The Pre-Summer Check-In: 5 Ways to Discover if You're Ready
- LaReine Chabut
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Summer is right around the corner, and while everyone is talking about trips, sunshine, graduations, beach days, and busy calendars, your body might be quietly asking for something a little different: attention.
Not a full life overhaul. Not a dramatic reset. Not a “new season, new me” situation.
Just a simple check-in.
Because before the pace of summer picks up, this is the perfect time to pause and ask:
How am I actually feeling?
As moms, it’s easy to move through the day on autopilot. You’re taking care of everyone else, managing the calendar, keeping the house moving, answering the texts, planning the meals, and somehow still trying to remember your own appointments, workouts, water intake, and sleep.
But your body is always communicating with you. The question is: are you listening?
1. Your Energy Might Be Asking for More Support
If you’re feeling tired before the day even begins, dragging through the afternoon, or relying on caffeine just to function, your body may be asking for better support.
This is where Dr. Tassa’s insight around bloodwork and biomarkers becomes so important. Low energy can sometimes be tied to things happening under the surface: inflammation, cholesterol markers, insulin resistance, nutrient levels, hormones, or other internal signals that may not be obvious from the outside.
That doesn’t mean something is automatically “wrong.” It just means your energy is data.
And if fatigue has become your normal, it may be time to stop guessing and start getting real information.
Before summer kicks into high gear, take a few minutes to ask yourself:
Your energy is not just about productivity. It’s information.
2. Your Stress Might Be Asking for a Softer Schedule
Late spring can feel like a sprint. School events, sports, graduations, birthdays, travel planning, work deadlines, Mother’s Day, family plans—the calendar fills up fast.
If you’re feeling more irritable, overwhelmed, forgetful, or emotionally drained, your body might be asking for breathing room.
This is where Nikki Mark’s work around grief, healing, and emotional wellness reminds us that what we carry internally matters. Stress does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like snapping at small things, feeling constantly behind, scrolling late at night, or waking up already tense.
And sometimes, the emotional weight we’ve been pushing through finally starts showing up in our body.
A softer schedule can still be a full life. It just means you build in recovery, too.
Try choosing one thing this week to simplify. Maybe it’s ordering dinner instead of cooking. Maybe it’s skipping one nonessential errand. Maybe it’s blocking off one evening with no plans. Maybe it’s asking for help before you hit your limit.
You are allowed to protect your peace before you’re completely depleted.
3. Your Skin Might Be Asking for Hydration and Consistency
As the weather warms up, your skin may start changing. More sun, sweat, travel, outdoor events, and schedule shifts can all affect how your skin looks and feels.
If your skin feels dull, dry, irritated, oily, or more reactive than usual, it may be asking for a little more consistency.
This is where Dr. Ava Shamban’s expertise in skin health comes in. Skin is not just about what we put on the outside. It can reflect hydration, sleep, stress, hormones, sun exposure, inflammation, and how well we’re caring for ourselves overall.
That doesn’t mean you need a 12-step routine. In fact, simple is usually better.
Start with the basics: hydration, sunscreen, gentle cleansing, moisturizing, and enough sleep. And before the sunny season really starts, make SPF a daily habit. Not just at the beach. Not just on vacation. Every day.
Your future skin will thank you.
4. Your Digestion Might Be Asking You to Slow Down
Digestive changes are one of those things we tend to brush off, but they can tell us a lot.
Bloating, constipation, stomach discomfort, acid reflux, or changes in appetite can sometimes be connected to stress, rushed eating, dehydration, low fiber intake, hormonal shifts, or routine changes.
This is where Ilana Muhlstein’s nutrition-forward approach is so relevant. Food is not just about dieting or restriction. It’s about nourishment, consistency, hydration, protein, fiber, and creating habits that actually support your real life.
And let’s be honest: moms are often eating while standing, driving, packing lunches, cleaning up after everyone else, or finishing whatever is left on someone’s plate.
Your body was not designed to digest in chaos 24/7.
One small pre-summer check-in: notice how you’re eating, not just what you’re eating.
Are you rushing through meals?
Are you skipping breakfast and crashing later?
Are you getting enough fiber?
Are you drinking enough water?
Are you sitting down long enough to actually feel satisfied?
Your digestion may be asking for slower meals, more nourishment, and less “I’ll just eat whatever later” energy.
5. Your Body Might Be Asking for Movement That Feels Good
Pre-summer wellness can get wrapped up in pressure: “get ready for summer,” “summer body,” “new diet,” “tone up fast.”
No thank you.
Your body is not a seasonal project. It is your home.
This is where Brooke McKeever’s focus on supportive wellness tools, including red light therapy and recovery, connects to the bigger picture: your body benefits from care that helps it feel restored, not punished.
Movement does not have to be extreme to be effective. It can help your energy, mood, strength, sleep, circulation, confidence, and long-term health.
Instead of asking, “How do I change my body before summer?” try asking, “What kind of movement would help me feel better this week?”
Maybe it’s a walk after dinner. Maybe it’s strength training twice a week. Maybe it’s stretching before bed. Maybe it’s dancing in the kitchen. Maybe it’s finally getting back into the class you used to love.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is connection.
A Simple Pre-Summer Check-In
Before May arrives, take five quiet minutes and ask yourself:
How is my energy?
How is my sleep?
How is my stress?
How is my digestion?
How is my mood?
How is my skin?
How is my movement?
What have I been ignoring?
What is one thing my body needs more of right now?
You do not have to fix everything this week. That’s not the goal.
The goal is to listen.
Because your body is not trying to inconvenience you. It’s trying to communicate with you.
And as we head into a fuller, sunnier, busier season, let this be your reminder: you are allowed to take care of yourself before you’re running on empty.
So before summer starts pulling you in every direction, pause. Check in.
Drink the water. Book the appointment. Take the walk. Go to bed earlier. Ask for support.
