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Writer's pictureNora Shank, Dietitian

3 Tips To Reset After Gaining Weight on Vacation

Our theme for August in our Wellness Cohort Community is resetting after vacation.

How were your vacations? We just returned from our family vacation at the beach where we enjoyed a clam roast of 50 clams that parents and kids dug together!


So many of you mentioned about how you gained weight on vacation-- and I asked my followers what they thought of first. After polling you on Instagram, most of you said that your first thought to reset after gaining weight on vacation was to work out.


We say things like we need to, "work off the pounds, " because we can easily feel like we overdid it on the beach fries and one too many craft cocktails.


But is doing extra workouts really the best way to reset after vacation? I don't think so.


beach pictures of sand
3 Ways to Reset Your Metabolism after Vacation

Nora Shank on the beach in a bathing suit
3 Best Ways to prevent a spiral after gaining weight on vacation

Instead of jumping into harder or longer workouts, here are my top 3 suggestion for helping recover your metabolism's natural strength after vacation.


First start with a mindset shift. Stay out of the spiral of "feeling gross" after vacation:

1. Don't panic about the scale: trust your strong metabolism to regulate your weight.

2. Don't restrict: return to your meal rhythms using the PFPF Method.

3. Don't overdue workouts-- remind yourself about what worked before!


Next, replete your nutrients that you may have neglected after vacation. You may not have eaten enough minerals or protein for a whole week, and it may trigger you to want to overeat. Try adding in the "double greens" strategy for three days first! This helps replenish missing magnesium and potassium as well as restoring a fiber balanced gut.


Finally, if you did gain 5-7 pounds over vacation, figure out why you gained the weight so quickly!

Our metabolism naturally resists quick weight gain or loss because it's too stressful for our system. A strong metabolism keeps you steady within a 2 pound range. If you experience weight swings or end up gaining within a week, it's a sign that there is dysfunction.


That's when it's time to score the health of your metabolism and figure out what's not balanced! Stop guessing and wasting your time and effort on strategies that don't work like adding more or different workouts, cutting certain foods out because they're "inflammatory" or layering in fasting.


Formulas are for babies or for upper level math, but they don't work on individual metabolisms. So if vacation was just one more reminder that something is "off", it's time to figure out why. Get the answers why it's happening (hint: it's probably not a lack willpower) and get a personalized plan.


Some other resources you may enjoy

1. Take the Metabolic Scorecard-- it's time to take action and find out why your weight goes up and down.

2. Watch this video on resetting after vacation in the Wellness Cohort Facebook group (yes, it still exists!) here



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