Your Healthiest Summer Yet

Summer is a great time to get healthy. The outdoors are more accessible, there is a certain slowdown and fresh foods are in abundance. Here are a few ways you can make this your healthiest summer yet, with summer fitness ideas, tips to boost your mood, and a few ways to make your diet healthier.

Summer fitness

Bored with your usual exercise routine?  Many people are turning to strength training to re-vamp their fitness goals. Cardio and yoga help to strengthen the heart and improve flexibility. Adding strength training enables you to tone up all over it. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, it makes sense to add it to your routine!

Strength Training

Strength training means to use resistance to work your muscles.  People often envision weight lifting equipment and bulky muscles, however, this is not necessarily the case.  You can use your own body as a weight!

Strength training has been known to:

• boost longevity
• burn more fat
• boost metabolism
• build muscle mass.

So How to Begin? The good thing is that no equipment needed.   Simple bodyweight workouts are a great place to start before using the equipment.

Start with 2 days a week to reduce shocking your body. Begin with 20-minute sessions and work your way up to longer sessions gradually.  Don’t forget to mix it up with your usual cardio routines.

Each exercise should include 15 reps and 3 sets per movement.  Squats and push-ups can be highly effective.  Mix it up between lower and upper body parts.  So 15 squats and then 15 push-ups, alternating between the two until comfortable.

Stretch after each workout to help your muscles improve flexibility and calm the nervous system.

Take rest days in between sessions.  Don’t push your body beyond a little soreness.  Your body needs to recover and repair.

Another great way to recover is to refuel with water, carbs, and protein. A whey protein supplement like Beyond Whey is an excellent way to support muscle recovery after exercise.

Boost your mood this summer

Remember when summer meant lazy days and magical nights? Before the hustle and bustle of 9 to 5, you relished the summer months and the freedom that came with it. Your nostalgia and memories conjure up happier times and you look around and it might seem that everyone still has a slice of that wonderful. You see one friend on social media seems to hop around the world on adventures and another living it up on the beach every day. FOMO (fear of missing out) can bring down anyone’s mood. There is a way to create your own happiness in small ways that can bring big fun to your summer.

Your idea of fun

Quick. What are the three things that would give you summer vibes? For some, it is a beach, BBQ, and friends. For others, it is lemonade, family and camping. Whatever makes you feel like summer, write it down. This is your blueprint. Make these things happen around your busy work schedule. You may have to wake up early to get in that hike in the woods or work overtime to take the entire weekend off to hang out at your friend’s house on the beach. The important part is to just do it. Take time. Make the effort. You will boost your mood just by experiencing the summer you crave.

Travel with intention

Travel has been shown to reduce stress, but too much travel at once can actually do the reverse. Take the time to plan a trip that you will enjoy, but don’t pack every weekend with trips out of town. You need to savor the time off, appreciate it and save the photos for #latergram. Spending too much money, pressuring yourself to have a perfect trip and staying plugged in the entire time will add to your stress. It is far better to plan a trip with the sole purpose of enjoying yourself and leave remembering it for later on.

Home is where the summer is

Many of our childhood summer memories were at home. Playing in the backyard, cooling off with the kids on the block under an open hydrant, and riding your bike around town. Lemonade stands, ice cream trucks, and fanning yourself on your porch at night. Bring that back into your summer days. Go for a walk after work. Meet your friend at an outdoor movie and break out the iced tea. Next time you water your lawn, water yourself too!

Earthing

What is earthing you ask? Spending so much of our time indoors disconnects us from the earth. While our ancestors understood the importance of feeling the dirt between their toes and sleeping under a full moon, we have forgotten the importance of nature to our well-being. No seriously, it is known as nature therapy, but it has been proven over thousands of years that we as humans are happier in nature.

Earthing is the physical connection of our body to the earth; this can be in the water, earth, or plant life.  Earthing can:

• increase happiness
• restore balance
• reduce inflammation
• improve sleep
• improve circulation
• lower stress
• boost energy
• increase creativity.

So, walk barefoot through the grass and spend the day laying in the sand at the beach. Go swim in the lake and sit under the tree in the park during your lunch break.

Learn how to say no

Summer calendars can fill up quickly with all sorts of events from weddings to graduations to barbecues. Sometimes you need to say “no” and do what you want to do instead. Self-care is important and exhausting yourself with social obligations will make for an unhappy summer indeed.

Say “yes” to some and politely bow out of anything that overwhelms you. Use that face mask sitting in your drawer and paint your toenails a pretty summer color while binge-watching your favorite shows instead.

Some Food Advice

Here are some other ways to make the most out of summer and boost your mood:

• Add lemon to your ice water; it can help detox your body and lemon is an uplifting scent.
• Add tomatoes to your summer salad; they are a source of lycopene, an antioxidant that fights depression-causing inflammation.
• Coconut everything. Coconut screams summer but also contains medium-chain triglycerides know to boost mood.
• Roses bloom in the summer months but are also known to calm feelings of bitterness and anger. Try rose tea in a cold-brew beverage or rosewater mixed with juice for a refreshing mood changer.

Whatever you do to create your own happiness this summer, just remember what you cherish during the summer and what makes you happier. Try new things and remember the old things – together they fuse into summer fun no matter how busy you are.

Healthy summer snacks

Matcha is all the rage lately. This green tea powder is packed with antioxidants and contains the amino acid L-Theanine, which supports calm and can reduce anxiety. It also boosts concentration, supports detoxification and burns calories! Couple that with a good source of protein like BrainSustain Vanilla to support normal memory function and boost protein each day. Try this delicious matcha protein smoothie recipe to rev up your morning or lift you out of an afternoon slump.

Matcha Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup berries of your choice: blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries
• 1 cup of coconut water
• 1 teaspoon matcha powder
• 2 level scoops of BrainSustain Vanilla 
• 2-3 cubes of ice (optional)

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a blender.
• Blend together until smooth.

Enjoy!

Try some Mermaid Foods

Mermaid food may seem too colorful and too fun to be healthy, however, it is quite the opposite since the key ingredient is a superfood – spirulina! Spirulina is a blue-green algae found in fresh and saltwater, dried and turned into a powder. This powder is a good source of iron, protein and B vitamins and has been used for supporting digestion and healing wounds. As a food source, spirulina is often used in smoothies.

However, people create “mermaid foods” that are not only dazzling to look at but also incorporate lots of other healthy ingredients. Primarily the ingredients are blues and greens, but mermaid food also incorporates lots of other colorful foods:

• Blue – Spirulina; Blue algae contain anti-inflammatory properties, over 65 nutrients and packed full of antioxidants.
• Green – Chlorophyll drops; Chlorophyll is a good source of vitamins A, C, E, and K, stimulates the immune system and energizes the body.
• Pink – Beet juice; Beets contain phytonutrients called betalains which are powerful antioxidants and contain detoxification and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Purple – Freeze-dried blueberry powder; Blueberries are high in antioxidants, potassium, and fiber.
• Yellow & Orange – Turmeric powder; Turmeric has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which support cardiovascular, brain and joint functions.

Mermaid foods include smoothie bowls, yogurt bowls, popsicles, ice cream as well as mermaid toast.

Mermaid Toast

Mermaid toast is still popular. Here’s how to make this treat:

• Decide on the colors you would like to use based on the above list.
• Add a small amount of each food to dye some cream cheese or Greek yogurt the color you wish.
• Make some toast using sprouted whole grain or any bread you choose. Let it cool.
• Brush the toast with plain white cream cheese (or yogurt) for a base.
• Add dollops of colored cream cheese or yogurt and start swirling them with a butter knife to make your design.
• Top with coconut flakes, gold-leaf flakes, pastel sprinkles or cut fruit or veggies in star shapes.

Your imagination is the only limit. However you decide to enjoy mermaid food, there is no doubting it is both good for the body and fun for the soul.

Level up your overnight oats

Overnight oats are easy to prep the night before and a great way to start the morning. Oats are a whole grain containing both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fibers help support normal cholesterol levels and blood glucose levels. Insoluble fiber can support intestinal health and reduce constipation. Oats also contain protein which can keep you full longer, meaning no more grabbing the donuts in the break room.

Oats also provide thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, selenium, and iron; lots of minerals in one bowl. Oats can be purchased gluten-free and, because it is a whole grain, they can help with weight control. Oats also contain essential fatty acids and are a prebiotic – feeding good bacteria for healthy gut flora. In addition, oatmeal is a warm comfort food from our childhood, reminding us of crisp fall school days.

Prepare overnight before bed:

• Mix oats, a dash of salt, and the milk of your choice in a small jar. Rice, coconut or almond milk alternatives can work well.  Or just water is fine.
• For some extra protein, throw in a handful of nuts like almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
• Mix everything together and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next morning, eat raw or heat up.

Here is where you can really boost your nutrients and make it your own:

• Add dried fruit such as dates, apricots, prunes, figs, mango. Whatever you like best. Dried fruits contain beta carotene, magnesium, calcium, iron and are a good source of fiber.
• Add fresh fruit of your choice. Apples, berries, pears, papaya or bananas. They are loaded with nutrients and add a natural sweetness.
• Make the flavor in your oats pop by spicing it up: Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, turmeric, vanilla, cayenne pepper, cardamom.
• Boost the good fats in your oatmeal. Stir in some coconut oil. Sprinkle with chia or flax seeds, both of which contain plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids. A great boost for your heart and your brain before you start the day.
• Make it sweet. Who says breakfast can’t taste like dessert? Treat yourself with a few raw cocoa nibs, flaked dark chocolate, or a sprinkle of coconut flakes or brown sugar.
• Make it a creamy powerhouse. Swirl in a bit of almond, cashew or peanut butter for added protein and good fats.

The combinations are endless but the base is the same, making it easy to play with flavors and cravings when you want.

Your overnight oats can be as unique and flavorful as you want, making a nutritious grab-and-go breakfast every morning!