Get Ready for Summer by Mastering Your Diet!

With summer rapidly approaching, it's natural for our minds to wander to the beach or the hiking trails. Those thoughts naturally lead us to reconsider just how we've been handling the long and cold winter. A lot of people tend to lose sight of their fitness, including their diet, when the clouds roll in and the snow starts to fall. Add the stress of managing a family while your husband is in the army, and fitness can sometimes go straight out the door! Luckily there are ways to turn that sailing ship right back around. Let's take a look at a few ways that you can re-assess your diet to be ready for summer without overloading stressing about it too much. Seriously assess the food in your home. With a stacked schedule, it is simple to see why easy-to-consume junk food makes its way into the house. The truth is that convenience matters to a lot of people. However, it is not a reason to be lazy and eat unhealthily. Get rid of the potato chips and replace them with healthier alternatives. Fresh fruits like grapes and bananas are ultra cheap, convenient, and equally delicious as their junk food counterparts. Besides, who can say no to a fresh bowl of fruit? You'll be stunned by how many calories you cut from your life just by throwing out the junk. Make a point to plan your meals. We all know that we need to eat healthy foods to keep a fit and healthy body but we make excuses to avoid doing so. Some people say that they don't have time to cook while others say that they don't like the taste of healthy foods. Both answers are bogus! At the beginning of each week, you can take some time to plan out the meals you will prepare for the next couple of days. Write out breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas that are simpatico with the rest of your family. Push healthy alternatives. Create a meal schedule so you can do chores in chunks. Cook pastas ahead of time and then throw them in the freezer. Use a slow cooker in the morning to prepare that evening's dinner. Don't be afraid to ask for help from the family either! When you make dieting and fitness a hands-on activity for everyone, it reinforces the importance of the activity. Once you start pre-planning all of your meals, you will find that it is easier to avoid those late night carry out dinners and dashes through the fast food drive-thru.  Keep your fitness up. Dieting is the key to getting a healthy body, even more so than lifting weights or going for a run. Adding just a little bit of exercise to your day to day life can make a dramatic change to your health and overall happiness. Being a part of a military family probably has shown you the importance of a physical lifestyle. Get advice from your spouse, learn different exercises, and at the very least go for a long walk or a run. Take the dog and the kids, they'll love you even more for it.