Summer’s Over: Get Back on a Healthy Track
Summer 2022 is coming to an end, and while it may be easy to lament its passage -- it can be just as easy to enjoy a sense of refreshment and joyful anticipation of a brand new, shiny season. As kids go back to school, football season kicks off, the temps cool and the leaves burnish into gold, crimson and orange, it’s time to reset.
Romping under the sun at the beach, pool or lake, enjoying camp cookouts or backyard barbeques, watching fireworks or movies in the park, no doubt wonderful memories were made. But also, perhaps some bad habits set in, and now is the best time to break them.
Some habits are known to be difficult to break, but others are simpler, especially if they are tied into a season. The key is to be mindful; take a quick mental review of how you enjoyed your summer and if there are any changes or resets you want to make. There are likely just a few, and there are three common summer lifestyle activities people overindulge in: alcohol, late nights and indulging on too many calories.
Drinking too much alcohol
In sweltering weather when it’s easy to be thirsty, it’s also easy to overindulge in alcoholic beverages. Tropical cocktails may be oh so refreshing and fun, but they also deliver many calories and sugar. Alcohol may seem instantly thirst-quenching, but it is a known dehydrator. Trade the tinis for teas, the tequila for tisanes, and the wine for water.
Staying up too late
In the summertime, the nighttime temperatures are so much more comfy than the full-on sunblast of the daytimes, so it’s easier to pack in activities at night. And then there’s the wind-down period. It’s easier to stay up pretty late, pretty often. According to one source, there’s another factor at work -- the brain responds to the extended daylight by delaying the sleep signal. The result is reduced sleep, so get back on track by going to bed a little earlier than you did in the summer and sticking to this time.
Eating too much charcoal grilled meat
Burgers, hot dogs and steaks on the grill are a summer staple, and the grill is often used in the warmer part of autumn, too, especially for football tailgating. However, too much is, literally, hard on the heart. Red and processed meat is known to raise cholesterol levels but there’s another villain lurking in the grill. As meat is heated, its fat drips onto the hot coals, causing smoke to rise; the smoke contains high amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are linked to cancer. This autumn, trade the charcoal BBQ for a gas grill.
Resetting for Autumn
Moving from summer to fall can be the perfect excuse for a wellness reset. Primarily, it’s all about good sleep habits, nutritious diet, exercise and creating a life balance.
There’s an old saying, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes someone healthy and wise.” After Labor Day weekend, set a reasonable time to turn out the lights, and set your alarm where you have enough time to arise without the stressful pressure of rushing your morning. Ideally, you should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep nightly.
Nutritionist Martha McKittrick RD, recommends reviewing the food you have at home and restocking with healthy foods for all meals and snacks.
Start your day with a high protein breakfast, which helps control cravings, and fiber, which makes you feel fuller and helps aid in digestion. She suggests eggs, whole grain toast with nut butter, and plain Greek yogurt with chia seeds and berries.
Throughout the day, make a point to eat some vegetables, which are abundant in a wide array of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It isn’t hard to do as you only need about two cups per day. Flavor them up with infused extra virgin olive oils, and herbs such as oregano, cilantro, dill, paprika and hot pepper flakes, to name a few. Hot pepper flakes don’t just amp up the taste, they contain capsicum, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
You can also say “yes” to snacks, as light snacking helps control appetite and cravings. Smart snacking also may help regulate sugar metabolism. For example, one study comparing blood sugar after eating processed “junk” snacks versus a whole-food snack showed that blood sugar levels tended to spike higher and fall lower than after eating the whole foods snacks. Nuts, seeds, carrot sticks and celery are good snacking options that will help curb appetite, and also satisfy the crunch factor.
Exercise remains a critical tool for good health and well-being and autumn is prime time to be outdoors hiking, walking, biking, and playing tag or ball with the kids. (And, although the northern hemisphere is tilting farther away from the sun, SPF remains a good idea to protect skin.)
Creating a life balance means taking a hard look at how you spend your days, and ensuring that you carve out enough time to pamper yourself, your loved ones and indulge in activities you enjoy, from a hobby to reading, a luxurious tub soak, journaling, or binge-watching a favorite show.
By following these suggestions, you can stride robustly into a highly enjoyable autumn.
OMNITRIVIA: Testosterone levels in both men and women are at their highest in the autumn. (source)