Tips to Reset Healthy Habits After Vacations

Living a healthy lifestyle is something many people strive for. While spending time at home, it typically becomes easy to settle into a routine. Since your days are planned out and often similar in their structure, things like a trip to the gym are easy to plan.

It’s also easier to prepare healthy, homemade meals while in your routine and make intelligent plans for the future, like looking up life insurance rates and plan options.

However, it’s often easy to let these healthy habits slip when taking a vacation. Weight gain and overall poor health can be common side effects of living an unhealthy lifestyle. Rather than losing your routine, here’s how you can reset after a vacation and fall back into your healthy habits.

Don’t Allow Yourself to Carry Over Eating Habits From Vacation

It’s common to eat more than you usually would while vacationing. Since you’re likely staying in a hotel and unable to cook, you may frequent restaurants more often than you normally would in your everyday life.

Though many places offer some healthy options, it’s not uncommon to indulge on vacation. There’s nothing wrong with doing so, but it’s important not to carry these habits back with you once you return home.

Even if you’re tired from a long journey or just feeling the craving for unhealthy food items, try to push yourself back into your routine quickly after you arrive home. It’s not uncommon to clear out most spoilable food items before leaving on a trip. When you arrive home, you may use the excuse of having nothing to eat as a reason to avoid cooking.

However, going to the grocery store soon after you arrive home can help you avoid continuing to eat out after you’ve returned. If you have the food in your home, you’re much more likely to prepare it.

While shopping, choose items you would typically purchase for healthy and nutritious meals. Sugary or salty snacks may seem tempting, especially after being on vacation, but limiting these items can help you get back on track.

Whether you’re a fan of meal prepping for the week or cooking something new each day, not wasting time getting to the store to purchase those healthy ingredients can help you quickly reset your habits.

Get Back in the Swing of Your Exercise Routine

While on vacation, it’s likely you aren’t searching for the nearest gym location on your phone. Since you’re taking time off to relax, getting a good workout is probably the last thing on your mind.

Returning from vacation may also leave you feeling exhausted. Although you’re technically not working, running around and exploring on a trip can leave you feeling extremely tired when you get home.

That exhaustion can easily lead you to think skipping a few days at the gym won’t hurt anything. However, skipping too many days can begin to form a habit of not going altogether.

The longer you go without a consistent exercise routine, the easier it will be not to work out at all. Rather than forming this habit of avoidance, push yourself to get back to exercising soon after your return home.

While your workout doesn’t have to be intense, getting yourself back into the swing of exercising can help you reset your habits. Starting slowly on your return from vacation can allow you to still work up a sweat without pushing yourself too much.

No matter what kind of workout you begin with on your return from vacation, the important thing is getting it done. Doing so will help you get back into the routine mindset and habit of exercising.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself After Returning From Vacation

When coming back from vacation, you may be inclined to be extra hard on yourself for how you ate or your lack of exercise. However, being too hard on yourself can have various adverse effects.

Putting yourself down if you feel a little heavier from travels can leave you feeling even less motivated than you were before. Less motivation means a lower likelihood of choosing healthier food options or getting back into an exercise routine.

On the other hand, being too hard on yourself after a vacation may lead you to extremes, such as harsh diets or rigorous workouts. These may seem like a fast track to getting back into good habits, but they can be problematic.

Pushing yourself to an extreme can easily lead to burnout. You may find yourself giving up on your healthy eating habits or exercising altogether when you are burned out. Initially, you may tell yourself it’s just a short break, but it can easily become a habit of avoiding a healthy lifestyle.

Rather than being too hard on yourself when coming back from a vacation, remind yourself it’s okay. It’s okay to overeat and feel like you gained weight during your trip. You took time off for yourself to enjoy a trip and not worry about everyday stresses.

Once you’ve reminded yourself that overindulging isn’t a thing to punish yourself over, start to slowly work your way back into your healthy routine.

Picking Back Up on Healthy Habits After Vacation

Vacations are typically a time for relaxation, rest, and happiness. It’s not uncommon for people to leave behind their healthy lifestyle while enjoying their time away.

Indulging on vacation is not a wrong choice, but it’s essential not to let those habits follow you back home. It may seem tempting to keep eating unhealthy foods or skip your workout routine, but bad habits can lead to negative consequences.

Eating poorly and not exercising regularly can lead to weight gain, potential health problems, and increased insurance rates if you become overweight.

Learn to pick them back up once you return rather than allowing yourself to slip out of your healthy habits after a trip. Don’t wait to head to purchase healthy foods, get back quickly into an exercise routine, and, most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself.

Vacations are meant to be enjoyed. If a healthy lifestyle is your goal, make sure to reset after a trip and begin settling into healthy habits once again.

Alexandra Arcand writes and researches for the life insurance comparison site, QuickQuote.com. She is an avid traveler and enjoys sharing her healthy lifestyle tips with others who enjoy doing the same.