The vacations are done, kids are back at school, and days are getting shorter again. It’s time to leave your summer behind and get back in the groove of fall fitness and health.
I’ve had many people ask me recently how they can get back on the “wellness wagon.”
Before you do anything, you must make a decision to do it. It’s that simple. If you let yourself have “just one more” splurge here or there, or wait until Labor Day or once school has been back a few weeks or whatever other excuse you have, you’ll keep pushing out the timeline to get started.
Decide to do it and follow through. If it’s harder than you intended, fight for it. It might be hard, but that’s sort of the point. You’re changing from your summer behavior to your fall behavior. So, it’s a bit less, “Lunch Margaritas,” and a bit more “Noon Workout.”
Change can be hard.
Once you’ve made the decision to get yourself in gear again, decide what needs to be done. Do you need to overhaul your eating habits? Start working out again or more frequently? Cut back on alcohol? Reduce your caffeine intake? Perhaps it’s all of these things.
That can be daunting. Make it easier on yourself by starting small and breaking each item into smaller tasks.
Here are the other things I would put at the top of your “to do” list:
Food quality: this tops my list for what to change to get the biggest bang for your buck. When I think of summer, it’s BBQs with friends, dinners out and happy hours on a sunny patio. Oftentimes, there’s chips and sauces and fried foods galore.
I’ve spoken before on how to eat (well), (CVN Vol. 28 No. 46) by slowly making changes to your diet. Choosing more veggies, fruits, whole grains and lean meats/seafood are where you should start. If you can’t add all of them, start with more lean meats and seafood.
Sleep: another topic I’ve touched on before. Late nights are natural when the sun stays out longer. However, it’s likely that you’re finding yourself under slept and exhausted from all the summertime fun and activities. If you haven’t already, start shifting your bedtime back by five minutes each night. It doesn’t seem like much, but after a week you’ll be going to bed 35 minutes earlier, which can mean the difference between one coffee or two.
If you are having an afternoon slump, avoid caffeine or a nap and use that lack of energy as a motivation to get to bed earlier.
Workouts: whether you want to start a workout program or increase your current regimen, make sure it’s something you like, otherwise you won’t stick with it. Workouts can be anything from a brisk walk, to yoga, to strength training. It could be from 10 minutes or 2 hours. Don’t feel like you “should” do this or that workout if you are feeling challenged by what you like to do.
Exercise is all about moving your body and making it stronger and faster. There are a lot of ways to accomplish this – no need to follow a set of rules that you don’t enjoy.
Alcohol: if you want to cut back on alcohol (which I hear a lot of this time of year), don’t go cold turkey. Rarely will that work out the way you think.
Instead, imbibe when you want, but try limiting yourself to a certain amount of drinks before you pour or order your first one, so you’re more likely to stick with your decision. Once you’ve hit your predetermined limit, switch to a soda water and lime if need be, or just plain water.
As you start to reduce your intake, keep trimming how many drinks you have per day until you get to the reduced level you decide.
Water: speaking of drinks, upping your daily water intake can bring about a lot of health benefits, including clearing up your skin, reduced bloating and helping to keep your digestive system working smoothly.
If you haven’t been focusing on water, focusing on this easy addition can improve your wellness without much effort.
Any and all of the actions listed above will be a boon to your health. However, for the sake of prioritization, I’ve listed them in the order of the benefit you’ll receive.
Some of these may not even ring true for you and you may have five other things you’d like to work on, like stress management, time management or organization (and yes, these all contribute to overall wellness). Whichever you choose to start with, make sure it’s something that’s attainable versus being the most difficult.
Give yourself the win and start small to build confidence and momentum.
Don’t be hard on yourself if it takes a couple weeks to get in the groove of it either; you’ve just had months of summer to let it all fall away. With persistence and diligence, you will notice your efforts.
Go easy, forgive yourself for little slip-ups and be persistent.
