How To Get Back Into A Healthy Routine After Vacation

Feeling sluggish after summer vacation? Get Back Into A Healthy Routine After Vacation with these simple TIPS. You'll feel like new in no time!

Have you come home from summer vacation and you physically feel like complete blah - sluggish, bloated, low on energy? Did you happen to over-eat, not work out, and simply not take care of your body? Well, I'm right with you. While summer is a great time to unwind, spend time with friends and family, travel and just enjoy life, we often find ourselves overindulging with food and drinks and skipping workouts during summer. It's totally understandable and completely normal.

I often wonder why we do that to our bodies, but then again if you felt pleasure and happiness at that moment when you ate that sweet grandma dessert or had one too many glasses of wine after dinner, then just relax and let go. Don't beat yourself up. Let those memories remain sweet as the summer. We can always get back into a healthy routine after vacation.

Since I had the craziest summer EVER, I had to figure out how to detox because I’m totally in need of a fresh start. We usually spend our summer vacation on the beautiful Croatian coast/sea. But this summer we skipped vacaying. We traded our free family time for making a significant life change. We moved to BIG city this summer.

While others were relaxing and having fun on the beach, we had fun with searching for the new place to live (and work), moving, renovating and preparing for the fall. These hectic couples of weeks really messed up my healthy routine. Although I didn't gain any extra pounds, after returning to my fall clothes I've noticed that my pants are kinda tight on the belly. I felt little sluggish and super bloated.

There's no real wonder in that. I skipped meals too many times and eat too little. We also ordered food few times while our kitchen stuff was packed in the boxes. I did always chose a healthier menu and healthier food, but still nothing can replace my home-cooked meals. I've enjoyed store-bought stuff too much too often and that caused chaos in my body. Did I mention I've skipped out my workouts?! Yeah, that too. Super bad!

When we finally settled in our new apartment and new offices, I've decided it's time to get back on my HEALTHY train. The good news is that no matter how horrible you've sinned during summer and summer vacation - that includes overeating, drinking and partying hard, you don’t have to go on some crazy diet nor sweat like crazy person in the gym to get back on track. Your body is resilient and knows how to heal itself. You just have to help it a little.

So, let’s get healthy together! Here are some simple tips that helped me feel better in no time.

Cut back your SUGAR INTAKE.
Take a TEMPORARY break from ALL the sugary food. That includes ALL the store-bought stuff filled with refined sugars (... of course!), and yes, that means no Double Chocolate Banana Muffins nor Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies for few weeks too. Also, reduce the amount of healthy sugar alternatives you use daily - that means honey and syrups. Try drinking tea without the honey, or add just a half teaspoon of sugar in your morning coffee instead of usual two. To help your body metabolize sugar rush, load up on lean proteins, fibers, and healthy fats. I wrote a post about How To Stop Sugar Cravings. Read it! After you get yourself off the sugar and after you get your body used to not having sugar in a diet, then you can again enjoy in healthier desserts. But remember - mindfully choose which treats you want to enjoy and always be moderate.

Drink LOTS and LOTS OF WATER.
I know, this is not some news to anyone but is just so important. Drinking enough water is essential to help your liver and kidneys filter out toxins, and it helps release the extra weight and bloat from the over-indulgence. I've already talked about the importance of proper hydration EVERY DAY, and I hope I don't have to repeat myself here. I've added more water back into my daily healthy routine by carrying water bottle around with me all the time.

Have a cup of HERBAL TEA.
If you have trouble drinking plain water, try sipping on warm teas. Herbal teas are the best. Try mint, ginger, chamomile or dandelion tea. They are all known to soothe and relieve digestive problems such as indigestion, bloating, constipation, intestinal gas, heartburn, and even irritable bowels. Green tea is great for detoxifying the body too.

Eat RAW VEGETABLES with every meal.
Fresh veggies, especially green ones, are doing wonders to our bodies. They flush down those nasty toxins out like some miracle workers. Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that help fight free radicals that damage our body cells. Veggies also keep our digestive tract healthy. For me, adding raw veggies to my daily meals was no fuss. It happens that I really LOVE all the veggies and I usually eat a lot of salads. For the purpose of speeded cleansing, I've just doubled up the greens intake. If you don’t like greens like broccoli, kale, or spinach, just eat veggies that you love. You don’t have to force yourself onto anything. Grab something that you actually like. The effect will be amazing either way - greens or not greens. Veggies are the best.

Start EXERCISING.
Yup. I've said it. Don't you doh me now. You need to get that body moving. Period. Exercise has many health benefits including helping to lose and maintain a healthy weight and reducing a risk of many diseases. Moving your booty will help speed up the cleansing process too, so get it moving. You can start with short brisk walking after dinner. Walking does a miracle for getting back in shape. You can add some cardio exercise too. It will help you boost your metabolism. Whatever you do (or whether you're new to exercise or a fitness pro), just start slowly on your exercise routine. You're more likely to form the good exercising habit if you ease into exercising. Plus you're more likely to stick with a healthy eating plan you've just started. SO start walking, do yoga, go to the gym. Your body will thank you.

Plan your meals and eat HOMEMADE FOOD.
This actually should be the first thing on this "get back on track" list. Meal planning will not only save you time (and money) it will save you from definite doom of ordering restaurants dinners. Although there are many good quality restaurants that cook excellent, even healthier meals, still you don't exactly know what ingredients did they use. When you eat homemade meals, you control the ingredients, and you know what goes into your body. It doesn't mean you'll never go to a restaurant again or order dinner but for the purpose of getting into healthy shape, skip ordering and eating out for awhile. Start cooking (again). Be creative with food.

Getting back into a healthy routine after summer vacation is much as mental as it is the physical challenge. Do what you have to do to get on that healthy train again. Create a plan that excites you and will make you healthier and happier again. Detox from a self-punishment mindset and adopt self-care mindset. You’ll be back to your normal lean, un-bloated self in no time.

Xoxo, Natalie
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