Summer is here! It’s time to let loose and enjoy, we’ve all earned it.
We recently hit the road to go visit our daughter AND IT FELT GREAT to be going somewhere! The last thing on my mind was about behaving and being good.
But still…
Practicing a little tiny bit of strategic prevention will be a gift to yourself come fall time.
Yo-yoing isn’t kind to your body or your soul.
Here are my top tips to get through the summer holiday so you can hit the ground running this fall.
Top tips for surviving vacation time:
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Aim to maintain. Stress has been high, it’s finally summer, be kind to yourself! Vacation time isn’t a time to be trying to lose weight but you can aim to maintain the weight you’re currently at.
Continue weighing yourself every day (or as much as possible) . Keep yourself accountable and make micro-adjustments rather than falling asleep at the wheel and then waking up an angry camper in September. - Drink water. Getting enough pure water is one of the most important things for easy weight maintenance and allows your body to flush out accumulated toxins. This is a biggie. To calculate how much water you should be drinking: take your weight in kilograms multiplied by 35. This will give you how many milliliters of water you should be drinking every day. If you weigh more than 250 lbs. or 113 kg, cap your water intake at 4 liters per day. Try to get most of your water in between meals to avoid diluting those precious digestive juices.
- Eat slowly and chew. Almost no one chews enough. Poor chewing or eating when stressed or distracted is the root cause of so many digestive problems. Set down your utensils between bites and fully chew the bite that’s in your mouth before filling your fork, aim for 20 chews per bite. Really savor that delicious food and if you’re lucky enough to be enjoying your food with other people, enjoy them too.
- Take some extra time during your vacation to do the things you love and don’t always make the time for. Read, pray, meditate, walk, paint, draw, sing… Pay attention to how you feel after doing that thing. You may be inspired to schedule it in more regularly.
- Alternate alcohol and water. Drink and be merry but be kind to your liver. Our livers bear the brunt of our overindulgences. Alternate alcoholic drinks with a big glass of water or keep some sparkling water handy to enjoy between toasts.
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Be moderate. Have a bit of everything but check your portions and go back for seconds of the really good stuff. My daughter has this concept nailed. We always know if Kiana has had a go at a box of chocolates because of the tiny bites that are missing out of each one. She’s not wasting her precious chocolate quota on less than delicious choices. If it isn’t absolutely decadent – pass.
Avoid snacking between meals. Allowing a break between scrumptious meals without snacking will allow your body to fully digest the previous meal. Digestion is demanding on the system and can take energy away from repair, detoxification and maintenance. This will also help keep insulin levels (the fat building hormone) stable. - Stay regular. Keep your bowels moving daily. Constipation puts a huge burden on the body. Eat plenty of vegetables and take extra fiber such as chia, ground flax or psyllium or pack a magnesium supplement.
- Catch up on your sleep. Stress and sleep deprivation have a cumulative effect on the body, particularly on weight gain and aren’t given enough screen time in our culture. Take the steps for great zzzs
popping open a bottle of bubbly on the beach
beach bonfire
Positive change never comes from punishing, hateful self-talk. Sustainable change happens when we step into our lives and take full responsibility. You’ve got this!
Contact me if you’d like to book a free 30 minute discovery call to see how you can take your health to the next level.
Wishing you a restful and kind summer vacation.
Cheers,