Summer has a way of loosening our routines.
Breakfast might happen a little later. Lunch could be whatever you can find between activities. Dinner might be a last-minute decision after a long day at the pool. And honestly? That’s okay.
But then fall rolls around. School starts. Work schedules pick back up. Activities fill the calendar. Bedtimes get a little more predictable. And suddenly, we’re expected to remember everyone’s schedule and figure out what’s for dinner.
The good news is that fall can actually help us get back into a rhythm.
Rather than trying to overhaul your eating habits completely, use this change in season as an opportunity to get a little more prepared.
Because when we’re prepared, we’re much less likely to find ourselves scrambling for food at the last minute or realizing at 4 p.m. that we’ve had three cups of coffee and nothing resembling lunch.
If getting back into a routine feels a little harder than you’d like, here are three places to focus on.
1. Regular, Balanced Meals
When your schedule gets busy, it’s easy to skip meals or push them off until you’re absolutely starving.
One of the best things you can do is create a loose rhythm for meals and snacks that works with your day.
You don’t need to eat at exactly the same time every day. But having a general plan can make it much easier to avoid the “I have no idea what I’m eating” feeling.
What makes a meal balanced?
A simple place to start is:
Protein + carbohydrate + produce + fat
You don’t necessarily need to measure or calculate anything. Just think about including a few different food groups.
For example:
- Eggs + whole-grain toast + berries
- Greek yogurt + granola + fruit + nuts
- Turkey sandwich + vegetables + fruit
- Chicken + rice + roasted vegetables + avocado
- Pasta + chicken or beans + vegetables + olive oil
Make regular meals easier with small prep steps.
No need to spend all weekend prepping. Instead, look for a few small ways to make future-you’s life easier:
- Keep a few easy breakfast options on hand.
- Wash and prep fruit when you get home from the grocery store.
- Cook extra protein at dinner to use for lunch.
- Keep frozen vegetables and other quick meal ingredients available.
- Have a few “emergency meals” you can make when the day doesn’t go according to plan.
The goal isn’t to perfectly plan every meal. It’s to have enough of a plan that you’re not starting from zero every day.
2. Add More Plants and Fiber
Summer produce is plentiful and can make it easy to get a variety of natural colors in your diet.
As fall routines return, keep that variety going!
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds provide fiber and a wide range of nutrients that support digestive health and overall health.
If you aren’t getting a lot of plants in your diet, try making plants part of the meals you’re already eating.
- Add berries or a banana to breakfast.
- Toss spinach into eggs, pasta, or a smoothie.
- Add beans to tacos, soups, salads, or grain bowls.
- Choose whole-grain bread, oats, brown rice, or whole-grain pasta more often.
- Keep easy-to-eat fruits and vegetables where you can see them.
- Add one extra vegetable to dinner.
- Add a mix of seeds to your yogurt or nut butter.
One of our favorite approaches at Well Balanced Nutrition is to add before you subtract.
Instead of asking, “What should I stop eating?”
Ask:
“What could I add to this meal to make it a little more nourishing and satisfying?”
That’s a much easier place to start.
3. Make Hydration Part of Your Routine
When the days are hot and we’re sweating more, it’s usually pretty obvious that we need to drink.
But once fall arrives, it can be surprisingly easy to forget about hydration.
You’re busy. You’re in meetings. You’re driving kids to activities. Suddenly it’s 3 p.m., and you realize your water bottle hasn’t moved from your desk.
Rather than worrying about hitting a perfect number of ounces, focus on making hydration easier to remember.
Connect drinking water to things you already do.
For example:
- Fill your water bottle when you make your morning coffee.
- Keep water at your desk or in the car.
- Drink a glass of water with meals.
- Take your water bottle with you when you leave the house.
- Refill it before afternoon activities or workouts.
And remember, hydration comes from more than just water. Milk, sparkling water, tea, coffee, fruits, vegetables, and other beverages all contribute to your fluid intake.
If plain water isn’t your favorite, make it more appealing. Try sparkling water, lemon or lime, or a fun water bottle you actually enjoy carrying around.
Food for thought:
Start by asking yourself:
Where could a little preparation make my week easier?
Maybe it’s planning a few breakfasts.
Maybe it’s keeping easy lunch ingredients on hand.
Maybe it’s adding a fruit or vegetable to one meal each day.
Maybe it’s finally remembering to fill your water bottle before you leave the house.
You don’t have to do everything at once.
Pick one place to start, make it easier on yourself, and build from there.
That’s what getting back into a routine is really about not perfection, but creating a little more structure to support the life you’re actually living.
