Top Four Tips to Help Maintain a Healthy Summer Routine

If you’re anything like me summer break brings mixed emotions. It’s a more relaxed time. There’s less structure and more freedom. I absolutely love having my kid’s home. It’s a time to breath, stir up fun, and soak up sun! All that said though, the relaxed nature of summer break can also throw a major curve ball when it comes to maintaining healthy life habits. Today, I'm share my four top tips for sticking with healthy habits even on summer break!

Get up early!

It’s tempting to sleep later when you don’t have the pressure of rushing everyone out the door to school. I really encourage you though to consider maintaining the habit of getting up early all year long. Getting up early can provide you hours of quiet time to restore your body and spirit, and even check some healthy to-do’s off your list. Some of the ways I use my early mornings during summer break are by:

• Spending time in the Word and in prayer with God first thing! Filling your soul first helps you walk in peace all day!
• Checking exercise off my list! I love getting my workouts done early in peace and quiet before anyone even wakes up. It’s such a freeing feeling knowing it’s done for the day and again, it helps me to be a better mom and wife for the rest of the day!
• Cooking and meal prepping. I often use the early mornings in summer to get my weekly meal prepping and cooking done.

Pack food versus buying it

It’s soooo easy and tempting to buy food at the pool, zoo, or other summer attractions. I find though that planning ahead to make, and take, food with us is always a worthwhile decision. It not only saves us money, but also unnecessary sugar, unhealthy fats, and other “creepy” ingredients. I pack accordingly for the day based on how long we’ll be away from home. Sometimes that means packing breakfast, snacks and lunch! This is where using early mornings to meal prep will serve you SO well! I usually pack things like:

• Jar salads in a cooler
• Protein bars (such as Quest Bars) and protein chips (such as Kays Natural Protein Crackers)
• Homemade Dashing Dish protein muffins & baked goods
• No bake Dashing Dish protein balls
• Cheese sticks
• Nuts
• Drink mixes (such as TruLemon)
• Fruit and precut veggies

Keep a schedule

This has been HUGE for us! Yes, one of the greatest parts of summer break is the ability to enjoy a slightly less structured week. However, through trial and I error, I have found that my family thrives best with at least some routine. One of the most successful ways I’ve found to stick to healthy habit year round is to keep them scheduled throughout the year. I continue to get up early, get my workouts done early, and protect my time with the Lord first in the morning. I keep meal prep days the same, and schedule in quiet activities for all of us during the day. And, for the most part, we eat dinner at the same time so we don’t suddenly find ourselves scarfing something down at 8 p.m. Keeping “non-negotiables” like this in place all year has really made a difference for my family!

Involve the kids

I don’t know about you, but for me, one of the most challenging things about summer break is fighting back guilt over getting everything done while the kids are home. Silly? Yep. Honest? Yep. The truth is that it’s so healthy for our kids to see all that it takes to manage a home. Maybe you work full-time and manage a home? Even harder! It’s taken some practice, but I can tell you one of the most freeing things I’ve done is to get the kids involved in my daily routine. When it’s my quiet time, it’s their quiet time. When I have housework to do, I give them a task to tackle too. When it’s a gym day, they go and I put them in kidz-care (ahem, just FYI, I used to feel SOOOO much guilt about that. If you do, I understand! Trust me, it’s good! You’re setting an example about making healthy life choices and they learn that you’ll always return for them!). When it’s time for meal prepping (if I didn’t finish in the morning), they help chop, mix, and bag. Interestingly, the very thing I'd carried guilt and worry over has actually turned into something they enjoy! I’ve discovered that they actually love being involved. I see them feeling empowered by helping. And, it’s teaching them life-lessons about how to be part of a family who works together! If you’re carrying momma guilt, I encourage you to just lay that down. It’s too heavy!

I hope these little tips for success help bring peace and health to your family’s summer! Enjoy!