar cereals, Doritos, Cheetos, Extra Toasty Cheez Its, at least 3 flavors of ice cream, Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Rolos…I could go on and on. And that’s not including the main meals that often consist of foods I don’t eat normally at home. White pasta, perogies, raviolis, homemade mac and cheese, french fries. Ugh.
At home, I have control over what food is in the house for the most part. During the summer we live very communally with my in-laws. And there are lots of kids. Which means lots of snacks. And a lot more temptation. Throw into the mix the fact that I’m up late every night and sleeping in tight quarters and it spells trouble.
So what am I doing about all this health and fitness stuff? Some days are harder than others, but for the most part, I’m doing a few things to minimize the impact of this summer living…
- I’m keeping up with my workouts. I’m not doing hour-long workouts six days a week. But I am doing something almost every day. I started a workout program that has me lifting weights four days a week. The other days I either go for a walk or a run. Some days it’s five strenuous miles, some days it’s just a half hour strolling in the woods. But I’m moving.
- I drink my Shakeology. Almost every day. I know it’s helping me get some nutrition in and it minimizes the damage I’ll do the rest of the day. Chances are good I’ll eat less crap if I get that shake in.
- I drink my water. I’m not nearly as good about it as I am when I’m in a more settled routine, but I do stay pretty hydrated.
- Intermittent fasting. I really feel like this has helped me not gain 50 pounds this summer. I’ve stuck with my habit of not eating until 11 or 12:00. I’m used to it, I like the way I feel with it, and I think it gives my body time to deal with all the nonsense food I’m consuming. You can read more about intermittent fasting in this post.
That’s about it. I’m not really feeling so great about the state of things right now. I’m frustrated with myself for making bad choices that affect the way I feel. But it could be worse. As far as my own fitness goals go, I’m doing ok. I’m definitely feeling a little “fluffy,” but I haven’t really gained weight. I’m not in the shape I was in at the end of the school year, but I’m feeling pretty strong. I know if I could just stay a little more on track with my nutrition, I’d feel better and I’d see more results from the workouts I’m doing. But I’m not being too hard on myself.
I’m trying to enjoy the chaos, to soak it up before we go back to reality and routine. I’m doing enough so that I hopefully don’t undo too much progress, but not pushing myself. It’s summertime and I don’t want to spend time worrying and stressing.
I do try to carve out a few minutes in the morning to think about my goals, jot down ideas. Be more intentional. Remember who I am in my regular world. This party can’t go on forever.
How do you stay on top of things in the summertime? Any tricks to enjoy the summer life without feeling like you’re skipping a beat with real life?
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