Who hasn’t gone on vacation and thrown their usual nutrition and exercise routine into the wind? You may return from vacation feeling exhausted, bloated, and just generally not feeling good. While it’s 100% ok to take a break from your usual schedule and eat all the fun foods and lounge by the pool, you can have the best of both worlds and return from vacation with minimal lingering side effects. Keep reading to learn more about the best prep before a trip, stick to your goals while traveling and how to bounce back when you get home.
How to Approach Preparing for Your Trip
Creating a healthy mindset towards your health before you leave for any trip can help you to make better choices. It’s very common for people to eat sparse meals before they leave so they feel like they can indulge while traveling, but that doesn’t lead to the best mindset. You should never feel like you have to “earn” the ability to eat food, and that you don’t “deserve” it unless you restrict it.
It’s also not a good idea to over exercise before a trip. Just stick to your normal eating and exercise plan. Shocking your system with restriction and harsh exercise can be more harmful to the body. Focus on eating normal meals, not mindlessly snacking, drinking lots of water and prioritizing sleep. Making sure your body is in great condition before you leave, will contribute to you making good choices while away, and staying on track for your goals.
Finding the Balance on Vacation
While it’s nice to go on vacation and go with the flow, doing so makes it hard to keep up with any kind of healthy routine. You have to do a bit of planning and you’ll see a major difference in how you feel vs. other vacations.
Start by setting some kind of routine for yourself. Figure out when you can get in some movement. Maybe you start the day with a walk outside to make sure you get some steps in. Figure out how to get some good protein in! Think ahead on where and when you will eat to reduce binging after a long day of activities. Also, cutting back on the alcohol you consume or how much of the day you spend drinking will help you to keep your caloric intake in a healthy range.
Try to think about if you really want those snacks or alcoholic beverages before having them. Just the act of checking in with yourself can keep you from overeating and feeling sick after. We often have this mentality of just eating and drinking whatever we want and getting in no movement while on vacation, but we can have a better balance that can keep you headed towards your goals!
Getting Back to Normal After Coming Home
Returning from vacation you may find yourself to be a little uneasy with a sensitive stomach, or extra fatigue. You could feel bloated and maybe with a headache. It’s important to focus on getting back into your old routine and avoid that scale when you return! Most likely you’ll be experiencing some excess water weight from the extra sugar, salt and alcohol you may have had while traveling.
Focus on planning out your upcoming workouts and getting back into training and incorporating meals high in protein and fiber. Make sure you are getting enough water and making time to rest and relax.
Working towards your goals while outside your normal schedule isn’t an impossible feat, you just have to think ahead and remember your goals while you’re gone. You can do all of this while still enjoying your trip, relaxing and having those foods and drinks you want. Life is about finding a good balance. If you find a way of eating and getting in movement that truly fits within your lifestyle, you will find it so much easier to translate that while on vacation.