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How to get back to healthy habits after vacation

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How to get back to healthy habits after vacation

At such times, it is especially important to focus on the small changes that gradually help you get back on track. Returning from vacation is a difficult time for many. What steps can you take to return to a healthy diet?

Table of Contents

1. Step 1: analyze the current situation

If this way of eating lasts for a while, it shouldn't affect our well-being. We get a feeling of weight loss, lack of energy, sometimes it's harder to focus. It's worth stopping for a moment and listening to our needs. It makes it easier to get back to healthy habits and our lifestyle. We're more likely to reach for ready-made, processed foods, sweet snacks, and we forget about vegetables and fruits. But when the holiday routine goes out of our way, and after a vacation we still remember that rhythm, the body starts to pick up the delicate signals.

2. Step two: motivation and perseverance

Instead of striving for perfection, it is best to focus on small steps, such as adding a portion of vegetables to your lunch, introducing regular meals, or limiting sweets. Every day is a new opportunity to get back on track, and individual deviations do not override previous efforts (C.H. Motivation and perseverance are the foundations of any change, including that related to healthy eating.

3. Step 3: Gradually return to healthy habits

Instead of imposing rigid restrictions on ourselves, it's better to make gradual, healthy changes, and after a period of freedom, we need a gentle return to balance rather than restrictive diets or starvation. Sudden and radical changes rarely have lasting effects.

4. Back to regular meals

Alkhulaifi, C. Also, the problem of sudden hunger strikes usually disappears, which often results in reaching out after a snack. Instead of reaching for something in a hurry, it's easier to focus on full-fledged, tasty foods that last longer. Fixed meals, such as every three to four hours, help maintain stable blood glucose levels, which translates into better well-being and higher energy levels throughout the day (F. Darkoh 2022). Regular meals are also a way to reduce the intake that comes from boredom, stress, or simply being used to it.

5. Selection of full-value products

In practice, this means adding to the diet: vegetables and fruits, which are sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber (NCEZ 2021). whole grain products (such as dark vegetables, cassava, brown rice flour), which provide energy for longer and help maintain a stable level of blood glucose; protein from the pulp (peanut butter), which is important for both animal and vegetable tissues, such as oatmeal and olive oil (pean oil), and fish oil, which is essential for the production of vegetable fats and oats.

6. This is the first step in the implementation of this Regulation

Regular water drinking is therefore a simple way to improve well-being and get back in shape faster after a holiday break from your daily routine (M.E. Çıtar Dazıroğlu, N. It is worth starting with simple habits that naturally fit into your daily rhythm: 1. Reach out for water right after waking up is a way to get your body hydrated early in the morning and start the day well. 3. Choose water instead of fresh drinks this is the easiest way to avoid excess calories and fresh carbon dioxide.

7. Step 5: Support with physical activity

The body needs a moment to move. The key is not to treat movement as a form of seduction. It's not about being forced, it's just about listening to the body. Physical activity is just as important in returning to healthy habits after a vacation. A few minutes of walking, yoga, biking, or anything else that makes you feel good, is the best choice. When physical activity makes you happy, it makes it easier to continue.

8. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the following information is provided in accordance with the procedure referred to in point (a) of Article 2 (1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013

It's also worth taking some time during the day to relax, such as a short meditation, a quiet walk, or a relaxing bath, which supports the body's repair processes and helps manage stress better. In theory, this is true, but after a period of leisure, irregular sleeping hours or changing the time zone can be disrupted. This helps to stabilize the internal biological clock and can quickly return to full strength. It would seem that after a holiday, the body regenerates.

9. Does a vacation have to mean a break from healthy habits?

Of course, holidays are meant to really rest both physically and mentally. Lying on the beach all day long, overeating, or regularly reaching for large amounts of alcohol can effectively make it difficult, so it's important to maintain balance and to maintain even the smallest elements of a healthy lifestyle while on vacation. Worrying about yourself doesn't have to go away just because the environment and daily rhythm change.
Source

Alkhulaifi F., Darkoh C., Meal Timing, Meal Frequency and Metabolic Syndrome, „Nutrients” 2022, 14(9).
Chan C.H. et al., Evaluating the Impact of Goal Setting on Improving Diet Quality in Chronic Kidney Disease, „Frontiers in Nutrition” 2021, 8, 627753.
Çıtar Dazıroğlu M.E., Acar Tek N., Water Consumption: Effect on Energy Expenditure and Body Weight Management, „Current Obesity Reports” 2023, 12(2), 99–107.
Talerz zdrowego żywienia, ncez.pzh.gov.pl/abc-zywienia/talerz-zdrowego-zywienia/ (8.07.2025).