Summer, Structure and Sanity!
If you're someone who thrives on, or just relies on routine the summer holidays can be a lot. No school run, no normal work or workout schedule, no solo food shop in peace.
Long, hot days, kids at home or family trips out that don’t always offer the healthiest food choices can be disruptive to your body goals. For women with ADHD (diagnosed or not), or those simply juggling too much, this season can create the perfect storm for overwhelm. And when you're out of rhythm, it’s easy for healthy habits to slip. Sometimes the healthy habits you’ve established can even feel like extra stress to maintain, leading to guilt, temptation to abandon everything and a resulting lapse in your confidence.
So here’s a big reminder for you; It doesn't have to be all or nothing! You don’t need to be rigid in your healthy habits and actions to feel grounded. Here’s how to bring just enough structure into your summer to support your energy, mood, and body goals — while still enjoying the freedom of the season.
1. Choose One or Two Non-Negotiables to Book End Your Day
Rather than trying to get everything done and beating yourself up if things fall through, decide on what you will always do. These can be things that really help your mindset and get you starting the day positively. For example:
Drinking a full glass of water first thing
Getting 10 minutes of yoga or other movement before breakfast
Prepping your lunch at breakfast time
A 2-minute breathing exercise or 5-10 minute meditation before bed.
Think of these as your ‘bookends’ — a gentle beginning and end that keeps your day from completely unravelling.
2. Use Visual Cues to Stay on Track (ADHD-Friendly Tip)
Habit stacking (when you link a new habit to an old one) is brilliant; but can be disrupted with your routine change. And with ADHD, out of sight, can mean out of mind, so try using some external reminders. For example:
Use whiteboards, sticky notes or fridge checklists to prompt simple healthy daily habits (e.g. 8 - 10,000 steps?Hydrate? Stretch?)
Set calendar or timer reminders for movement breaks.
Keep supplements at the meal table.
Keep water bottles within easy reach.
3. Prep ‘Just Enough’
This doesn’t have to mean full Sunday batch cooking. In summer, light-touch meal prep can do wonders:
Chop veggies or cook proteins to mix and match during the week
Salads can be quick to prep, with a different salad recipe for lunch and dinner.
Get kids involved in smoothie prep or assembling lunch boxes
4. Ditch the ‘Perfect Plan’ and Set Your Minimums
You don’t need to do everything to stay on track. Just keep your minimums in sight:
Minimum of 2 nourishing meals a day
1 intentional movement (even 5 minutes)
1 reset moment for yourself
Even if the rest of the day goes off-piste, you’ve still taken a step forward.
5. Say No Without Guilt
Boundaries still exist in the summer and are a vital form of self-care. The phrase that you can’t serve from an empty cup applies in the holidays too! And let’s not forget that modelling that for your kids is powerful. Protect your energy as well as your time with some rest or quiet days at home.
True friends will understand replies like “That sounds lovely, but we’ve got a quiet day planned” or “Thanks, I’m going to sit this one out today.”
Don’t be fooled into thinking that summer will be a write-off for your body and health goals. Even with weight loss, continue to keep a positive focus on nourishing your body with healthy foods, move to make you feel good and protect your mental health with some down time. Accept that there may be compromises but they can still keep you headed in the right direction.
And if you are ready to take real action on your weight loss and body goals with a one to one nutrition or transformation programme, get in touch and let’s chat! Sessions can be in person in Epsom and surrounding areas in Surrey or online.