How To Stay Healthy And Active During The Summer Months

A Spiritual Practice of You

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2018, second edition

A healthy and active you starts with how you move and what you eat. In 2018, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans was released as a second edition. Previously, it was discovered that “Approximately 80% of US adults and adolescents are insufficiently active. Physical activity fosters normal growth and development and can make people feel, function, and sleep better and reduce risk of many chronic diseases.”(Piercy, Troiano, Ballard, et al., 2018).

The 2018 edition suggests these guidelines for activity (https://health.gov/healthypeople/tools-action/browse-evidence-based-resources/physical-activity-guidelines-americans-2nd-edition):

Preschool-aged children (3 through 5 years) should be physically active throughout the day to enhance growth and development. Children and adolescents aged 6 through 17 years should do 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Adults should do at least 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. They should also do muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. Older adults should do multicomponent physical activity that includes balance training as well as aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Pregnant and postpartum women should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. Adults with chronic conditions or disabilities, who are able, should follow the key guidelines for adults and do both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Recommendations emphasize that moving more and sitting less will benefit nearly everyone. Individuals performing the least physical activity benefit most by even modest increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Additional benefits occur with more physical activity. Both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity are beneficial.

2024 Beach Body

Every week for the last 15 years, I have meal prepped on Sunday. I started a blog on it a few years ago. (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/loveopensdoors/2021/03/52-weeks-of-healthy-eating-no-such-thing-as-an-empty-calorie/)

Getting your body in shape and staying in shape is an intentional practice that honors my body through healthy eating and clean living. But the benefit does not stop there. Healthy eating and living also sets me up to be in decent shape for my future grandchildren and retirement, which I hope to spend hiking in the woods and taking pictures.

Everyone seems to be talking about their summer body as we get to the end of our long winter up here in the north and the gyms seem a little busier these days. In this post on the spiritual practice of you, I will outline a week of clean eating based on my meal prep and an outline for some practices you can begin to move you towards your goal of a healthy summer.

A Week of Clean Eating

Breakfast this week is going to be one of three meals:

Kodiak Oats – I normally do not eat prepared oatmeal like this, but I am fielding this brand for my backpacking breakfast in June.

Kodiak Pancakes with Greek Yogurt and Honey – skip the syrup, add some frozen fruit and you have a protein packed meal

Air fried salmon bites, sweet potato, and over easy egg bowls. A nutrient dense breakfast that will last the morning.

Lunch:

Keto BBQ Chicken and cucumbers in Italian dressing or mini red peppers

https://www.castironketo.net/blog/keto-bbq-chicken-casserole/#

Dinner:

Greek Turkey Burgers with oven roasted butternut squash.

https://bellyfull.net/spinach-feta-turkey-burgers/#wprm-recipe-container-24710

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/229733/simple-roasted-butternut-squash/

Snacks

I snack around three times a day, depending on my training load, but these usually consist of a Picky Bar brand bar, nuts, cheese, or a protein shake, which I make with Jocko Molk brand and unsweetened almond milk.

Supplements

I supplement with Onnit brand Total Human multi three times a week, creatine daily, melatonin, CoQ10, and Turmeric

Alcohol Consumption

I used to drink quite a bit of alcohol during the week, but after listening to Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast on Alcohol (https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/what- alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health ), and my own research on the aftereffects of COVID, I cut my alcohol consumption by three quarters of my old weekly intake. I found that alcohol for me greatly magnified the post exertion malaise that is a noted long term COVID symptom.

Physical Movement

It is understood, you need to move your body. You can make a lot of excuses as to why you do not, time, health, age, they are all excuses. A hard pill for me to swallow over the last two years is coming to terms with what I now know as post exertion malaise, a symptom of long COVID. I am an endurance athlete and since 2010, I have engaged in over forty endurance and ultra endurance runs, bikes and rucking events. Then I got COVID, and my endurance fell off a cliff. Some of it is age, but my doctor and I agree that the decline was too precipitous.

A simple walk will do. As a personal trainer, I start all my clients here. Then simple weight bearing movements. Finally, some good mobility and stretching. For me, trying to maintain Master’s level athleticism, I shoot for 7 –10 hours a week of exercise/ or training.

Staying Active During the Summer Months

It can get hot during the summer, choose your movements wisely and get a good dose of exercise in during the early morning when temperatures are cooler.
Hydrate. I find that when I am dehydrated, I feel sluggish. A good bolus of water always perks me up.
Choose your exercise wisely – take up open water swimming, learn how to ride a bike and go for a bike ride or train indoors, even thirty minutes is better than no minutes. I hate the gym in the summer, but sometimes that is all you have
Get a good quality sunscreen and know how and when to apply it. I use Blue Lizard spf 30 and 50. I also use a spray sunscreen on my legs, spf 50. I have hairy legs and cream type sunscreen gunks up my fur. I also wear sun sleeves when biking or running or I wear a sun shirt to minimize exposure. Wear a hat and sunglasses. Consider these guidelines:

1 teaspoon of sunscreen to the face and neck
2 teaspoons to the chest and abdomen
2 teaspoons for the back
1 teaspoon to each arm
2 teaspoons to each leg

If you are an older adult, consider these guidelines:

Some medications can make seniors even more susceptible to the heat and at higher risk of becoming dehydrated. Other types of medications may require seniors to stay out of the sun entirely. Fortunately, there are many indoor training and exercise programs that are focused on the needs of older adults. Try yoga, Tai Chi, or working with free weights to help build muscle, improve balance, and increase flexibility. And consult with your doctor if you have any specific questions.

The Spiritual Practice of You

As you can see, there is a lot you can do to get ready for and stay active during the summer months. You are a spiritual practice. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. The spiritual practice of you encourages us to become all we are mean to be as sons and daughters of God. God calls us to be co-creators of this universe. As a spiritual practice, we need to learn to live with our strengths and weaknesses.

Reference:

Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM, et al. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. JAMA. 2018;320(19):2020–2028. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14854