Why summer is actually the best time to lose weight as a mom

If you've already written summer off as a time to focus on your health + fitness goals, give me 30 minutes to change your mind today.

I know summer might feel like the worst time to focus on your health but what if everything that makes summer hard is actually working in your favor?

In this episode, I'm flipping the narrative and showing you exactly why summer might be your biggest secret weapon for sustainable fat loss, and how to use it. 

I'm also getting practical with how to  navigate BBQs, vacation, unstructured days, and all the moments where it would be easy to give up. By the time September rolls around, you'll be far ahead of everyone who wrote summer off.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey friend, welcome back to Stronger Within, the podcast for women who are done chasing quick fixes and are ready to build real strength and lasting change from the inside out. I'm your host, Christy Magri, and here we talk about becoming stronger within in your body, your mindset, and the daily habits that shape your life. If you're ready to build a body in life you feel confident in for good, you're in the right place. So today's episode is coming to you from Studio 2.0, which if you're like Christy, what's Studio 1.0? Studio 1.0 is my couch in my living room. That is my office that I've been using for the last six and a half years. Actually, we haven't lived in this current home for that long, but I've never had an actual office, which I'm gonna have an office in like six weeks at my time of recording this. When I upload this podcast, we'll be I think like five weeks away from moving, and we're gonna have three bedrooms in the new house. So obviously, there's the master, we're gonna have a bedroom for the kids, and that third that third room is going to be my office. I am so excited. I have never had an office, and when I looked at the pictures of this place, so for context, we're renting, we're not buying just yet. We're gonna start, you know, house hunting once we're down there and seeing what areas we really like and making sure we vibe with the school system and all of that, but all of that to say um there's really cute wallpaper in the third room in the room. I think I'm gonna make my office, and so like I'm already planning, I want to buy a pink futon and use like my talking videos that I post on Instagram and TikTok. I'm gonna like set up my tripod there and have the pink futon in the background, and I just like have this vision and I cannot wait to bring it to life. But all of that is a very long-winded way of saying studio 2.0 is my car. Chloe's in ballet class right now, and I'm recording from the car. It is raining and very windy outside. So there's rain hitting my windshield, there's sticks flying at my car. So if you hear any odd noises, that is exactly what that is. But let's dive right into today's episode because today I want to talk about something I hear from moms all the time, and it is the I'll get back on track when school starts. It is the viewing summer as an opportunity to not focus on yourself. But I really want to flip that narrative because we can actually with there's a secret advantage to summer, several secret advantages. So I want to talk about those, but I first of all want to talk about how you probably feel right now where summer feels more chaotic, right? It's more unstructured. There's food everywhere, there's the 4th of July, there's vacations, maybe you camp on the weekend with your family. We don't have like quote unquote normal routines, the kids are home, probably driving you crazy. There are just so many things going on. And so in today's episode, I want to talk about how to really make the most of summer and how to really use summer as your secret weapon, if you will, to make the most progress in the next 90 days that you possibly can. Because when September rolls around, you are gonna be steps ahead of the moms who said, I'm gonna wait until September, I'm gonna wait until it's back to school. Because you know what? Those type of people that are always waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for the perfect circumstance or opportunity, those are the people who every single time something comes up, they're like, Oh, it's not a good time. I can't focus on myself. So that's gonna happen when the holidays roll around several weeks after, you know, September when they started this new new routine, right? And when we think about creating a lifestyle, that's very much what I'm about here, right? It's not well, how do I get the results as quick as possible? How do I do take these really extreme measures? It's not about that, it's about how do I build something that I don't need to pause from. Because the important thing to think about here is okay, let's say that you do wait until September and you build these really healthy habits and routines. Next summer is gonna roll back around, y'all. What are you gonna do next summer? Just drop the ball. You're gonna have to learn at some point how to handle this season of life, and there is no better time than the present because again, you will be moves ahead of the people who waited until it was the perfect opportunity or circumstance and then just gave up every single time it wasn't. And I want to also acknowledge the reality here because I'm not just gonna sit here and pretend like summer is not a hard time for you to focus on yourself, especially as a mom. And a lot of the reasons why moms struggle, they are very valid. So I want to break down what those reasons are and kind of just to make you feel seen because I can very much relate to all of these. Okay, so reason number one is that the routine is gone. That is like the most obvious one when the kids are in school or during the year when we have less going on, the weather's maybe not as warm depending on where you live, and that routine is the thing that really holds our healthy habits together. And if you're a type A person like me, you very much thrive on that structure in that routine. I mean, I am so regimented, like I have week day by day tasks, and I kind of have to do this because of the nature of my business and what I do and having young kids home. I don't really have a choice, I'm forced, otherwise, I feel like I'm running like a chicken running around with my head cut off. But the point here is that like I'm very regimented and I go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 9 a.m. Like that is the same time I work out. Tuesday, Thursday, I do Pilates in my living room from home, same time, 6 a.m. Like I am very consistent in that, and that is gonna look different with Carter being out of school. We are in a weird situation where because we're moving, you know, I'm switching gyms here, but and this was Carter's first year of school and not, you know, in me being in that routine. So my routine's about to completely change because he's gonna be home and I'm not gonna sign him up for a gym membership when we're moving, and you know, going forward in the summers, I don't think I would sign him up anyways. I want my kids to be able to just like chill at home for the summer. Um, but point being, my routine is gonna change, and I'm gonna have to figure out what that looks like, right? Because when our alarm goes off at the same time each day, when the kids have the same school drop-off, when our day has this predictability, it's easier to fit in those fit in those workouts and have that structure and have that routine, but summer changes all of that, and now suddenly every day looks different, and that unpredictability can feel really destabilizing when you're trying to build consistency. When you are in a season where you've built that base habit, that base consistency, it becomes much easier to pivot. Like I'm not really worried about how I'm gonna pivot. I know exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm just gonna switch up my gym days, go to the gym before my husband leaves for work, boom, easy. I'm gonna go out the same days, just changing the time. But it's about figuring out okay, how do I create routine in this different season of life? Reason number two is food is literally everywhere during the summer. I feel like it starts in June, it's like end of school celebrations, there's like all kinds of things going on, and it like goes all the way through to September with the barbecues, there's graduation parties, there's 4th of July, there's vacation, there's the ice cream truck that's always showing up at the most inconvenient time. And it can feel really hard to say no, especially when you're surrounded by family and fun, and you don't want to be the person who's like, I can't have that, I'm on a diet, or you're at the cookout eating a plate of just lettuce and carrots and whatever. I want to very clearly remind you that it doesn't have to be this way. And if you feel like it has to be that way, that is a red flag that your approach is off somewhere because again, when we build a lifestyle where food is not a big deal, and I do this through tracking macros with my clients, we can enjoy all of those foods. It's not about not enjoying them, it's just about how we enjoy them. Reason number three that it can feel difficult to focus on yourself and your goals during summertime is that your time disappears, especially if you have kids that are in school during the year, you don't have that built-in me time anymore. You are on literally all day, and this is especially for you. I mean, you deal with this all year round. If you have toddlers or a baby or multiple babies, or you know, you're a stay-at-home mom or you're a homeschool mom, you are on all day. You're literally the entertainment director, the chef, the referee, the activity planner, like you are doing a lot. And so by the time you get a quiet moment, you're exhausted, and the last thing you want to do is go for a walk or cook a healthy dinner. And so, this is where having that structure, having those decisions already made for you is such a game changer. We need to eliminate the decision fatigue. We already have so many decisions to make in a day, so you know, lack of time is definitely a real thing, it's a real excuse, but there are ways to work around that. And then reason number four, last reason here is that mentally summer just kind of feels like a write-off. I don't know if you feel like that, but I feel like there's this collective agreement that summer is kind of for indulging, for relaxing, um, for not really having any rules, for enjoying yourself. And of course, enjoyment is important. I'm never gonna be the coach that is like, don't enjoy yourself, be a hundred percent on, like no fun. Obviously, that's not what this is about. You know, if you know me, you know that I am not that coach. But when enjoying yourself turns into three months of telling yourself you'll start over in the fall, gaining weight, feeling bloated, feeling inflamed, feeling like shit, is that worth it? Like, are you actually enjoying life and the body that you're in? I think that's something really important to think about. So, yes, summer is hard. I am not dismissing that, but here's the reframe I want to offer you. The things that make summer hard are also the exact things that make it the most powerful time to build that sustainable fat loss routine in your life. And the most successful moms I work with are the ones who have learned how to stay consistent when life is messy, they're busy, they have no routine, when food is everywhere, where they're when they're tired, when they have five million excuses. I like to think about my own second postpartum weight loss journey right after I had Chloe. So obviously, I just had her, she was a newborn, I was exclusively breastfeeding, so I'm pumping, I'm nursing around the clock, I had a toddler at home. Carter was three and a half at the time, no child care, not really any help from family. My husband worked all day, like it was literally just me all day, every day. And then on top of that, around that time, I had been assistant coaching for a few years, and I just was not seeing success. I wasn't really making much money, and so I was like, it's either I leave and I do this on my own so that I can hopefully find a way to provide for my family and actually like reach people and impact them and help them, or I'm gonna have to go to the gym or whatever. So I took that leap around that time as well. So, all of that to say I had every excuse in the book for lack of time, somebody always needed me, lack of sleep. Like, I had so many different things going on, and I easily could have looked at those reasons, legitimate excuses, but excuses don't get you results, action does, and the mom who figures out how to make progress in July is actually gonna be unstoppable come September, October, November, December when the holidays are rolling around because there's always gonna be something. So let's talk about why summer is actually an advantage because I don't want this to be just like a mindset pep talk. I want you to see the concrete, actual, practical ways that you can make this summer season worth it. So I'm gonna go through four reasons why summer is actually an advantage. So let's dive right in with reason number one, and that is that there is more daylight, which means there's more natural movement, and it doesn't necessarily feel like intentional exercise. So if we think about what summer actually looks like in terms of physical activity, um, I think about my own family. We like to go on our nightly family walk after dinner. Maybe you're swimming at the pool with the kids or doing bike rides on the weekends, or you're playing outside instead of sitting inside. These things add up in a massive way, and the best part is that they don't even really feel like working out, it just kind of feels like I'm enjoying my summer, I'm hanging outside with the kids, I'm doing whatever. And one of the biggest barriers to exercise for moms is that it feels like one more obligation, it's one more thing on your to-do list. But when movement is woven into the fun stuff you're already doing with your family, that barrier disappears because we don't really see it as oh, I'm having to show up for a workout. You're getting steps in while you're at the beach, you're burning calories while you're playing with your kids in the backyard. And so just because it's not a formal gym session where you're walking in the gym and lifting weights, don't get me wrong, strength training is important, but we don't need to have everything figured out out at once, y'all. You can just start with some extra movement in a day, more than you're getting right now. Um, and if you do want more dedicated workout time too, let's say you have a home gym or whatever, the longer days give you more flexibility because you have the early morning before the day starts. I am an early riser, I wake up at 5 a.m. Typically, I'm up by then, and the sun is now out when I'm awake. It's literally the best. Same thing for evening, right? The sun is out longer, so when the kids are winding down, summer has more hours of usable daylight than any other season, and you really get to choose how you use them. Your days are longer, and so you get to take more advantage of that. Reason number two summer has a slower pace that gives you more mental space, and mental space is where change actually happens. This one might surprise you, but think about the school year for a second. There's the morning rush to make sure everyone is out the door, lunches are packed, backpacks are packed, um, the after-school scramble, maybe activities, there's the homework, the constant like logistics and figuring things out. And for a lot of moms, the school year is actually more mentally draining than the summer. It's just a different kind of stress. So, summer, even when it's busy, I find has a slower tempo. There's less rushing, there's less of this rigid scheduling, and there's a lot more mental breathing room, so you actually can think more clearly about what you're eating, why you're eating it, how you're feeling in your body, how you're taking care of your body. Most moms that I know, and especially that I work with, are running so fast during the school year that their eating is almost entirely reactive. They're grabbing whatever's fast, whatever's easy, whatever gets them through the next hour. This is something that especially fall and summer, um, sorry, fall and spring, I have to help my one-on-one coaching clients a lot with because it's like, Christy, I'm so stressed out. There's sports, there's activities, how do I make a healthy dinner? How do I, you know, attract my food and stay consistent with it? How do I get my movement in? That is one of the biggest barriers in the fall and spring. You don't have that as much in the summer. And so when the fall comes around, you're gonna need to handle that, don't get me wrong, because that season will come in, right? And then we'll have to figure out how to make it through that. But summer really gives you the space to be intentional, and that is really, really powerful and impactful. So slowing down in the summertime is a really big reason why it's an advantage. Reason number three, fresh whole food is at its absolute peak and it's everywhere. So I don't know if you've noticed this, but eating well, and this has just been my experience, but eating well in the summer genuinely feels easier than any other time of year from a food quality standpoint. I love, you know, going to the farmer's market. Produce is fresh, it's colorful, it really tastes good. There's grilling season, right? So you can make really delicious high protein meals quickly. Fruit is actually sweet and satisfying versus the gross strawberries, you know, in the winter time. And the food that supports weight loss, the when we think the lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, whole foods, they're the most accessible and they're the most delicious in summer. When healthy food actually tastes good, it stops feeling like deprivation or misery. And if we compare that to January, right, the month that everyone picks to start a diet, it's the new year, right? Produce is bland, grilling outside is not appealing, maybe not possible if you live somewhere cold or snowy. And then comfort food, that time of year is also calling your name because it's cold and dark outside. Summer has a natural nutritional advantage that most people completely overlook and don't even think about. So, really, really powerful there. And then reason number four, your kids are watching, and this is one of the most powerful motivators that you have. This one is less about tactics and more about your why, which you know that I am huge on finding your why in this weight loss journey, but I think it's so important. So I want to spend a minute here. Summer is one of the most extended periods of time your kids spend observing how you live, how you talk about food, how you move your body, how you talk about yourself, whether you realize it or not, they're taking in everything you're doing. Actually, my kids, it's funny. So I have um a set of dumbbells in the living room for when I work out there because that is also like we were just talking about my studio for work. The living room also doubles as my my workout room when I work out from home. I have a few dumbbells that I use for at-home Pilates, but my kids love to pick up my dumbbells and I actually will bring them through a workout or I'll look up like a kid's dumbbell workout on YouTube for them and they'll ask me to do that. And that is really, really powerful because they are seeing exercise as something that is fun, something that is enjoyable. They look forward to doing it rather than I know for me growing up, exercise was always a punishment. I hated exercising. I didn't play sports, I hated running, never wanted to lift a weight, I dreaded gym class because guess what? I grew up with a mom who saw exercise that way. Exercise was always a punishment. Exercise was always, I need to do this because I'm fat, I need to lose weight, I hate how I look. And I talk about this all the time, but the upbringing that I had really impacted how I grew up, the way that I viewed myself, the habits that I had, my relationship to food. And that is one of the most important cycles for me to break as a mom because I don't want my kids to have that experience. So when you make a healthy choice in front of them, whether it's going for a walk, making a healthy meal, talking about food in a neutral or a positive way, you are teaching them something. You are showing them that taking care of yourself is normal, that health is just a natural part of life, it's not a punishment, it's not restrictive, it's not bad. And on the days when summer feels hard and you're tired and it would be easier to give up, your kids can be your reason to keep going. Not in a way that is driven by guilt, but it's like I don't want to make this about pressure, but in the way that remembering that you're why always makes it easier to make the harder choice. You are doing this for you, but you're also doing it for them, right? Summer gives you a daily reminder of that, and so always remembering that outside of just the weight loss, outside of the looks and all of the things that are very surface level that we think about when it comes to reaching our goal, we have to get really clear on that deeper why and not only getting clear on it, but also thinking about it and keeping it at the forefront of our mind as much as possible. Okay, so now that we've gone through the reasons why summer is actually your secret advantage, let's get practical because I know that the reframes are helpful, but when you really what you really need to know is what to actually do, right? So let me walk you through how to approach this summer in a way that will actually move you forward. Number one, we have to ditch the all or nothing mindset around summer events for good. This is probably the biggest thing that's standing between you and making progress this summer. It is this belief that if I can't be perfect, there's no point. That if I have a slice of cake at the barbecue, the day is ruined. Vacation means all bets are off and I will deal with it when I get home. I want you to think about it this way: summer events are just part of life, right? They're not obstacles to your goals, they are part of the life that you're trying to be healthy in. The goal was never just to lose the weight in a controlled environment with no special occasions. That is so unrealistic, and that's the very thing actually keeping you stuck. We come back to thinking about the perfect circumstances, needing the perfect moments, and that's the reason why so many moms say, Okay, I'm gonna wait until September, and then they're like, oh crap, well, it's sports, so I can't be consistent with it now. I'll wait until November, and then they're like, crap, it's Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and I'll start in January when I feel good. But then guess what? In January it's cold, we want the comfort food, it's not really feeling worth it. You're always gonna find an excuse or a reason why it's not a great time. And so when you think about summertime, right? The goal is to build a healthy life that includes the barbecues, the birthday cake, the vacation dinners. It's important to remember what phase in your journey you're in. This is something that I talk about and I bring my clients through of the four different phases. When we're in a calorie deficit, we need to be really intentional and locked in, if you will. But that doesn't mean giving up our favorite foods. It just means fitting them in a way that makes sense for your goals in that specific season of life. Maybe you are somebody who you like to have more flexibility during the summertime, and so you simply maintain, but that doesn't mean throwing all your healthy habits out the window. This is another really big shift that we have to make because I think when we think about weight loss, it's like okay, diet food, tracking my macros, doing this perfectly. But really, it's more so about building a healthy lifestyle, eating enough protein, eating fruits and vegetables, things that the average American doesn't. We're not conditioned to do that anymore. If you look at the average American, we are so unhealthy. Or maybe you live in Canada, wherever you live. So it's really important to remember that it's it's a lifestyle we are looking to build. We make these healthy habits because they make us feel good, right? But we can also enjoy it's an 80 20 balance where 20% of the time, 10%, 10 to 20%, I say. Is a good rule of thumb and we can live our life. So, practical approach for summer events. I want you to eat the things you actually love, skip the things you don't really care about, and be honest with yourself what that is. You can have what you want and add what you need, right? So it let's say that you really, really want the I'm thinking about like a fourth of July party. Let's say you really want the dessert. You're like, the dessert table looks fire. I know I want to have something. Okay, well, can we have one dessert instead of three? Can we maybe skip the chips and dip that are sitting there for appetizers if we're gonna have the dessert? So we get to pick and choose what's most important to us. It's not that we can't have what we want, but again, we do need some kind of structure, it's not just a free-for-all. And the other thing with this that's really big is actually paying attention to am I actually hungry? This is a big one that sounds so obvious, but y'all, moms do not slow down enough to think about this. We just eat because it tastes good. So don't eat if you're not actually hungry and actually take the time to ask yourself, am I actually hungry or am I just eating because it tastes good? And there's two forms of disappointment. Disappointment number one is you're disappointed that you're not hungry and the food is over, or there's disappointment number two of realizing that you did not follow through on what you said you were gonna do. You ate past the point of fullness, and now you feel like crap, and now you step on the scale and it's up. All right, so either way, there's some sort of disappointment. You just have to choose which one you're gonna be willing to sacrifice. But the most important things, the most important thing at these events or holidays or parties or whatever, whatever the heck it is, is just being mindful. There is so much within your control that you are not currently practicing. And I actually have an entire training for my one-on-one clients on how to, I call it how to life proof your progress, which is essentially how do we really go into these moments without having to sacrifice, but while also having that structure and boundaries for ourselves, because at the end of the day, that is likely not something that you have right now and something that you need to work on building. All right, number two is starting your day with one or two non-negotiables. So when structure in our summer or our day or whatever disappears, you need non-negotiables. These are going to be the one or two things that really keep you tethered to your goals no matter what else is going on. So you may notice that if you go to the gym or you work out early in the morning, you feel good. It feels easier to make healthy choices the rest of the day because you've committed, you followed through with that one habit, and it's like, okay, well, the rest of the habits are kind of falling in line because you've started your day off with that one good habit. So maybe for you that's a morning walk before your kids wake up, or eating 30 grams of protein at every meal, or five-minute check-in at the end of every day, just something that you can, you know, keep you connected to your goals, even on the hard days, because any effort toward your goal is going to produce a result and help you build toward that bigger goal. So it doesn't need to be an all-or-nothing thing where we are either all in or all out. But I think of like when I go on vacation, for example, and I still bring my protein shakes because I want to make sure I'm eating enough protein, I still drink my water, I get out for walks, I do those things because they make me feel good too. Not because it's punishment or because it's restrictive, but because I genuinely enjoy having those daily habits as a part of my normal routine. Alrighty, number three is setting yourself up to win before summer even starts because your environment determines your choices. So, what I mean by this is most of the choices that you make around food aren't really choices in the moment. It's a result of what's available to you, what's in your fridge, what's in your pantry, what you packed, what you planned ahead for, what you didn't plan ahead for. So when there's nothing ready to eat and you're hungry and the kids are whining and asking for lunch and it's 90 degrees outside, you ain't making a healthy choice in that moment. You're just grabbing whatever's easiest. And I don't say that as a criticism to you. I say it because it means that the decision that matters, that is going to be beneficial for you and your goals, actually happens before that actual moment ever arrives. And that's what I want to talk about here with setting up your environment so that the easy choice and the healthy choice are the same thing. And let's start with meal planning. And I want to be clear that I am not talking about hours of meal planning or prepping on a Sunday with 20,000 different matching containers, Pinterest perfect, you know, meal prep lined up. I'm talking about having a loose plan, knowing what dinners are gonna look like for the week, having some grab and go options ready in the fridge so that when you're hungry, you have something readily available to you that's gonna be high enough in protein or have fiber pre-washing and cutting your fruits and veggies. In summer specifically, this can look really simple too. We keep our cut fruit on the front shelf of our fridge, not hidden in a drawer, right at eye level, right? Have protein that's already cooked and ready to go. Stock your freezer with some backups or things that you can put together in 10 minutes. Think about breakfast ahead of time. Prep some overnight oats, literally will take you five minutes. Boom, my overnight oats that I make are 40 something grams of protein. It's ready to go. I don't have to make anything. Mornings won't become a free-for-all when you actually set yourself up for success, and none of this has to be complicated either, right? Like we just have to figure out what's gonna work well for you. Now let's talk about vacation because I know this is where a lot of stress really comes in, and I want to offer you a completely different approach. So I actually just gave some examples of my vacation, but I'm going on vacation um in the next within the next two weeks, so I want to share one way that I'm handling that, um, and that is bringing my own food. Bringing your own food on vacation is not obsessive or restrictive, is what it is one of the smartest things that you can do, and once you start doing it, you're gonna be like, why wasn't I doing this years ago? And I'm not saying like pack every meal or meal prep things, I'm just saying be intentional about the places where it's easy to have something with you. So, like I said, I like to bring um, I think I said I like to bring protein shakes, I will bring fruit, I will make my own like uncrustables at home, I will bring beef sticks, I'll bring pre-portioned bags of popcorn, um, I'll bring like crackers and cheese and just food that I know I enjoy eating at home that I'm like I'm gonna bring this on vacation with me because I don't have to eat every meal out. Yes, I'm gonna enjoy meals out, but like also I can start my morning with a protein shake and I can still make choices that are gonna be beneficial to me. You can still enjoy, you know, the ice cream, you can none of that goes away. You just make mindful choices where you can. And when you get back from vacation, this is really important. Do not wait to get yourself back into routine. I feel like one of the main reasons why vacation turns into this like two-week derailment is just become because you come home to an empty fridge, you're exhausted. So the day you get back, make that grocery run, okay? Get the basics back in the house, reset your environment. That single action step really is going to make the difference between vacation being a fun break and or vacation being like a month-long setback. And the bottom line is this: we need a better setup, we need to have that structure in that routine. And summer with a little bit of planning ahead can be one of the most well-supported seasons you've ever had because you built the conditions for success before you ever needed them. This is something that I walk all of my one-on-one clients through because it's like we need that structure, we need to know exactly what is coming. It's when we're constantly winging it, we are so overwhelmed with the decisions that we have to make. That is where it starts to feel hard. All right, and then lastly, I want you to redefine what progress looks like for summer. I really want you to release the idea that progress only counts if you're losing weight every single week. That is not how this lifestyle change works. And honestly, that's not even the most important measure of progress during this season, in my opinion. Progress in summer for you could look like not gaining weight during vacation, building a consistent habit of walking in the morning, learning how to navigate social eating without guilt, getting through July and August, and knowing that you already have the ball rolling in September instead of starting over. That is really powerful progress. And so often, again, we only see progress in a measurement on the scale, losing weight. And yes, that is part of the progress that we want to make, but there are other steps and levels to this in order for us to get there. There are these foundational skills that we need to be able to have to be successful in every single season of life. So I want you to decide what progress to you means this summer, right? You want to make it specific, obviously, make it realistic, make it more than just the number on the scale. And the scale on the number can be part of it if you know you can be consistent with the daily action steps you need to take in order to lose fat, and then more power to you. But it's okay to set other goals outside of that and be like, you know what, for the next 90 days, I'm gonna focus on building really consistent habits in my life, not going into so much of a deficit just yet, but just getting really good at the things I know I'm struggling with now, so that by the time fall comes around, I'm ready to go into my deficit and it feels easier than ever. But what I know through my own journey, what I know through working with moms over the last six years is that the problem is not summer. It's not the vacation, it's not the barbecue, it's not the ice cream. The problem is not having a clear plan that is built for your life. I'm not talking about some cookie cutter program that falls apart the second your your routine does. And everything I talked about today with the reframes, the non-negotiables, um, the mindset around summer events, redefining your version of progress, this is all true. And these are all things you can start doing on your own today. Knowing what to do though, and actually doing it consistently are two completely different things. And that gap between those two things is where most moms get stuck. Not because they're you're not motivated, not because you don't want it badly enough, or because you're doing something wrong, but because you're doing it alone. Right? You are trying to throw spaghetti at the wall, hoping you don't know how to pivot or you disappoint yourself, and that is what keeps you in this constant start-stop cycle. And I've worked with so many moms enough to know that the missing piece is almost never information, and you know the information likely that you you know what you need to do, right? It's the support to actually implement that information, it's having someone in your corner who helps you navigate everything, the vacation, the week where everything's falling apart, your kids are driving you crazy, old habits are creeping back in, the scale is frustrating you. If you have been listening to this episode and you're thinking, okay, but how do I actually do this in my specific life? That question is exactly why I'm here. So I want to share this with you a day early because you're here, you're a loyal listener on the podcast. But tomorrow I am opening up five, just five spots for one-on-one coaching. And I want these spots to go to moms who are ready to make the summer genuinely different and spend the next three months becoming the best versions of themselves during a time of year they might have ignored in the past. Here's the thing about timing too with this: these five spots are at my current pricing. On June 18th, my prices are increasing for one-on-one coaching. So if you have been on the fence or if you've been thinking about working together, waiting for the right moment, this is it. This is your sign, this is the moment. If you're interested in chatting about what coaching would look like, go ahead to the show notes and apply for one-on-one coaching. If your application is approved, we will chat further details to make sure it's a good fit. And listen, even if coaching is not the right fit for you right now, I hope this episode still gave you something real that you can take into your summer. You don't have to wait until September. You don't have to write off the next three months, especially if you are going into this summer, not feeling confident in your skin, not wanting to take off the bathing suit cover-up, not wanting to wear the shorts or the cute dress you'd rather hide under your baggy clothes. Let this be the last summer that you ever freaking feel that way, okay? Please do that for yourself because take it from somebody who lived that life for many, many, many years, most of my life, and now I love wearing the cute dresses. I am proud to rock the bathing suit. Oh my gosh, it is the most freeing feeling in the world, and I promise you it is worth all the hard work that it takes to get there. And you're a hard worker, you are capable, you have literally everything it takes. So let's let's get the ball rolling, okay? You're not gonna be the mom who waits until September. That's not you. So until next time, thank you for sharing this time with me. I hope this episode gave you a few aha moments, things that you can carry into this summer. I will see you back next week. And until next time, keep becoming stronger within.