5 Things You Need to Hear as the Summer Comes To An End

 

Hey hey beautiful human!

The end of summer can feel a little loaded.

Maybe the routines got loose. Maybe workouts were missed. Maybe nutrition felt more relaxed than usual. And now that fall is right around the corner, there can be this sneaky pressure to buckle down, get serious, and make up for lost time.

This is not your end-of-summer guilt trip.

In this episode of Embrace Your Real, we are talking about five things I want you to hear before walking into a new season. Some will challenge the way you have been thinking. Some will feel like permission to stop being so hard on yourself. And some might be exactly what you need to start showing up again without turning fall into a punishment plan.

What’s Discussed:

  • Why summer should not be the only season that feels joyful

  • How to walk into fall without trying to punish yourself for summer

  • Why getting back on track does not need to be dramatic

  • How to choose a workout schedule you can actually stick to

  • Why the in-between seasons matter so much

  • What it means to honor your body instead of trying to fix it

  • How small choices this fall can help you feel proud by the new year

If fall has you wanting more structure with food, Macro Counting Made Simple is such a good place to start. It helps you calculate your macros, understand what your body needs, and make nutrition feel like a lifestyle instead of a total overhaul. Head to macrocountingmadesimple.com  to get started.

For workouts, Movement With Julie gives you five brand-new workouts each week with minimal equipment, so staying consistent does not have to feel boring or complicated. Whether your number is two days, three days, or five, the app helps you honor your body through movement in a way that can actually fit your life. Head to movementwithjulie.com to get started.

If this episode gave you the check-in you needed, go listen to Episode 574: 6 Actually Helpful Ways to Get Back on Track This Fall (Without Burning Out by Week Two). It is the perfect next step if fall has you ready for a plan that feels simple, doable, and sustainable.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Transcript

(0:00) Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, (0:05) a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I give you a dose of real (0:11) talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally (0:16) loving your authentic self.

Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it. Let's go.

(0:28) Hello, and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. All right, (0:32) if you're listening to this in real time, it is the last day of August. Summer is officially (0:37) coming to an end, and I just felt like I could not let this moment pass without talking to you about (0:42) it because I know that this time of year does something to so many women.

I know that for a lot (0:47) of you, maybe the end of summer brings up a lot of feelings. Maybe you got off track this summer, (0:51) maybe you feel like you didn't hit the goals that you set back in June. Maybe you're looking (0:55) at the next few months and just feeling pressure to buckle down and get serious and make up for (0:59) lost time.

I just want to sit with you in that for a second before we dive in because I think what (1:05) you need to hear is not a list of things to do differently. What I think you need to hear (1:10) is the truth about where you actually are and what this season actually means for you. I'm going (1:15) to be sharing five things that you need to hear as summer comes to an end.

Some of these things (1:21) are going to challenge you in the way that you've been thinking, and some of these are going to (1:25) feel like a permission slip. And then I also think some of them are going to light a fire (1:30) under you in the best possible way. So before we dive in, let me share this review.

She gave (1:34) a five star review and said, you are missing out. Julie has helped my life in so many ways (1:39) in fitness, health, and mentally. She has helped me change my perspective on how I look at myself (1:43) and how I look at life.

I no longer want to be skinny. I want to be strong and value my body (1:48) for what it is meant to do, not based on how I think it should look. Julie, you are amazing (1:52) and thank you for saving my life in so many ways.

I love this so much. Thank you so much (1:57) for taking time out of your day to send in this review. I genuinely love hearing what you guys are (2:02) getting from the podcast in general.

So again, thank you for taking time out of your day to send (2:07) this in. If you could scooch over to Apple podcasts and leave a rating interview, that (2:11) would mean the world to me and our team. Just kind of know maybe how a specific episode has (2:15) helped you or just in general.

And if you haven't left a review in a couple of years, (2:19) I would love to hear in this season of your life that you're listening to now, how it's helping (2:24) you. So thank you in advance for doing that. All right, let's get into it.

The five things (2:28) that I think you need to hear as summer comes to an end. Number one, you should not just enjoy (2:34) summer. You should build a life that brings you joy all year round.

I want to start with this (2:38) because this is the mindset shift that really changes everything in my opinion. I think every (2:42) year I see women white knuckle their way through the beginning of the year, being disciplined, (2:46) consistent, committed to doing all the things that they believe is going to help them feel (2:50) better in their body. And then summer hits and they finally give themselves permission to like (2:54) relax, have fun and enjoy their life.

And then September comes and instead of feeling (2:58) refreshed, they feel like they have to start all over again. But what if the problem is not that (3:03) you enjoyed summer too much? What if the problem is that the rest of your year doesn't have (3:08) enough joy in it because joy is what gives you energy. And when you have more energy, (3:12) you have more capacity for the habits that help you build the body that you want.

(3:16) You have more energy to train, to go for a walk, to prep a protein focused meal, (3:21) to drink your water, to get to bed on time, to show up again tomorrow. This is the part (3:25) that so many women miss in my opinion is building the body that you want requires consistency, (3:30) but consistency requires capacity. And if your life feels draining or restrictive or (3:35) joyless most of the year, it makes sense that staying consistent feels so hard.

(3:40) So yes, I want you to enjoy summer, but I also want you to ask yourself how you (3:43) can build in more joy into your normal routine. Because more joy creates more energy and more (3:49) energy creates more capacity and more capacity makes it easier to keep showing up for the (3:54) habits that help you feel strong and confident and at home in your body all year long. (3:59) So instead of asking yourself, how do I stay on track this fall? I want you to ask yourself, (4:03) how do I build a life that actually loves living every single month of the year? (4:07) Because when you build that life, you stop needing to escape from it.

You stop needing (4:11) summer to feel good. You stop needing a vacation to like yourself. You just feel like yourself (4:16) because you built a life that supports that.

That's the real goal, not a six week summer body, (4:22) but a life that you love living year round. Number two, fall should not be treated as a (4:28) punishment for how summer went. Instead, I want you to think of it as a brand new opportunity.

(4:33) Can we just collectively say this out loud together? Fall is not a time for punishment (4:39) because I think so many of us walk into September with this energy of like, (4:42) okay, now I have to get serious. Now I have to pay for what I did this summer. (4:46) Now I have to go hard because I went easy for the last three months.

And that mindset, (4:51) that punishment mindset is one of the most destructive things that you can bring into (4:55) a new season. Because when you approach fall from a place of guilt, you either go so hard (4:59) that you burn out in two weeks or the guilt becomes so overwhelming that you don't start at (5:04) all. And neither of those things are going to get you to where you want to go.

Here's the (5:07) truth. You do not need a hard reset. You do not need a detox.

You do not need an overhaul (5:13) or to overhaul everything overnight and go from zero to a hundred to prove to yourself that you're (5:18) serious. That is not what getting back on track looks like. That is what burning out looks like.

(5:24) What you actually need is just a simple rule to fall. That's it. Just a rule.

Here's mine. (5:29) I want you to write this down. Start by counting your macros just for two weeks, (5:33) not forever, not perfectly, just two weeks of being intentional about how you're fueling your body.

(5:38) That's kind of your re-entry point. This is how you ease back in without overwhelming yourself. (5:43) And if you go off track during those two weeks because life happens and you likely will, (5:47) the rule is simple.

Just make sure that the next two meals are macro-friendly. Not tomorrow, (5:52) not Monday, not next week, the very next two meals. You had a dinner that was totally off (5:57) plan? Fine.

Just make sure breakfast and lunch the next day are solid. That's the whole rule. (6:01) You don't spiral.

You don't restart. You just follow the rule. And it works exactly (6:06) the way with your workouts.

If you skip a workout, the rule is do not skip the next two. That's it. (6:12) You miss Monday.

Make sure you do Tuesday and Wednesday no matter what, right? It doesn't have (6:16) to even be a workout. It can just be movement. Not because you're punishing yourself for missing (6:20) Monday, but because you're someone who follows through.

You are someone who has a rule and (6:25) honors that rule. Do you see how different this feels from this all or nothing approach? (6:29) There is no falling off track in this system. There's no starting over.

There's just a rule. (6:34) And when you have a rule, you don't need motivation. You don't need to feel ready.

You (6:39) don't need the stars to align. You just follow the rule. And following a rule is so much more (6:43) manageable than trying to be perfect.

Simple, manageable, and sustainable. That is what getting (6:49) back on track actually looks like. Not a dramatic overhaul, just a rule that you follow (6:53) over and over again until consistency becomes your identity again.

If you're not already (6:58) inside my Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy, I think that this will really help you. (7:02) It will give you a clear, simple framework for your nutrition that works in your real life. (7:07) If I'm being honest, Macro Counting has single-handedly been one of the best tools (7:11) in the playbook for building the body that you want.

And I've used it time and time again in (7:15) so many different seasons of my life. If you want to learn more, you can go to (7:20) macrocountingmadesimple.com. Again, that's macrocountingmadesimple.com to check it out. (7:24) Or I will link it in the show notes below.

Number three, you do not need to work out every single (7:29) day. You just need to work out the number of days you can actually be consistent with. (7:33) This one is so important and I don't think it gets said enough because there's so much (7:36) noise out there telling you that more is better.

Like, work out six days a week, (7:40) do two a days, go harder, go longer. I just want to call that out for what it is. Like, (7:44) it's a recipe for burnout.

Here's the truth. Three workouts a week that you actually show up (7:49) for will always be seven workouts a week that you burn out on. Always.

Because consistency over time (7:54) is the only thing that actually creates transformation. Not intensity, not volume, (8:00) just consistency. I want you to get really honest with yourself as you head into fall.

How many (8:05) days a week can you realistically, sustainably commit to moving your body? Not how many days (8:11) a week you think you should be working out. How many days can you actually show up for (8:15) week after week without burning out or resenting it? Maybe that's three days. Maybe that's four.

(8:20) Maybe right now in this season of life, it's two. And that's okay. Own that number.

Commit (8:25) to that number. Show up for that number every single week. Because two consistent days every (8:29) week for six months will change your body and your life far more than six days a week for three (8:35) weeks followed by nothing.

And if you need a program that meets you where you're at, (8:38) I've got one for you. Dumble only workouts for you. Go to sale, S-A-L-E.movementulae.com. (8:44) You get five brand new workouts every single week so you never get bored.

I will also link (8:47) that in the show notes below. Number four. Who you are in the in-between seasons is who you (8:53) actually are.

Let me repeat that. Who you are in the in-between seasons is actually who you are. (8:59) Not who you are in January when the motivation is fresh and the new energy is high.

Not who you (9:04) are in June when the summer is starting and you're feeling inspired. Who you are in September (9:08) when nobody is watching, when there's no holiday, no special occasion, no external pressure, pushing (9:13) you. That is who you actually are.

And I say this not to make you feel bad. I say this because (9:18) I want you to see the opportunity in front of you right now because the woman who shows up in the (9:22) in-between seasons, the ordinary Tuesday in September, the random Wednesday in October, (9:27) that is the woman who is going to transform. That is the woman who walks into the new year feeling (9:32) strong and proud and ahead instead of starting over again.

The in-between seasons are where (9:38) identity is built. They are where the real habits are formed. They are where you prove (9:42) to yourself over and over again that you are someone who shows up.

Not when it's easy, (9:47) not when it's exciting, just because it's who you are. So as summer ends, I want to challenge you (9:52) to decide who you are right now and who you're going to be this fall. Not what you're going to (9:58) do, who you are going in because when you get that part right, the doing takes care of itself.

(10:04) And last but not least, number five, build or rebuild the mindset of honoring your body. (10:08) I want to close with this one because it's honestly the most important thing that I could (10:11) ever say to you in the realm of nutrition and fitness and just overall bettering yourself. (10:19) It is something that I have not talked about enough lately personally, but it is the foundation (10:23) of every single thing that I do, everything that I teach, and everything this podcast was built on.

(10:28) As we head into the new season, I think there's no better time to come back to it, (10:32) but the premise is this. What if everything you did for your body, every workout, every meal, (10:36) every choice came from a place of honoring your body instead of punishing it, instead of trying (10:42) to shrink it or fix it or force it into something that it's not? Because here's what I see every (10:47) single fall. Women walk into September with a list of things that they want to change about (10:51) themselves.

I want to lose the weight that I gained this summer. I want to be more strict. (10:55) I want to finally get the body that I've always wanted.

And I'm not saying that those (10:59) desires are wrong, but when the motivation behind your actions is rooted in not liking (11:03) what you see and feeling like your body is a problem that needs to be solved, (11:07) the energy is not sustainable. It leads to restriction. It leads to burnout.

It leads (11:11) to the same cycle over and over and over again, where you go hard, you burn out, (11:16) and you feel like a failure, and then you start over. But when you shift the foundation, (11:20) when you move from, I need to fix my body to I want to honor my body, everything changes. (11:25) Honoring your body means that you move it because movement makes you feel strong and alive (11:29) and capable, not because you need to burn off what you ate, not because you hate what you see (11:34) in the mirror, but because your body was designed to move and moving it is a gift.

(11:40) Honoring your body means you fuel it well, because you want to feel energized, (11:43) you want to feel nourished, you want to feel clear-headed, not because you're following a (11:47) strict plan that makes you feel miserable, not because you're trying to eat as little as (11:51) possible, but because your body deserves to be fed with intention and care. (11:55) Honoring your body means you show up for it consistently, not perfectly, because you respect (12:00) it, because you understand that the relationship that you have with your body is the longest (12:05) relationship that you will ever have in your life. And like any relationship, (12:09) it requires patience, it requires commitment, and a whole ton of grace.

(12:14) And here's why this mindset is so key to actually building the body that you want. (12:18) When your actions come from a place of honoring your body, consistency becomes natural. (12:24) You stop looking for all the reasons to skip your workout, (12:27) because you actually want to show up for yourself.

You stop fighting your nutrition, (12:31) because you're nourishing yourself instead of restricting yourself. (12:34) You stop falling into this all-or-nothing trap, (12:37) because you are not chasing perfection, you are practicing honor every single day. (12:42) The women who build the bodies and the lives that they truly want (12:45) are not the ones who were the most strict.

(12:48) They were not the ones who had the most willpower. (12:50) They are the ones who learn to love and respect their bodies enough (12:53) to take care of them consistently, not just in January, not before summer, (12:58) but in every ordinary season of the year. (13:01) So as summer ends and fall begins, I want to invite you to set down the weight loss goals, (13:06) set down the I need to be more strict mentality, (13:09) and set down the focus on the superficial stuff.

(13:12) And instead, pick up one simple intention. (13:16) I'm going to honor my body this fall and how I move it, and how I feed it, (13:20) and how I talk about it, and how I talk to it. (13:22) I'm going to treat it like something worth taking care of, because it is.

(13:26) That is the mindset that changes everything. (13:28) That is what Embrace Your Real was built on, (13:30) and that is what I want to leave you with today. (13:32) All right, there you have it.

(13:33) Those are the five things that I believe you need to hear as summer comes to an end. (13:37) Let me do a quick recap of everything we covered today. (13:40) Number one, stop just enjoying summer and start building a life (13:43) that actually brings you joy all year round, (13:45) because joy creates energy, and energy creates capacity.

(13:48) And capacity is what makes consistency possible in every season. (13:53) Number two, fall is not a punishment lap for how summer went. (13:56) It's a brand new opportunity.

(13:58) You do not need a hard reset. (14:00) You need a simple rule. (14:01) Count your macros for two weeks.

(14:02) Make the next two meals macro-friendly. (14:04) If you go off track and if you skip a workout, (14:06) just make sure you don't skip the next two. (14:08) Number three, you do not need to work out every single day.

(14:11) You just need to work out the number of days (14:13) that you can actually be consistent with. (14:15) Own that number, commit to it, and show up for it (14:18) every single week without burning out. (14:20) Number four, who you are in the in-between seasons (14:23) is actually who you are.

(14:24) The ordinary Tuesday in September, (14:26) that's where the real transformation is built. (14:28) Decide right now who you're going to be this fall, (14:31) not what you are going to do, but who you are going to be. (14:35) And last but not least, number five, (14:37) build or rebuild the mindset of honoring your body.

(14:40) Set down the weight loss goals, (14:42) and the need to be more strict, (14:43) and the focus on the superficial stuff, (14:45) and pick up the intention of honoring your body (14:47) and how you move it, how you fuel it, (14:50) and how you speak to it. (14:51) Here's what I really want you to carry with you (14:53) as you walk into this new season. (14:55) You are not behind.

(14:56) You did not ruin anything this summer. (14:58) You lived your life, and that's beautiful. (15:00) That's beautiful.

(15:01) And now you get to walk into fall with fresh eyes, (15:04) a clear intention, and an understanding (15:06) that the small, consistent, unglamorous steps (15:09) that you will take over the next 90 days (15:12) will compound into something incredible (15:14) by the time January rolls around. (15:16) You don't have to do it perfectly. (15:18) You just have to keep showing up, (15:19) and that's the whole thing.

(15:20) If you're ready to walk into fall with a real plan, (15:23) I already told you about my two programs, (15:26) my two tools that I have for you, (15:27) my macro-canny made simple, and my movement with Julie. (15:30) Both of those are linked in the show notes below. (15:32) But when, again, when you pair those things together, (15:35) you are giving yourself a system, (15:37) and a system is what makes consistency possible, (15:39) even on the days when motivation is nowhere to be found.

(15:42) Those tools together are what I truly believe (15:45) will help you walk into the new year (15:46) feeling stronger and more competent (15:48) and more proud of yourself than ever before. (15:51) Before I let you go, if this episode resonated with you, (15:54) I have two small requests. (15:56) First, if you could share this with a friend (15:57) or a mama or someone in your life (15:59) that you feel like needs to hear this message, (16:02) it takes two seconds, and it can genuinely help her (16:05) change the way that she walks into fall.

(16:07) Also, if you could leave a rating or review, (16:09) that would mean the absolute world to me and our team (16:11) just kind of know how the podcast is helping you. (16:13) If you are ready to take everything (16:15) that we talked about today (16:16) and really turn it into an actual plan, (16:19) go tune in to episode 574. (16:21) It's all about how to get back on track this fall (16:23) without burning out by week two.

(16:25) And I believe that it's a perfect next step from here, (16:28) so I will link that in the show notes below as well. (16:30) Thank you so much for being here today. (16:32) I'm so proud of you for showing up, (16:33) and I'm so excited for you to head into this new season (16:37) with clear intentions.

(16:39) You are incredible, and I'll see you in the next one. (16:51) All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, (16:54) but I have two things that I need you to do. (16:57) First thing, if you are not already following me (17:00) on the Gram, be sure to do so Julie A. Ledbetter, (17:02) yes, it's with an A in the middle, (17:04) for that daily post-workout real talk, (17:07) healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability (17:09) to keep your mind and heart in check.

(17:11) The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts (17:15) to never miss an episode. (17:17) Thank you so much for joining me. (17:19) It means the absolute world, (17:21) and I'm going to leave you with one last thought.

(17:23) The most beautiful women that I have met in my life (17:26) are the ones who are completely confident (17:28) and secure in being authentically themselves. (17:32) Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface, (17:35) so go out there and embrace your real, (17:38) because you're worth it.

 
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