Summer vacations are a time to relax and recharge, but they can also throw a wrench into your daily wellness routine. In this article, we'll provide tips on how to stay healthy and active while enjoying your summer getaway. By the end, you’ll know how to make smart food choices, stay hydrated, and incorporate physical activity into your travel plans.
Ever return home from a vacation, feeling like you need a vacation? Summer vacations are a time to relax and recharge, but they don’t always play nice with your wellness routine. With special occasion dinners, a break from the gym, and new places to see, there’s often not the time or the structure to maintain your wellness routines. That said, there’s no reason to flounder during your week at the beach. You can maintain good habits. You’ll just need to adjust them accordingly.
Often when we don’t feel great, the root cause is an imbalance in our gut microbiome. That might look like feeling tired, having a bit of brain fog mid-vacation, or experiencing some GI issues while on the road. While we encourage you to enjoy your vacation and the variety of meals it might bring, we ask you to remember that gut issues build up over time. Cumulatively, across the day, the choices you make matter. Given that, we encourage you to spend a little time each day to see how you can keep your gut in balance, and your health in mind, even while you’re on vacation.
A highly effective practice to adopt when on vacation is taking a moment across your day to do a quick body scan. A body scan allows you to consciously check in on what’s working and feeling good in your body. This helps you deepen your mindfulness, build body wisdom, and gain insights into the impact of your daily decisions. Develop this daily rhythm to keep your physical and mental performance at peak.
Eat, Play, Hydrate
Our vacation body scan involves thinking about your plan for the day across three important areas:
- What You’re Eating
- What You’re Doing
- How You’re Hydrating
We encourage you to do these body scans at the top of the day, mid-day and end of day to keep your wellness on track. If you can keep these three categories top of mind and not let them fall by the wayside, you’ll be able to return back home in good spirits and in good health.
Here’s a daily body scan:
AM | Make a Plan
Vacations are a great time to wake up naturally, without an alarm. So by all means, you don’t need to set an alarm or wake up at 5 am to run on the beach (though you can, if you want to!). What we do want you to try is, whenever you wake up - take a quick moment to make a plan for the day. And while you’re making that plan, drink a glass of water before you do anything else.
Here are the questions to ask yourself:
- Eat: Of the meals I’m eating today, will any be a meal that deviates significantly from my normal routine? If so, what other meals you can commit to keeping healthy?some text
- We like to call this vacation nutrition. Instead of obsessed over every choice - allow yourself an indulgence but big-picture aim to stay on track.
- Play: Is there a moment that you’re going to be physically active? If not, how can I work some additional exercise or activity into the day’s plans? If that’s not possible - is there space to sneak a workout in tomorrow or soon?
- Hydrate: Finish that glass of water you started and pack a water bottle boosted with electrolytes for the day’s adventures.
Once you’ve finished your AM Plan, set a midday timer to check in with yourself. (Bonus points: Set it to recur daily across your vacation now!)
Mid-Day | Pause & Check In
While you’re working through your day, take a quick moment to check in with yourself.
- Eat: Have I stuck with my plan? Have I already splurged? If so, can I adjust moving forward to stay within my meal goals?
- Play: Does our moment of activity seem on track to go as planned? If not, how can I adjust?
- Hydrate: Have you finished your water bottle? If not, finish it now and refill. Set the intention to finish the second bottle before the end of day.
PM | Reflect and Recalibrate
And lastly, in a quick moment before bed, check in with yourself.
- Eat: How did your day track to your plans? If well, what learnings can you carry forward to tomorrow? If poorly, what can you tweak for tomorrow?
- Play: Did you get enough activity in? If so, how can you channel the joy of today’s success into tomorrow’s adventure? If not, can you build tomorrow around a physical exertion?
- Hydrate: Did you finish your water bottle refill? If not, do it now! If so, grab one more glass for good measure.
Summer vacations are about stepping out of your routine and being present to newness and adventure around you. As much as you can, we encourage you to embrace that same presence to your wellness and do this quick daily summer getaway health scan.
You don’t have to embrace “perfection nutrition” to keep your gut in check. Spend a bit of time making sure you’ve Eaten Well, Played, and Hydrated and we feel confident that the break from your life won’t break your gut.
Be mindful, take care of your gut, and enjoy your vacation.
