My Summer Vitality Reality Check
I can’t believe summer is almost over. Usually, when I think of summer, I picture relaxing evenings, fun family activities, maybe a little sunshine and—if I’m lucky—some time to actually sit down.
Well…that didn’t exactly happen this summer. 😂
Our summer started with the twins playing softball and Mia working on the Wisconsin Rapids Community Theatre (WRCT) production of The Hobbit. As soon as softball wrapped up, the girls auditioned for the WRCT musical Grease. Of course, Grease rehearsals started while Mia was still rehearsing for The Hobbit, because apparently having one theater production going at a time would have been far too easy.
Then there were the sets.
My husband and I spent nights and weekends helping build the set for The Hobbit. During tech week, I was also helping the kids run lines before they went on stage in front of the directors. As soon as The Hobbit wrapped, it was time for WRCT’s HOPO production of Mythunderstood. All three of my daughters auditioned—and all three got in.
So, naturally, we built another set.
Mythunderstood setAnd rehearsed another show.
Then came Grease.
Grease was a huge production and a very expensive endeavor for the theater, which meant fundraising meetings, fundraising activities, rehearsals and…you guessed it…more set building. The set was HUGE. I honestly lost track of how many hours we spent working on it.
Add all of that to our full-time jobs, plus the part-time job I have, and let’s just say my calendar was less “summer fun” and more “how many places do I have to be tonight?”
My stress level was through the roof, and my sleep was definitely not what it should have been.
And this is all important background information for my latest Vitality update because, well…I struggled.
One of the guidelines for the Vitality Program is not eating within two hours of going to bed. That sounds pretty reasonable—until you’re spending every evening at the theater and don’t get home until 8 or 9 p.m.
Most days, we went straight from work to the theater, which meant there wasn’t really an opportunity to eat dinner at a normal time. So if I ate dinner, it was often a very late dinner.
I also wasn’t eating as often as I should. The recommendation is to eat every three to four hours, and I definitely wasn’t doing that consistently. My protein intake was another issue. I’m supposed to be getting around 80–100 grams of protein a day, and I know I wasn’t getting anywhere close to that.
So what happened?
I gained weight.
Yep. Even though I was constantly moving, hauling heavy set pieces, building things, running around and generally feeling like I was getting my steps in just by surviving the day, I still gained weight.
And it was a good reminder that being active isn’t the only piece of the puzzle.
Meal timing matters. Getting enough protein matters. And sometimes life gets so crazy that the things you know you’re supposed to be doing get pushed to the bottom of the priority list.
When I talked to my health coach, Katrina, about what was going on, she helped me come up with some realistic solutions. She recommended some easy, portable snacks I could take with me to the theater and suggested setting a reminder on my phone to eat every three hours or so.
Because apparently, sometimes I need my phone to remind me to eat. 😂
The good news is that this is exactly why I appreciate having the support of the Vitality Program. It’s not about being perfect. Life happens. Summers get crazy. Theater sets apparently multiply when you’re not looking.
It’s about recognizing what’s not working, making some adjustments and getting back on track.
And now that the theater chaos is finally winding down, I’m looking forward to getting back into a better routine—and maybe even having a little summer fun before summer actually disappears!
If you need some support to reach your health goals set up your consultation today at Eleve Vitality and Aesthetics, 715-847-0000.
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