Seize the Summer to Focus on Yourself: Reset your Health Goals

Reset yourself this summer. Summer is a fun time, a relaxing time, a time for family and friends. But sometimes summer is a hectic and harried time, marked by a frenzy of “fun”. We rush from Barbecue to concert to trip to beach outing. Each event is enjoyable, no doubt. But, sometimes, the fury of racing from thing to thing does not allow us to soak up the essence of what summer can and should be: a time to reset from the fast past of the rest of the year.

We are frenzied trying to make plans to do something “before summer is over,” and this pressure is particularly great for those of us who live in climates where our weather the rest of the year is not so amenable to outdoor activities. It makes sense that we should try to do all of these fun outdoor and social activities during our few months of kind weather.

However, to truly get the most out of our summer we also need to allow summer to do what summer does best – allow some unscheduled days where a spontaneous walk happens. Read a book on a chair outside. Get inspired to make a great meal based on ingredients you find at a farmer’s market. Make a conscious effort to schedule relaxation. This may sound counterintuitive – schedule relaxation? But in the fast pace of our plugged-in lives, we do not always do so. Life then creeps in.

So, why will scheduling relaxation help me?

A few ways that I have found scheduled relaxation to be particularly useful is to focus on my own health. With health goals in mind, I can plan time that is both enjoyable, relaxing and good for me. I meet a friend for a walk in a pretty spot. It is both a physical form of exercise and a therapeutic experience as we walk and talk. I work in my garden and experiment with different vegetables that I then can cook for my family and enjoy. I also can use this time to take stock of my health and be mindful of my eating habits, exercise and sleep habits and try to instill new healthier routines. In summers past I have discovered tennis, yoga and swimming.

During the summer I have also been able to get my body used to waking up early. It’s easy when the sun is out. I have established a morning routine where I get up, work on writing projects with a cup of coffee and a window open to the outside. I take my vitamin (a Vous Vitamin Personalized vitamin of course! Take our vitamin quiz to get yours) and take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the day and the season. I keep this habit year round (other than the open window of course). Getting some quiet time to myself in the morning allows me to focus for the day when I am energized and calm before the rest of my house wakes up. I highly encourage some of you who claim not to be “morning” people to try waking up just a little earlier (and go to bed a bit earlier as well so as not to cut short your valuable sleep time).

My mother used to say that the summer was over after the 4th of July. As a kid I balked at that statement. As an adult I understand what she meant. It is fleeting in nature and the weeks do whip by in a flash. But I know there is still time left and, if I plan it well, including some scheduled relaxation time and some scheduled time to focus on my own physical and mental health, I will head into the next season with more energy, focus, and ability to accomplish my goals than ever before. So take a moment to reset yourself this summer. Take a deep breath, and think about your own goals for the next few months. Make one priority relaxation and another one your own physical and mental health. Focus on whatever you know you need to do whether it’s lose weight, eat better, work on nutrition, or catch up on other aspects of your health. Now is a great time to reset yourself and to take in the beauty of this season. Your first step can be taking our vitamin quiz.

Romy Block specializes in Endocrinology and Metabolism and is mother to three active adolescent boys. Arielle Levitan is a Doctor of Internal Medicine with a special interest in Preventive Medicine and Women’s Health.  She is a mother of three teenagers. As professional women with active family lives, they recognize that people often neglect their own health needs and are uncertain about what vitamins to take. Each person is different in her diet, exercise and health history, and will benefit from different nutrients.  After years of advising their patients about the proper vitamins to take,  Drs. Block and Levitan created Vous Vitamin® to provide people everywhere with quality vitamins that are suited to their individual needs. They are authors of the award winning The Vitamin Solution: Two Doctors Clear Confusion About Vitamins and Your Health (She Writes Press, 2015). Take your vitamin quiz now to get exactly the right vitamins for your needs.

The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products offered by Vous Vitamin® are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Nothing contained herein is intended to be a diagnosis or constitute medical advice.  The symptoms described in this Blog may be a result of a serious medical condition which requires medical treatment.  You should consult with your doctor if you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned in this Blog and before beginning any vitamin or supplement regimen.