Vacations are the best; lounging poolside, getting a sunburn, going for long walks on cobblestones in flip-flops, sleeping in hammocks, eating your weight in queso, only hydrating with coffee and margaritas, and watching your body slowly slip into sloth mode. What happens on vacation stays on vacation, right? Well, not exactly.
Have you ever lapsed into vacation mode, maybe indulging in some of the activities listed above, only to find that after a while, maybe even during your vacation, you start to feel an unrelenting sense of grogginess, digestive upset, fatigue, stiffness and kind of overall grossness? This is because even though your mind wants full vacation mode, your body might be resistant to the daily diet of lounging, sunburns, beer and poolside nachos.
Of course, vacations are about de-stressing. It’s extra important to fully kick back and cut loose, but maybe there is room for a bit of balance, some planning and a splash of movement, so you can still engage in holiday mode while also looking after your energy levels, digestive health and mobility gains.
This means practicing some self-care and compassion, taking some reality checks and making preparations to assess how you can balance your pre/mid/post-holiday self and avoid the after-holiday remorse.
Self-care and compassion are about ensuring that you aren’t holding your breath throughout the year and only exhaling during your brief scheduled holiday. We need breaks and mini-indulgences throughout the year.
You may even want to add some physical adventuring into your itinerary, like mountain biking, scuba diving, or hiking. Keeping the body active will promote further relaxation, create energy and reduce daily aches and pains.
When we ball up all our stress, holding out for that sliver of vacation peace, it makes the relaxation time so urgent that we risk starting the vacation at a near frenzied state. Taking care of stress throughout the year, in whatever form feels available, allows for a fuller appreciation of the longer-scheduled vacations. In the meantime, mini vacations can be as small as scheduling in a peaceful walk every day or planning a trip to the beach a couple of times per month.
Holiday prep times can be a great opportunity for reality checks. For example, we can fall into some tricky behaviours as we get ready to vacation, like problematic eating patterns. Many people will restrict their eating habits in order to try and achieve a holiday ready look, only to overdo it once they hit the poolside buffet. This behaviour can be problematic, especially when the return home means regret and self-judgment, often leading to continued restricted eating patterns. This is a tough cycle to get into and requires a considerable amount of compassion and self-awareness.
There is, however, an easy way to avoid this cycle that creates a freedom to enjoy holiday indulgences without a sense of disorder. The first step is to check in when things feel out of control and simply acknowledge times when eating certain foods and, with compassion, remind yourself that being out of control doesn’t feel very good.
Sometimes reactions to overindulgence can come from a feeling of over-restriction. An example of this would be only allowing yourself to eat in a carefree way during holiday time, thus limiting your ability to fully enjoy your food to this short window. This sense of urgent indulgence is removed when food freedom is permitted.
This may feel like an invitation to go overboard with food but for most people, simply giving themselves permission to access all foods removes the impulse to overindulge in any of them. It also allows us to be honest about how these foods or potential overindulgence of them makes us feel. As an example, once you allow yourself to eat an entire plate of nachos or drink seven margaritas, regardless of whether or not you’re on vacation, you realize quite quickly that it actually feels pretty gross.
When holiday activities and indulgences become problematic, it can leave you strung out and even have you returning home in worse shape than when you left.
Acknowledging and preparing for these occurrences is the easiest way to ensure you support your mental, physical and digestive health while travelling and beyond. If you know you have an exciting culinary experience planned, be sure to follow your satiety signals throughout the meal and avoid overeating, but also include foods that aid in digestion, like vegetables. Starting your meal with a small leafy side salad and vinaigrette will aid in the digestion of larger or richer meals.
Commit to eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible throughout your holiday to ensure you are getting adequate fibre and nutrient density. This will help to fill you up and to combat richer or less nutritionally optimal meals. Keep yourself armed with healthy snacks and try not to skip meals to keep your blood sugars balanced. Importantly, be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. Yes, this means more pee breaks but it also means more energy, less brain fog and better digestion.
Exercising while on holiday may not sound appealing, but it can be an excellent way to keep your mind and body supported, making adventurous activities more accessible while limiting the post-holiday blahs. Something as simple as five sun salutations first thing in the morning or a 15- to 30-minute walk on a hotel treadmill (in supportive shoes) can make all the difference to your physical comfort.
You may even want to add some physical adventuring into your itinerary, like mountain biking, scuba diving, or hiking. Keeping the body active will promote further relaxation, create energy and reduce daily aches and pains.
Vacations are an excellent way to promote relaxation and recharge your energy, all while offering a refreshing pause to the daily grind. But when holiday activities and indulgences become problematic, it can leave you strung out and even have you returning home in worse shape than when you left. By balancing your relaxation and recharging with intentional self-care, dietary compassion and preparation, alongside some supportive movement, your holiday experience will deepen, and you can reap the vacation benefits long after the holiday has ended.
