Maintaining in the Summer is a Huge Win

Here at Stay Fit Mom, we’ve started calling May the “New December.” It’s full of end of the
school year activities and parties and volunteer commitments and double sports- spring and
summer- and we have to make all the plans for the coming months and wrap up one million
things. As we limp towards the last day of school and the end of spring, we just keep telling
ourselves to make it to summer and everything will SLOW DOWN and we can take a breath and
relax. With all our free time we’ll get back to high consistency with our macros! The perfect
time for grilled chicken and all the fresh fruits and vegetables!!

And then summer hits. Swim team and summer leagues. Kids home ALL THE TIME needing ALL
THE THINGS. Travel. More travel. Then more travel. Social gatherings. Cookouts. Block
Parties. Holiday get togethers. Neighbors drinking wine together on these glorious summer
nights. It’s SO BUSY but SOOOO GOOD. This is LIFE lived FULLY. I heard someone say this
summer that we only love summer because as kids it was when we didn’t have school, so we
loved it by default and it’s stuck with us ever since that summer is actually the WORST with the
sweat and the bugs and the having to mow the grass twice a week. I BEG to differ.
VEHEMENTLY. I LOVE summer. I cry a little just thinking about it. The time we get to spend
with people we love. The memories we make with our children and our friends. Last night I
was at an outdoor concert with my husband, my girls, and another family we love whose girls
are the same age as mine. We ate junk and listened to awesome music and shared our hearts.
We sweated like wrestlers cutting weight lugging our stuff to our spot but once we were sitting
and the shade reached us and a beautiful breeze blew, I could have stayed there forever. We
ended the night running back to the cars, racing a thunderstorm, getting wet and dying
laughing. Summer just hits different. It’s the BEST.

But it’s not the best for our macros. It’s HARD to stay adherent during the summer. It seems
like every single week there are multiple events that wreak havoc on our numbers. To REALLY
stay compliant during the summer would mean bringing our own food to a lot of social
gatherings and vacations. Cooking instead of eating out, both at home and while away.
Drinking sparkling water while everyone else has cocktails. And hear me out, there is
ABSOLUTELY a time and a place for doing these things, even during the summer. If you are new
to counting macros, we FIRMLY believe you should be giving it 100%. If you WANT to continue
to push hard during the summer towards your goals, we here at Stay Fit Mom will be your
biggest cheerleaders.

But MAINTAINING during the summer is a HUGE win. You do NOT have to chase weight loss
365 days a year. There are MANY reasons to go through periods of maintenance including-
1- Quality of life
2- Letting your body adjust to a new lower weight
3- Muscle building
4- QUALITY OF LIFE

Life is BETTER lived at maintenance. And maintaining your weight allows for MORE calories and
more food freedom and more “off” days than when you’re trying to lose weight.

We are ALL FOR making change and chasing goals. But sometimes trying to tackle weight loss
in the summertime is like pushing a boulder uphill- brutally hard with VERY little progress. I
NEVER suggest clients tackle a calorie deficit in the summer. Some clients want to and commit
to it, and that’s GREAT. But I try to avoid having my clients cut in the summertime at all costs.
Because it’s HARD. And miserable. And frankly unnecessary. No, there will never be a perfect
time to lose weight. You need to just START. But if you’ve been at it for a while, summer is a
PERFECT time to loosen the reigns a little.

Generally speaking you can do this one of two ways- increase daily numbers to the upper end
of maintenance range to allow more to fit on a day to day basis, allowing for more days
adherent. OR take more missed days.

But maintaining goes BOTH ways- not losing AND not gaining. This is not a blank check for a
summer free for all. Keep up habits and routines. Hit your numbers on every day possible
where there are no social events or travel. Be selective about the days you don’t hit your
numbers. But don’t be filled with guilt or constantly saying no to those times that bring joy to
you and your families lives.

Maintaining your weight during the summer is a huge win.