Five Tips for Bouncing Back After Vacation

Post-Vacation Blues . . . sound familiar to anyone?

I have been in a bit of a funk since we’ve been home from Oregon. Struggling with my eating, struggling with my attitude about exercising, struggling, struggling, and . . . struggling.

It’s been hard and I’ve been slowly trying to make progress out of my slump. As the days go by, I’ve thought about the intentional steps I’m taking to bounce back.

This post is for me, but maybe one of you will benefit as well.

Don’t stress about weight gain.

One of my favorite things about going on vacation is indulging in certain food and drink I don’t normally have. I gave myself permission, while we were in Oregon, to enjoy myself. No counting calories. No worrying about too much or too little fat, too much or too little carbohydrates, too much or too little sugar . . . you get the idea. If I wanted it, I ordered it and I didn’t feel guilty about it.

Even with as active as we were on our trip (hiking, biking, running and walking), I still came home with an extra five pounds that weren’t there before.

I gave myself about five minutes to freak out and then, it was time to move on.

Were those five pounds worth it? Absolutely!

The weight you gain on vacation will come off once you settle back into your normal routine.

If you need to, slightly increase your daily calorie intake.

I found I was pretty hungry after we came home and I switched back to my 1200 calories a day. I decided that for a week or two I would transition my body back with a 1200 – 1500 calorie a day range.

I’ve found if I get super-dee-duper hungry my inner beast is more likely to come out of her cage and eat ALL THE THINGS in the pantry. It’s so much better for me to have healthy snacks scattered throughout the day when I need them even if my calorie count is a bit more.

As an add-on to this point, I really believe planning out your meals helps tremendously. Each Saturday, I sit down and map out our dinner menu for the next week. I find if I know what I’ll be eating for dinner each night, it makes it easier to plan out what to eat during the day. If dinner is X amount of calories, how many calories should I budget for breakfast, lunch and snacks?

Get back into your normal workout routine.

Do you take classes at the gym? Get back to them.

Do you workout to DVDs at home? Take them out and get busy.

Do you run or walk with a friend in the morning? Let her know you’re ready to start back up again.

Make it a priority to get back into your normal routine. The longer of a break you take the harder it will be to start up again.

I missed several of my normal classes at the gym last week and guess what? I felt bloated and grumpy.

Be inspired.

Inspiration is powerful. It’s like fuel.

Find some inspiration.

What about a new blog? Google “weight loss journey blogs” or “weight loss stories” and see if you can find some more fuel.

What about a book? There are thousands to choose from. It could be a weight loss book, but it doesn’t need to be. You could read a biography about one of your favorite athletes, a book about running, cycling, swimming, etc. I’m re-reading this book.

What about a magazine? There are so many magazines filled with inspiring stories to get you pumped and as an added bonus, lots of new recipes.

Resist the temptation to feel sorry for yourself. Look outside of yourself. You are not the only person fighting this fight.

Go through the motions until the motivation returns.

Don’t think, just do. Do the DVD. Do the run. Do the Zumba class. Just do. When is the last time you regretted working out? (Unless you injured yourself, of course . . . which obviously, you would regret that one. Ha!) When is the last time you said, “Man! I wish I hadn’t burned those 700 calories doing Turbo Kick?”

Exactly.

Don’t wait for the post-vacation blues to go away before you hit the gym again. Hit the gym and the post-vacation blues will eventually melt away.

Eat healthy, get active, be inspired and the motivation will return.