You want to feel strong and confident in your body and clear in your mind this summer! Summertime can be a fun time but also your schedule may be all over the place. From travel to other invitations, it can be hard to feel your best when we lose our routines. I have a few simple tips that can help you feel your best all summer long!

Don’t Skip Your Morning and Evening Routines

Our bodies and our minds love routine, from our digestive system to our muscles, and our brain, we love a schedule! During summertime, with varied schedules it can be tempting to skip out on your regular routine. Even if you are away or traveling, keeping some elements of your routine can help you to feel your best. 

Before you sip your morning coffee, start your day with a big glass of water to help your muscles, your digestive system, and your brain wake up. I love to enjoy a glass of room temperature water with lemon, sometimes I add ginger and a dash of cayenne pepper. 

Take the time to do some gentle stretches and even a short meditation or a few moments of deep breathing in the morning and before bed. Stretching in the morning can help your body to ease stiffness after it’s been still for a long sleep and stretching in the evening can help your body to wind down and settle into a good night’s sleep resting your mind and your muscles.

Check out this 10-minute evening stretching routine to help you wind down and ease your body into a great night of sleep:

Soak Up the Sun!

Get outside and enjoy the sunshine for at least 10 minutes a day to boost your mood and take in Vitamin D, which is important for bone health. Protect yourself from the sun with a nice big hat and put on your SPF. Enjoy your morning routine outside, get out in the garden, or take an evening walk when the day isn’t so hot, avoiding the hottest hours of the day between 10am and 4pm.

Hydrate!

It’s easy to become dehydrated, bring along your reusable water bottle wherever you go and sip it all day. Brighten up your water with lemon, cucumber, or even fresh berries to keep it interesting. It also helps to entice you to keep drinking!

Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can be dehydrating, try herbal teas instead. Snack on foods with higher water content like cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, radishes, peppers, watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, and even spinach and cauliflower. If you know you will be spending a good amount of time outside, hydrate yourself well in the hours leading up to the event, during the event, and afterwards. 

Make Fitness a Lifestyle

When you incorporate fitness into your lifestyle, it’s not just about getting that heavy workout in, but it becomes an enjoyable part of your day to add movement and helps you feel your best to enjoy all of life’s adventures. The last thing you want is to be stuck waiting on the bench when your friends are enjoying the fabulous views at the top of the hill! 

Take a morning or evening walk, take up a new hobby that keeps you active like dancing, hiking, golf, or tennis. Find a workout program that you enjoy that isn’t too much of a challenge for your body, such as my virtual fitness workout community.

It’s when you go to the extremes with exercise and nutrition when it becomes too difficult to keep up with for the long haul. Check out this quick video to tone up your summer arms:

Keep It Fresh!

Enjoy as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you can! With so much amazingly flavorful produce, it’s a fun time to get creative in the kitchen!

Add watermelon or grilled peaches to a salad, chop up some fresh fruit and veggies for a snack, mash up an avocado with a squeeze of lime juice and a dash of taco seasoning for a quick guacamole with veggies or tortilla chips, slice lunchbox peppers in half and top with a little fresh tomato and a sprinkle of cheese and pop them in the toaster oven.

For more delicious and fresh summer recipes, check out my healthy summer recipe guide.

What do you do to ease through the hottest days of summer? What has worked for you and what hasn’t? Can you share your favorite cold summer drink?