Don’t Let Summer Steal Your Momentum

🎙 Don't Let Summer Steal Your Momentum

How to Stay Consistent When Life Gets Busy

Summer has a way of quietly stealing our momentum. Between vacations, changing schedules, BBQs, late nights, and all the fun that comes with this season, it's easy to find yourself drifting away from the healthy habits you've worked so hard to build.

If you've ever found yourself saying, "I'll get back on track in September," this episode is for you.

Today, we're talking about realistic ways to stay consistent during the busiest season of the year—without perfection, guilt, or starting over. I'll share practical strategies, including how to identify your Non-Negotiable Three habits, why protein matters even more during the summer months, the power of the 24-Hour Rule, and how to stop the all-or-nothing cycle before it starts.

Because real transformation isn't built during perfect seasons. It's built during busy, messy, beautiful seasons like summer.

You don't need to start over. You simply need to keep showing up.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. I don't know about you, but by the time July rolls around, summer can start to feel like a total blur. The routines that felt so solid in January or even in May suddenly disappear. I don't know about you, but my kids are home, vacations are happening, weekends turn into long weekends, bedtimes for everyone gets later, and schedules just generally become unpredictable. And somewhere in all of that, many women, my clients, myself, they just quietly start like kind of drifting, not quitting, just drifting. Your workouts become less frequent, your water intake stops or it slips, protein is an afterthought, and maybe you found yourself saying, you know what, I'll get back on track after vacation. I'll start again in August when my kids are back in school. I'll really dig in when fill in the blank. And if that's you, I want you to know that this is incredibly normal. But I also honestly want to challenge you a little bit today. Um, because the women who create lasting transformation aren't the women who have these perfect summers, honestly, despite what you see on Instagram. They're the women who learn how to stay connected to themselves during these imperfect seasons. And honestly, summer may be the greatest test of your sustainable health. Today I want to share some really practical ways to navigate summer without falling into what I call the summer rabbit hole, that place where one vacation turns into two months of feeling off track. So let's start with the first step. Stop thinking in weeks. The first thing that I want you to consider is stop evaluating your progress week by week during the summer. Summer isn't built in weeks, it's built in the moments. And I feel this is so true for me as my kids are getting older and I'm thinking I only have X amount of summers left. Um, I was telling my husband the other day, like every day that we can be outside, in our yard, in our pool, if I'm not out there, I think that I'm going to hate myself in January when it's cold and rainy and it's, you know, getting dark before I'm even driving home for work. And so I feel like every day out there that I'm not there is a missed opportunity. Most women unknowingly create an all-or-nothing cycle because they think, well, we're traveling Thursday through Sunday, so this week is shot. No. If you still have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and maybe Sunday night when you get home, you can do it. The one thing that I've learned, especially we, you know, recently coaching women, is that the most successful women become masters at maximizing ordinary days. Vacation on Thursday, great. What can Monday through Wednesday look like? Can you strength train twice? Can you prioritize protein? Can you walk and hydrate? Those habits matter. Your summer success isn't one on vacation days, it's one on the ordinary days between vacations. And that's a huge mindset shift. Recently, I've had a lot of clients say, I want to pause my membership. I'm not using it. I'll come back. And it could be a number of reasons, right? It could be financial, it could be that they're not using the app and they're going to the gym. But I will tell you of all those messages that I've had, I saw a VIP client who was with me from the beginning, paused her membership and said, You know what, Virginia? I swear to God, she told me this when she paused her membership. You taught me so well, I know I can do this on my own. I saw her on Saturday and she paused, I want to say like in April, and she said, So guess what? I'm coming back because I've gained 10 pounds and clearly I can't do this on my own. And I'm not saying that like that's everyone's solution, but I will guarantee you, my clients who I consider myself like very involved, very active, I try to find ways to reach out to people and connect with them. When they start slipping, it's not for lack of programming or lack of opportunity or lack of effort. It's because they have found themselves slipping and they don't want to honestly pay for something they're not using. But truly, the best way to overcome that is to use the thing that you're paying for, right? Don't make a donation to the gym. Don't make a donation to the faster way. Dig in and get it done. So part two of this is to create your non-negotiable three. I love things of three. It's easy, five is too much, three is easy to remember. And honestly, these three you could do every day, even on vacation, wherever you are. This is my favorite strategy. Instead of trying to maintain your entire routine during summer, choose your non-negotiable three. These are three habits that keep you anchored no matter what. Three things you can do no matter how you feel, or where you are, or if you're on your period, or if you're on vacation. So here's some examples. Option one, hit protein at every meal. A protein. Start the meal with protein. Number two, walk every day. And number three, drink your water. If you kind of are like, that's a little too basic for me, then here's option two. Strength train three times a week. Honor your fasting and your feeding window and sleep at least seven hours. Now I want you to really think about what I'm saying here. I am not saying you must hit your macros daily within five to ten grams. You have to hit daily workouts, there are no treats and there are no vacations. That is not what I'm saying because that's not even what I do. We are looking for anchor habits. This strategy helps me when I travel for work, when I travel with my kids, when I have work meetings and lunches three times in one week. I use this strategy all the time. Because when we completely abandon our anchors, that's when we feel out of control. So sit here and ask yourself if I could only maintain three habits this summer, what would they be? Write those down and then do it. Now let's get a little bit more practical and talk about why protein matters even more in summer. This is not a lecture on protein. This is talking about the reality that summer often becomes unintentionally low protein, high processed foods, high junk. So let's take think about like typical summer foods: a bagel for breakfast, chips for a snack, cocktails, fruit trays, desserts, and snack foods. None of these are bad, but when they start overconsuming your life and they fill you up without adequate protein, and then you're gonna wonder, why am I starving at night? Why am I craving sugar? Why am I overeating? Protein should be that one non-negotiable anchor that you wrote down. Protein is your superpower because it stabilizes your blood sugar, it reduces cravings, it preserves lean muscle, it supports metabolism and improves your recovery and keeps your energy level more stable. So this is a simple tip, because you know I love basic things. Before every social event, ask, where's my protein gonna come from? And if you can't answer that with maybe at a barbecue, it's a burger patty, a chicken, a steak, a pool day, pack some turkey roll-ups, have a Greek yogurt. I just posted a reel about a Greek yogurt Snickers bowl. It is nowhere near perfect. But that sucker had over 50 grams of protein. Or my best tip, drink a protein smoothie on your way to wherever you are. Pack it full of whatever you like, but if you have 40 grams of protein in your body before you land at the barbecue, the pool day, the road trip, you I promise you, you will make better choices and you will feel better the next day. On a road trip, bring a meat stick, a protein bar, hard-boiled eggs, you know, some fruit for some fiber, and then yes, bring your favorite road trip snack, but don't make that your only identity on that road trip. If you are at some place that has like a vacation breakfast buffet, like a hotel offers an included breakfast, start with eggs, add fruit, and then decide what else you want. Pack protein powder and put protein in your coffee wherever you go. I literally will sit in my car, and if my kids want McDonald's drive-thru pancakes because we're on a road trip and they get it that time of the year, I get a McDonald's coffee, I add a scoop of my protein powder, I use my frother, I look like a fool in this drive-thru and I don't even care because starting with protein changes everything. Okay, number four, use the 24-hour rule. This one is a game changer, and you're probably not gonna like me for it because I'm speaking to you if you have a hard time returning to your habits. So never allow yourself to go more than 24 hours without returning to your habits. Vacation meal, birthday party, holiday barbecue, amazing. Enjoy it, have fun. But within the next 24 hours, I want you to drink your water, eat your protein, move your body, get outside and go for a walk. This prevents one event from becoming a whole season. Because honestly, most women don't struggle because of vacation. It's because the vacation becomes an extended vacation week after week after you get back. The story that I hear is often, July is crazy anyway. And then guess what? It's September. And then September becomes October, which becomes the holidays, and then you're starting over in January, gaining back now instead of the 10 pounds, now it's 20 or 25 pounds. If you use that 24-hour rule, it protects your momentum that you've built up. So, step five, the summer mindset shift. I really want you to remember you are not trying to lose weight this summer. And if you are, good for you. And let me know how that goes because I've never successfully lost weight during the summer. I lose and have lost all my weight historically from like October to March because I know that when summer comes, I am more social. We have more events, I have kids in my pool. I am, you know, grazing off of my kids' plates. We are going on vacation. And when I am on vacation, I really try to stick to my habits. I'm gonna be very honest with you because I really suffer from a lot of inflammation when I travel. So I personally just do better when I stick to my habits, but I still have favorite restaurants, I still have a favorite, you know, dessert or a favorite drink, even though I'm not drinking alcohol. I still have like a favorite mocktail. I am trying to become the person who takes care of myself year-round. I am not trying to lose weight. And those are really different goals. And one depends on perfect conditions, and the other depends on how you want to feel year round. So ask yourself, you know, what would a healthy, consistent perspective of mine do in this situation? Not perfectly, but more reasonably. You know, a healthy perspective is eat the ice cream, enjoy your vacation, stay up late, and celebrate your holidays. But also walk in the morning, eat protein at breakfast, strength train, hydrate, and start fresh the next day. You don't start over, you continue. And that's the big difference. You know, I, like I said, I've had a lot of clients, I'm being very honest lately, say, I'm not using the app, I'm not getting out of it what I want. I'll see you in a couple of months. My summer is busy. I want to enjoy it. All of those things are great. And when clients leave or pause, the support I give them looks like this. I can still send you workouts. Would you like to have a meal guide before you go? Do you want to stay on my email list so you stay in touch? How about I text you? Is it okay for us to? How can I support you while you're gone? I never abandon clients. I respect the space that they need for whatever they're going through, but want them to know I'm still here from them. As we move into July, I really want to encourage you. You deserve to feel strong. You deserve to have energy, and you also deserve to enjoy the summer and care for yourself at the same time. Your goal is not perfection, it's staying connected to your habits, to your body, to yourself, because every transformation I have seen, including my own, was not built during perfect seasons. It was built during summers just like this. Now, if you're looking for support and structure as we move into July, inside my Fasterway community, we're beginning a strength and metabolic reset. Honestly, I think the summer is the perfect time to focus on building lean muscles, supporting your metabolism, and creating sustainable habits. We are not creating perfection here. We are not losing weight. You probably will if you follow the program, but you're not going to be consumed by it. And I really believe in this season of my life that I'm in, I am shifting. I want to build muscle, I want to still lose a few pounds, but I am shifting to longevity. I am building a life today in 2026 that will serve me 10, 15, 20 years from now for independence as I age. That to me is the most important thing. And honestly, when I share content on social media, that is what resonates the most with my audience. I was so excited to record this podcast. You know, sometimes I'm like, what do I want to talk about? I mostly try to talk about things that are kind of happening. And if I don't really have something, then, you know, I'll see what I want to share. But this to me, after these last few weeks of like people saying they wanted to pause, which again I respect, but then having someone come back and say, I told you I could do it on my own, and actually I can't. That to me is a message that I feel is worth sharing. Thank you so much for being here, and I'll see you next time.