Learn: 5 Reasons Summer is a Great Time To Get Healthy

About four years ago, I decided to make a change in my life. I took a big step toward living healthier. But where many might assume that I took this step in January when everyone is making their New Year’s resolutions, the truth is, it was July.

So many of us think about becoming healthier after the holidays to make up for what we did in December. And some of us start working out in early spring, because we know bathing suit weather is on it’s way. But how many of us think about getting healthy in the summer?

The truth is, I don’t have an answer to that question. It might be more of us than I realize. In case it’s not though, today I want to share with you something I discovered when I made my big step toward health. My discovery was this:

Summer is an excellent time to get healthy.

Now, I am not sharing this to try and ruin your nights out with friends or the food that will be at your Fourth of July cook out. In no way do I want to take the fun out of summer. Rather, I want to share how taking advantage of some of the best parts of summer can actually help jumpstart our health journeys.

Today, I want to share five reasons summer is a great time to get healthy. In between all of our summer trips or events, there are many opportunities in which we can begin to form routines to help us in all aspects of our lives—not just fitting into a swimsuit. Here is what I have discovered about summer:

The Days Are Longer

I know, I know: obvious. But when it is lighter out in the morning, I find it mentally easier to get up for a run. And because the sun sets later, it is easier to fit in a workout in the evening. Summer gives us two great times of the day to choose to exercise. Where the days feel short and cold in the winter, they feel quite the opposite in the summer.

The Weather is Better

Again, this is a little obvious—but I sometimes think it is so much so that we take it for granted. When the weather gets nice in the spring, I do everything I can to be outside, but by July, sometimes I forget. I forget that these nice days are perfect for a walk with friends, hiking on the weekends, or finding a summer hobby like volleyball or ultimate frisbee. Perfect conditions for being active and having a good time.

The Best Food is Fresh

Most of the foods that are supposed to take up at least half of our plate at every meal, are in season in the summer. Those of us who grew up far from farm land don’t realize this, but when a strawberry or tomato is allowed to ripen on the vine mere miles from your home, it tastes AMAZING. At your local farmers market and even at your grocery store this season, you can find the best zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, etc.—that you’ve ever had. Summer’s produce makes eating healthy easy and SO good.

The Activities are Less

When I worked at a church, we typically followed the school calendar when planning our events. This meant, with the exception of a few programs in the summer, most of our activities happened September to June. And, in our community, many organizations do the same. This means, for most of us, things calm down in the summer, giving us time to form lasting routines of eating well and being active.

There’s People to Join You

With less activities, more people are looking for things to do on those long summer nights. This means, it shouldn’t be hard to find like minded friends to take a weekly Zumba or healthy cooking class with. For a few years, I was blessed with a group of teachers to run with on weekday mornings. Just put the option out there, you never know who will join you. After all it is good to be on this journey together.