Summer is just around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to start incorporating some simple daily habits to ensure you look and feel your best. Whether you’re looking forward to beach days, outdoor adventures, or just soaking up the sun, a few easy tweaks to your routine can make a huge difference. Make these easy swaps to your daily routine to get a jump start on summer and feel more confident wearing whatever you want!
Before diving into these easy changes, it’s important to remember: if you’re currently doing any of these at 50% of what I’m recommending, don’t push yourself to make a huge leap overnight. Instead, set a smaller goal, such as increasing your efforts by 25% from where you started. This gradual approach will be more sustainable and effective in the long run. Let’s get into it!
Drink MORE Water!
Aim to drink 100 ounces a day. Will you pee more? YES. Your body will adapt over time. Especially now that we’re increasing our time outside in the hot sun, you really need to focus on hydration. This is going to make you feel better in so many ways.
For me, I stopped getting headaches as frequently and my skin appeared more hydrated regardless of products applied to it.
Other times, our body is telling us that it actually needs water and we’re misinterpreting the cues for hunger. Keeping hydrated can actually prevent you from eating extra snacks, that maybe you don’t even need.
All in all, your body needs water to perform essential functions so let’s just make sure we’re getting enough this summer.
Get Moving
Your goal should be to get 10k steps a day. I don’t know that there’s any science behind this number, it’s just an attainable number. I’m speaking from experience. I also know that having a watch that tracks steps simply provide you with an external cue to get a few more than you would without it. There’s definitely research behind this phenomenon.
Besides your workout, it’s important to keep moving throughout the day to increase your daily energy expenditure, which translates to more calories burned. Simply getting more steps throughout the day is a lighter way to burn a few extra calories instead of trying to do something insane, like 2 workouts a day.
If you don’t have a step tracker, you can use your phone. 95% of the population carries it with them everywhere anyways sooooo use the health apps in your phone to track steps for your health and fitness journey.
Be Honest with Yourself About Snacks and the Quantity of Food you’re Consuming
It’s easy to underestimate the amount of food you’re eating when it comes to things that we associate with being healthy. Peanut butter and avocado are healthy, but they are calorically dense. It doesn’t mean we need to cut these foods out; it just means we need to be mindful of the quantity we are consuming.
When you’re considering what you’re eating throughout the day, the handful of Goldfish and the 2 bites of your toddler’s chicken nugget, still count! I bet if you sat down each day to math out the calories of extra shit, you would hit between 100-200 calories. That right there is enough to see progress by simply increasing your awareness to what you’re consuming. Next stop, cut it out of the diet.
A Little Extra on What You’re Consuming
Everyone makes a face or acts like the world is ending, but a food scale can be a good addition to your nutrition game. Why do I use it? For precision and education. I come from a background of restrictive eating because I thought it was best. I felt like the only way to achieve my dream body was to just eat less.
My instinct is always to assume something is a larger quantity than it actually is. I have learned to use the food scale as a tool to learn how to eyeball things out of my perfect home environment. This didn’t happen overnight, but after using the food scale for a few months I have slowly felt more comfortable not using it.
A good way to do this is using the same plates and bowls regularly to help you eyeball portions and slowly backing away from the scale. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for me because I found I was able to eat SO. MUCH. MORE. I got to know the serving sizes of my frequently consumed foods and used the scale to help me see just how much more I could eat. Don’t knock it, until you try it.
This tip with the addition of the scale, may not be deemed easy, however if you’re doing everything else I have listed, maybe give this a shot. These are fairly inexpensive on Amazon as well.
Eat More Protein
Protein will help you stay full for a longer period of time, which will translate to less desire to eat! If you want to have some muscle definition going into your summer outfits, this will help out there too.
An easy way to do this is to just make sure you have a lean source of protein at every meal. I typically have to make breakfast as easy as possible because I DO NOT have time to heat anything up when I’m leaving. I barely get to the car on time, enough said.
I opt for a smoothie with protein powder or overnight oats with protein powder added into the mixture. Lunch and dinner rotate between ground turkey, chicken, and turkey lunch meat. My husband likes red meat so you will occasionally find ground beef or brats sprinkled into the menu.
Due to analyzing everything from the tip before this one, I have found that I get to eat more if I stick with my typical foods and not the ones my husband prefers. However, I enjoy more foods than ever before with a guilt-free attitude because I realized I was restricting so much. Slowly, I have been able to change my relationship and mindset about food.
Sleep More
Believe it or not, this is the hardest one for me. I can stand there and weigh shit out all day to ruin the day’s work with getting 5-6 hours of sleep. News flash, you need sleep for your body to repair from all your workouts, stepping, and chasing a toddler all day.
It’s never been easy for me to accomplish this one because I’ve held 2 jobs, went to graduate school, and I’m a mom now. I think as I have aged, it has really set-in how important the sleep component is.
As my daughter has aged, this has gotten easier and I’m currently averaging around 7 hours. With the additional sleep, I have noticed so many things have improved. I have more patience with the feral things my toddler engages in, and I feel like I can be better mom. This one makes me feel the most accomplished. This is probably half of the motivation to get to bed on time.
For a while, running on the 5 hours a night, I was an a-hole. I’m also sharper at work and I’m just generally more efficient. Having the mental clarity to get things done has been game changing. Just get the sleep. You won’t regret it because the things you’re leaving behind to get the sleep will get done faster tomorrow!
Don’t Skip Meals
I never understood how people could just skip breakfast. Well, any meal, for that matter, but I get hangry and it’s not good for anyone. I tended to take that out on the people closest to me. First it was just my dad, but now my husband and my dad can joke about it together after having survived it many times firsthand.
There’s a 99% chance, that this is going to lead to more senseless snacking and your resolve to stick to the healthier options will be dead. If you’re into intermittent fasting and you like it, fine, but know that this isn’t necessary to lose weight or achieve whatever health and fitness goal you have.
For one, this can slow down your metabolism, which is the exact opposite of what you want if you’re trying to slim down. Since your body is trying conserve energy, you will then burn less energy, which translates to burning fewer calories at rest. Once you do get a chance to eat, it’s more likely you will overeat. It’s not uncommon to feel sluggish and even get a headache from skipping a meal. Just eat.
Wrapping Up
As we gear up for the sunny days ahead, incorporating these six easy daily habits can make a world of difference in how you feel and look this summer. By drinking more water, getting more steps, being mindful of your snacks, eating more protein, ensuring you get enough sleep, and avoiding skipping meals, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier and more confident you.
Remember, it’s all about making small, sustainable changes that fit into your lifestyle. Start with one or two habits and gradually build up to include all six. Each step you take is a step towards a more vibrant and energized summer. So, embrace these habits, enjoy the journey, and get ready to shine all season long mama!
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