How To Keep Your Healthy Eating Routine Over Summer

Don’t let your good diet habits go out of the window over the Summer break. Here’s how to stay on track without becoming a hermit.

The Summer holidays mean a lot of things – sunshine, outdoor training, travel – but all that change in routine can mean disruption for your healthy habits. But with a few simple reminders, you can stick to an easy routine so you can get back on it 100% in September!

5 reasons healthy eating is hard over Summer

Social events

Summer BBQs, parties, and “pop round for a drink on our new decking” can all throw your healthy eating routine out.

Change in meal times

Lighter, longer evenings can lead to a change in our regular meal timing which has a knock on effect on food choices.

High calorie foods

Summer means food pop ups, food festivals and plenty of socialising – which usually means more high calorie foods.

More alcohol

Summer socialising means extra booze for many people, and this carries a caloric load (and can impact our food behaviour).

Time off work

Simply being off work can have a big impact on our regular healthy eating routine, leading to overeating, undereating, or less healthy food choices.

Daily habits for a Summer healthy eating routine

Sticking to a few simple habits during the Summer can help you stay on track and make healthy choices. This will make it much easier when you have the time and energy to refocus on your goals in September.

Start the day with a glass of water, then have a simple, healthy breakfast. Breakfast is usually the easiest meal of the day to keep in a routine (unless you’ve got house guests), and will set you up to make better choices all day.

Have a few go-to lunch meals you can quickly whip up on busy days, so you have less excuse to grab something from a café whilst you’re out and about.

When you’ve got a busy social schedule, use quiet days to eat simple healthy meals. If you know you’ll be at home Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, plan to have protein and veg meals (no booze or dessert). Even a few days of this will make you feel better.

Keep on top of your food shopping during the Summer break. Don’t let your kitchen get completely empty of fresh fruit and veg, salad items, and ingredients for healthy home cooking. Deliveroo will always be a tempting option, so do what you can to ward it off!

Smart ways to eat healthy 

Plan ahead

Sketch out a healthy eating plan for the week. If a social event crops up, go for it. But at least you have a plan in place for breakfasts and quiet nights at home.

A bit of food prep

Make sure you have healthy snacks and quick-grab food in the fridge and a few healthy meals in the freezer. Batch cooking is quick and easy.

Alcohol or dessert

When you’re out, have alcohol or dessert. This one guiding principle will save you a lot of calories and you’ll still enjoy a great meal.

Pack snacks

Take healthier options with you if you’re going out all day. When you no longer need to shell out for unhealthy options from food stalls or corner shops, you’ll save cash and calories.

You don’t have to eat everything

And just remember, you’re under no obligation to eat every food and drink every drink offered to you over the Summer break. A lot of it isn’t that special (and the special stuff will be there next year). If there’s something that really appeals to you, or represents a special occasion with special people, go for it and enjoy it all the more.