As soon as the temperature starts getting warmer and we see flowers blooming, we think about summer — and with that comes the panic to “get in shape.”

The biggest misconception about our health is that good health looks a certain way: we often base our health assessments on the number on a scale and whether or not we look thin. However, neither of these are true indicators of good health. When our focus is on wanting a particular number on the scale, our action steps punish our bodies rather than nurturing our bodies.

Our bodies aren’t a battle ground. It’s not you against your body.

Good health looks different for each person. If you’re not there yet, if you are lacking in well-being (physical, mental, and/or emotional), then the best course of action is to focus on adopting healthier habits.  

Progressively adding healthy habits in a non-overwhelming way helps us to move forward towards good health that we are able to maintain. When we focus on looking good for a couple of months, it is not an authentic way of moving through wellness, nor is it sustainable.

True transformation is something that we should be able to maintain and consistently follow through with; it is not simply a destination or vacation from where you are now.

So, what do we do, then, if not go on a diet, to get ready for the summer?

Here are some answers to consider now and moving forward. We all need different approaches to address our different needs, but these will give you a great starting point on what to do.

  1. Stop waiting until the spring to work on your well-being. We focus so much on “healthy” meaning “skinny” or “lean” that we have forgotten what wellness really is. If you find an approach that has you consistently practicing wellness every day, you won’t have to “get ready” for anything. Your focus on feeling good will mean that you aren’t always thinking that you need to look better.
  2. Focus on managing stressors first. We can’t avoid stress completely. It occurs every day. But we can control how we react to stressors and how we deal with them. Stress diminishes our digestive power, interferes with mood and our emotional stability, causes inflammation and allergies, and decreases our ability to use stored energy (fats, carbs, and proteins). By working on better managing our stress, we can improve our bodies’ functioning, allowing us to get the wellness results we are looking for.
  3. Stop the all or nothing approach. Take on one or two new healthy habits at a time that make the most impact. Choose habits that you know you can and will follow through with.
  4. Move more! Simple but effective. “Move more” doesn’t just mean working out more; it means including more non-exercise activity throughout your day. Get up every couple of hours and move around. Walk more, take the stairs, walk the dog, play with the kids, clean the house, do some gardening, and pace/move around when talking on the phone.
  5. Understand that good health comes from practicing wellness every day, consistently. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy food and it certainly doesn’t mean you need to give up on all the things you enjoy. You need to be okay with knowing that you won’t always eat the right thing, you will overeat sometimes, you may feel lazy sometimes, and you will want your favourite sweet treat from time to time. All of this is okay. It’s about moderation and awareness.

The issues in maintaining wellness don’t come from weakness or lack of willpower, they come from trying to do too much at once. It comes from being too restrictive and militant in your approach.  

So be kind to yourself and consider the above tips. Take on wellness in a different way this time, so next spring, you won’t say “I need to get my body ready for the summer” because you will have learned how to practice wellness consistently. Our bodies deserve consistent wellness so that good health is a status that we always hold instead of us always trying to achieve it off and on.

MYTH BUSTER!

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring or difficult. You don’t need extra time to eat healthy. It takes just as long to make or choose a healthy meal versus the alternative. There are healthy choices available now when you’re on the go, too, so you have a choice even when you are busy. When on the go, you can now grab fresh fruits, premade salads and even hard boiled eggs. Healthy eating includes portion size, too. If you don’t have a choice on the what, you always have a choice of how much you eat. It isn’t about cutting out carbs or fat. Food is not bad for you in and of itself, unless you make it bad for you. Always think of the two Qs — quality and quantity.