Summer challenges

Summer is my happy time - when the frenetic pace of the school year is abandoned and my family gets to slow down, play, swim, and have more time for ourselves. I no longer have to get up at 4:15 AM to workout before the kids are up and I head out to work. I can do my meal prep when I want rather than in the hour between soccer games, grading, laundry, packing bags for school, etc. that happens on Sundays. I get to play with the kids all day long, lounge at the pool and relish in the fact that Andrew also has a more flexible schedule and can go in later and leave a bit earlier.

Summer has always been my health and fitness happy place. This summer, however, I'm having a harder time than typical. I'm still meal planning. I'm still planning out my workouts and frankly am still getting in those workouts every day. What's got me feeling a bit discombobulated is the lack of structure and discipline that I thrive on during the school year. While I hate the frenzied pace of the school year, I love the routine. I NEED that routine to stay on track. Summers are harder for me for that reason. It's easier to fall into the trap of sleeping later (hooray for children who at 5, 7 and 9 finally get up on their own and let me sleep!) and working out later. The lure of the new fire pit and the daily call for s'mores and afternoon ice cream runs makes it harder to stay on track with my eating. Don't get me wrong, I stray and I'm ok with those occasional cheats. It's what makes summer fun, enjoying those moments with my kids and friends. What I struggle with, and think I'm probably not alone in, is enjoying those cheats in moderation.

I'm excited to be kicking off my first challenge group this month. I have an amazing group of strong, motivated women from all walks of my life who are committed to making positive changes in their lives. I am beyond excited about this opportunity to support them in their health and fitness journey and hope to be an inspiration to them as much as I can. This is what is helping me to reinvigorate and stay on track. I am eager to find new ways to socialize with friends and family that don't involve gathering around food. I love that my friend Jane and I will support each other in choosing healthier options for our weekly dept. meetings at work. I love that my rowing friends are working with me to reclaim the athleticism we once had and that has waned in the post-college, new baby years. I am heartened by the handfuls of folks who reached out to me to inquire about what this crazy coaching thing I'm taking on means and how I might support them in reaching their goals.

School is only one month away so the return of my cherished routine is just over the horizon. With it comes the craziness, stress, and frenzied pace that for some can easily send their commitment to healthy eating or workouts right out the window. That's not going to happen over here and it will not be happening for my challengers. In the next 4 weeks, we're going to kick butt together, figure out this clean eating thing, commit to drinking our Shakeology daily and pushing play on that workout, whatever it may be. Here's to a great month ahead, filled with lots of fun summer activities and a great set-up for the fall.