Enjoy holidays GUILT FREE and tips for resetting once home

**PSA-Full transparency below and learn why Sunday's Ash was extremely grateful for Thursday's Ash haha

Happy Tuesday, Peaches!

I hope you are all feeling refreshed and have had your cup filled over the last few long weekends we have had.

What did you get up to??

Time away with the family? A relaxing weekend at home to refresh your mind? Some you time to rest?

I know I have, after an amazing fun filled weekend away with my bestest friends for our first child free getaway, to celebrate our 30th birthdays!! You know it's been an amazing time when you have laughed so hard the entire time that your cheeks hurt haha.

Now, for the purpose of full transparency.....Normally when going away I am organised, plan ahead and eat fairly normally, as I do at home with 20% outside of routine, but I have to say this is the first holiday in a VERY LONG TIME that I just relaxed, enjoyed and didn't overthink what I was eating or drinking at all. I know right....!! (insert shock horror haha).

We ate out, we snacked, we drank and we were very merry and sometimes that might just be what your soul needs, And guess what, this is 100% OK!

Why did I do that?

Well first of all it was only for 2 days.
I am human and pretty much am always thinking about/planning/prepping/cooking food so a break was needed.
I have a healthy relationship with food so feel no guilt around this.
I knew that the second I walked in the door on Sunday I could get straight back into routine.

Sure, I definitely felt puffy, bloated and groggy for the 2 days after, BUT let's just say that Sunday's Ash, was very grateful for Thursday's Ash having been organised with this weeks meal plan and food shop/prep because I am not sure about you, but going food shopping as soon as you get home from a holiday isn't always something you can be bothered doing right!

And becuase of that pre-planning and prep I am already back to feeling fresh again, amazing :)

And this my friends is what our long term food relationships should allow. Knowledge to make informed choices, so that we can identify how we might feel from our choices, but to do so with NO GUILT and to know that a couple of days out of routine is never enough to put you back entirely in your results as long as you reset your mind and your habits as soon as possible once arriving home.

So follow along, to learn how you can enjoy your holidays guilt free and jump straight back into routine once home so that you can still feel successful in your goals.....

Tip #1 - Consider the amount time you are away and make a decision on how relaxed about food you want to be

Will you be away for 2-3 days, 1 week or maybe even 2-3+ weeks?
Are you currently trying to lose weight or are you currently maintaining your weight?
Are you going to just eat and drink until your heart's content or will you be mindful and implement healthy behaviours also?

Considering these questions, I believe should help you in deciding how relaxed and go with the flow you should be when it comes to your eating behaviours.

For example, if you are currently trying to lose weight, 2-3 days of enjoyment and being out of routine, is extremely unlikely to put you back very far in your current progress and is unlikely to unravel any of the newfound healthy habits you have been adapting to date. However 2-3+ weeks of high sugars/carbs/alcohol and being out of routine in total could put you back a couple of weeks of progress. So ultimately it's a decision that YOU have to make for YOU.

Decide if the complete indulgence for a prolonged period of time is necessary and worth it, or if you feel you can implement a combination of your newfound healthy habits along with a few occassions of pure enjoyment.

If you are going away for more than a few days-consider if you have self contained accomodation or just a fridge or what is local and close by.

These are some tips I often implement myself and recommend to others:

Take quick convenient nutritious snacks to tie you over between main meals-protein balls or smoothies can be great, or something like Tuna and chickpeas, or roast chicken, fruit/veg and nuts or some seeded crackers, cold meal and fruit etc
Plan to eat out one main meal a day and cook/prep something the other 2 meals. For example-make a big brekkie at home, pack chicken salads/wraps and fruit/veg for lunch to take out and eat dinner out etc
When eating out-if eating out everyday, pick maybe every 2nd or 3rd day to choose anything you like, but on the other days aim for nutritious options that won't leave you feeling bloating and sluggish so that the balance is maintained.
Have antipasto grazing board type snacks on hand or if with groups of people so that you can still eat nutritious options but feel like you aren't missing out. Cold meats, fruit, veg sticks, chunky dips, seeded crackers, olives, etc are great options.

Tip #2 - Create your following week meal plan/food shop and prep BEFORE going away

You know how I said 'Sunday's Ashleigh was grateful for Thursday's Ashleigh', well its absolutely true because without the pre organisation, without a second thought before going away, I would have come home to an emtpy fridge, with no nutritious options and no snacks pre made meaning that at least for the next day or two I would have undereaten or had to buy food out. Both of which are no good when trying to reset back to routine again.

Do you normally think about the week after your holiday before you go? Or get to home day and realise you have nothing in the fridge, and end up eating junk for the next week?

Follow these steps to get organised:

2 days before you are planned to leave, write out your week afters meal plan and shopping list. Start it from the very first day you arrive home. So if you are going away Friday to Monday, plan to have food available in fridge/freezer for dinner Monday night. Make sure to plan out breakfasts, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Organise a click and collect for any coles/woolies items for the next day (1 day before you leave) and do your fruit/veg/meat shop that same day.
Pre-make the snacks you have planned for the day before you leave. For example you might make some protein balls and tuna patties or meatball veg rissoles and freeze them before leaving. You could even make a double batch and take some away with you if you wanted.
Plan to have lean proteins and salads/veggies for those first few lunches and dinners when home. I don't know about you but there is just something so refreshing about these meals after a couple of days of indulging.
If you are going to be away for longer than a long weekend such as a week. Still make your meal plan and shopping list before leaving, complete a click and collect order to be collected the day you arrive home and the very next day you arrive home head out for your remaining ingredients. This therefore still only has you 1 -2 days behind as opposed to an entire week due to feeling flustered when arriving home.
Alternatively if you are going to be away for a few weeks, you could pre-make your dinners and lunches and freeze along with freezable snacks so that when arriving home, if you are exausted you have a few days of food to get you through.

This way there is absolutely no reason why your 3-7 day holiday needs to turn into 2 weeks of feeling yucky, bloated and turning to the left over Easter chocolate or take away for your meals.

Tip #3 - Be realistic with how you expect to feel afterwards

If you are headed away on a holiday during a period of time where your goal is weight loss, please be realistic to your expectations around coming home and seeing results you still desire.

You may have been consistently seeing weight loss results, feeling on top of the world, have your digestion under control and somewhat feel that nothing can upset your run of success, but let's be honest, your progress upon arriving home will rely largely on the choices made while away.

If you have eaten out often, had alcohol, had higher sugar/fat/carb snacks and just generally enjoyed what you have eaten that is completely ok, But just be reali

stic to the fact that you will likely feel puffy and bloated as a result and it may take a week at home to help your body reset to how you had been feeling prior.

Don't be alarmed if you have gained up to 1kg, this is very common due to possible inflammation and fluid retention from higher inflammatory foods, so don't let this dishearten you, just get straight back to routine and that will be down again in no time.

Tip #4 - Drink plenty of water and keep active

Being on holiday we tend to be on the go more so and the days can be very long. Add to that more breads, pasta's, pizza, alcohol, cheese and chocolate, your body can become inflammed and dehydrated.

Keeping a bottle of water on hand will help to keep you hydrated to minimise fluid retention as much as possible and help to flush out any toxins and keep your bowels regular so that your insides are staying as clean as possible. Aim for 2-3L a day where possible.

Did you know that the more water we drink, the less puffy and fluidy we are? Being dehydrated results in the body holding onto more fluid and this is why we feel puffy.

Aim to get movement in while away, this generally isn't too hard on holidays where you are walking more, heading to the beach, going on hikes or having a dance, but in any case, wherever you can keep your body moving.

Tip #6 - Do NOT, I repeat do NOT overcompensate for your eating behaviours when you are home

What does this mean you may ask?

Well pretty much you know how sometimes you go out and have a great time eating and drinking anything you like, and then you get home that arvo or you wake up the next day and think, I won't eat anything for the rest of the day because I overate so much while away.....

Please, don't do this!

I understand the logic where this comes from, but ultimately this is not how your body works and by doing this, you will only further exacerbate the effect of that previous time, as well as continue to have a negative view/relationship with food.

The best thing you can do the very next day you are home is to just get back to normal routine. Eat the entire amount of your food requirement needed as per normal, eat a balance of lean proteins, nutrient dense carbs and healthy fats and eat regularly 5-6 times in that day. Yes, focus on cutting back on the gluten, dairy, sugar and alcohol again to help reset your digestion, but DO NOT HOLD BACK FROM EATING.

This is how you rebalance your blood sugar levels to prevent further cravings and sluggishness and this is how you get your body back into a fat burning zone again by rebalancing blood sugar levels and fuelling your body correctly with nutritious foods.

Tip #5 - Don't dwell on the past-No guilt-Just straight back into routine

Lastly, and most importantly, however you chose to eat while away, focus on not having any guilt associated. Even if you intented to be more organised, to not drink too much, to not eat too much, just own that decision, be ok with that decision and know that today, right now, you can get back to your routine and feeling wonderful again.

I know this can be easier said than done. But this is the ultimate goal of how we want our food relationship to be.

See that food is not the enemy, food exists to be enjoyed, everything has a time and a place and balance is the key to not feeling deprived in order for you to eat in a sustainable long term and realistic manner, to help you achieve your goals.

There are no bad foods, there are just foods that will help us to feel nourished and energetic and support our internal health and digestion, and other foods which might make us feel a bit more sluggish and bloated, based on our individual reaction to them.

So remember how you created that meal plan, food shop and snack prep before heading away-this is now the time you jump straight back into using those foods and getting your stomach and insides feeling fresh and nourished again, no delay.

I don't know about you, but coming home to a fresh colourful fridge with food ready to go already helps me to feel better, and eating those fruits, salads, veg and lean proteins is a breath of fresh air again.

How could you benefit moving forward?

So the rest is up to you now.

Think about when your next trip is, consider your usual holiday eating behaviours and decide if you feel that is a good way forward for you, or if there are some tips here you can implement as you go, to help improve the way you feel upon arriving home.

Ultimately thinking ahead, pre-organisation, being realistic, allowing an 80/20 balance and allowing yourself to feel no guilt, are the habits which will allow you to be consistent long term, without the need to be perfect all the time and ultimately to allow your ongoing weight loss success because of the ingrained habits and behaviours you live your life by.

As always, feel free to pop your pre and post holiday food tips below in the comments to help others just like you, and I hope this has helped you today :)

Health and Happiness Always

Ash x