The kids are back in school, sports and other activities that have you playing bus driver for half of your day. Football tailgates are back with a lot more to celebrate this year than in years past. The slower pace of the summer where everything seemed a bit “more relaxed” is long gone.
Ah, yes, fall is upon us. This can be a challenging transition from a fitness and nutrition standpoint for many of us. With the holidays quickly approaching (and they are…Christmas is less than 10 weeks away – yikes) you want to make sure you get ahead of the game, and work on maintaining that beach body you worked so hard for over the summer.
Here are 5 quick tips to prevent you from “falling back” this fall:
1)Schedule your Workouts 
Like I said, you’re busy, I get it. When people get busy, the easiest thing to cut is exercise. But since exercise relieves stress, helps you think clearer, and gives you more energy it’s the worst thing to cut out. To prevent this from happening, actually schedule your workout on your calendar like you would for any other important appointment. Just like you wouldn’t miss an important appointment, don’t miss your workouts.
2) Set Appropriate Goals
Maybe this time of year is crazy busy for you. If so, reassess your goals. Maybe you don’t need to lose 2lbs per week, maybe one is more achievable. It might not be possible to exercise 5 or 6 days a week. Scale it back to 3 or 4, something more manageable. You will stay much more motivated with an exercise and nutrition program if you set realistic goals.
3) Don’t Stop Shopping
No ladies, I’m not talking about clothes or purse shopping, I mean grocery shopping! So often when we get busy, we miss a shopping trip here or there and then are forced to grab fast food. These meals are invariably less healthy, higher calorie, and less nutritious. Not only does this leave you with less energy, it can also leave you with a few extra pounds.
4) Be Creative with Workouts
You might not have time to get to the gym 5 days per week, but maybe you can make it down to your basement for a quick 30min circuit. AFS clients, ask your practitioner for a short body weight workout you can do before the kids wake up in the morning, or on your lunch hour. It might not be a full, grinding, hour-long workout, but it’s something and every little bit adds up.
5) Have Healthy Food Ready to Go
This goes along with number three. Do your best to buy and then prep healthy foods in single servings: fruits cut up veggies, low fat cheese sticks, Greek yogurt, and lean lunch meats. Single servings of fruits, veggies and protein that you can grab and take with you, provide you great nutrition and save you calories. A little preparation can go a long way!
Hope you all have a happy and healthy fall. Remember, next summer’s beach body starts now 🙂
