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After a cold winter cooped up indoors the spring and summer months may have you inspired to get healthy. This might mean beach body ready or simply recommitting to a few new lifestyle changes. Here are a few things to consider.
Even if the gym isn’t your favorite place to workout it is the most convenient option in the winter months. Now that the weather is warming up look for more outdoor activities. This could be anything from an outdoor yoga or group fitness class to jogging or cycling solo. Look for ways to get your family involved by hiking, water activities or playing outdoor games. If you enjoy sports look for a summer club or league. Last but not least, look for every opportunity to walk instead of driving shorter distances. You might still hit the gym a few days a week for strength training, but try to get most of your cardio outside of the gym.
Hydration is essential for flushing out toxins, anti-aging, and keeping your body balanced from the inside out. If you haven’t yet committed to drinking 64 ounces of water or unsweetened herbal tea each day—now is the time. However, if you live in a hot or humid climate you will need to increase your daily hydration during the summer months by at least another 8 ounces per day. For a cooling and refreshing summer beverage place 3 or 4 bags of peppermint tea in a water pitcher and drink cold.
Try to spread your hydration out during the day, starting with at least 8 ounces when you wake up each morning. Limit your hydration 3 hours before bedtime so that you can easily sleep through the night without getting up to go to the bathroom.
Your primary goal, even when you have weight to lose, should always be health. So, instead of going on a fad diet—rethink your nutritional intake. Just as we require more hydrating fluids during the summer months, we require more vitamin A, C, and E during the summer months. This is one of the reasons to commit to eating seasonal fruits and vegetables as nature has a beautiful way of delivering the nutrients our body needs year-round. Farmer’s market seasons is here and the local markets are the perfect place to get your fresh fruit and veggies.
Beyond seasonal nutrition, we must eat for our individual needs. Working with the team at Personalized Nutrition Concepts will help you achieve your goals for weight loss, improved health and increased athletic performance. Fitness will be part of your plan, but nutrition is always 90 percent of the weight loss equation.
Creating A Healthy Mindset About Diet And Exercise
The downside of the extreme diet and fitness culture we live in is that many of us have adopted unhealthy mindsets about our body, health, diet, and exercise. We commit to extreme plans that are unrealistic to maintain and punish and shame ourselves when we don’t stick to the plan. Here is how to create a healthy mindset about how you treat your body.
Too often the goals we set are ones that we can’t genetically achieve. If you have a boy-shaped body, you will never have curves, so don’t make curvy the goal. Yes, you can strengthen your flat bum, but it will still be flat. You can workout and diet as much as you like, but if you don’t have the genetics for a thigh gap, you will never have a thigh gap. Instead of trying to achieve a body type that is genetically impossible, and beating yourself up when you fail, make your body goals about YOU. If you have great arms, keep them toned and strong and show them off. If you have curves, own them instead of trying to hide them. If you love your calves, fill your closet with midi dresses and skirts.
If there was a one-size-fits-all fad diet that worked we would all be on it. Fad diets are designed around caloric-intake and elimination, leaving you hungry, irritable, and low on energy. Instead of eating less, eat more of the right things—with the vitamins and nutrients to support your individual needs. Think of food as medicine, because what you eat has the capacity to minimize illness, regulate hormones, increase your energy levels, improve sleep, boost your mood, and more!
To determine what your body needs to thrive, you must start with a personalized nutrition assessment. The plan that results from these findings will include foods that you love in portions that fill you up, instead of leaving you hungry and counting down the minutes until your next meal.
Your body was designed to move but many of us spend 8 or more hours sitting each day. This excessive sitting is linked to poor circulation, neck and back pain, decreased muscle mass, weight gain, and even heart disease. You can minimize your sitting by utilizing an ergonomic chair, standing desk, or sitting on a balance ball while you work.
It’s ok if you don’t love the gym, as it’s far from your only fitness option. When it comes to your strength training and cardio, look for ways to combine exercise with doing things that you love. If you live near the ocean and love to surf or paddle board, that can be your workout. If you love to dance sign up for a dance class. If you enjoy baseball join a local league. If yoga is more your thing find a core strengthening or power yoga class that gets your heart pumping—and provides resistance training. Make exercise fun and you will look forward to doing it, instead of dreading it and beating yourself up when you don’t make it to the gym.
We must spend more time celebrating our body and making how we feel more important than looking like a supermodel. If you are ready to take a personalized approach to your health and wellness reach out to Personalized Nutrition Concepts today!
