You’ve been DREAMING of this…
Counting down the days…
Telling everyone about it…
IT’S A VACATION BABY!
You might be mentally ready for vacation, but are you physically ready??
Or are you like most of our Complete Performance team (before joining the team of course) where you’re stressed about things like:
- Whether or not your clothes fit?
- How will you look in pictures?
- And will you throw away all of your progress on this trip?
Well, what if you could get vacation ready before your next vacation?
What IS Vacation Ready?
Like I said before, you’re almost always MENTALLY ready for vacation, but we’re talking about being physically ready!
That means you drop a few extra pounds…
Buy a new outfit just for vacation…
Put on vacation clothes and feel confident in them…
Don’t try to hide from every picture because you’re embarrassed about how you look…
Now, I wish I had the secret strategy to take away every insecurity and make you feel like the beauty you are on vacation, but I probably wouldn’t be writing this blog if that was the case…
But here are some tools to pack away and use to go into your next vacation with a little more confidence.
How to Get Vacation Ready
Despite your excitement to go on vacation, you’re probably wishing you could go without that extra layer of flab.
This is your time to kickback, relax and celebrate!
Not stress over extra pounds and flab!
Now, I can’t make the extra layer of flab disappear, but I can help your body get a bit more Vacation Ready!
#1 Hydrate
Water is ALWAYS important, but prioritizing this in the days leading up to your vacation can lead to some quick changes in your body.
It reduces inflammation and bloating.
You might not be able to get rid of your flab, but you CAN rid your body of that puffy appearance. That’s a nice way to lean out and alter your appearance (specifically in your midsection).
It keeps you energized.
Let’s be honest, you need all the energy you can get to do all the running around, packing and working out before vacation.
When you’re low on energy, you opt for the easy way out which means you ultimately short yourself on calories burned.
Last but not least, it can prevent illness.
You definitely don’t want to let illness ruin your vacation!
Appropriate hydration strengthens the immune system and flushes toxins from your body.
Curious as to how much?
Ultimately, you hit 100 ounces every single day, but if you’re not there yet, CLICK HERE for a Guide to 64 Oz. of Water.
#2 Low-Inflammatory Foods
Staying hydrated can flush inflammation, but the only way to keep it away is to avoid the highly inflammatory foods.
Look, I know stress is pretty high in the days or weeks leading up to vacation, but if there was ever a time to prep or plan some healthy options, it’s now!
If possible, fill it with low inflammatory foods.
This will help reduce irritation in the gut, aid digestion and flush any lingering inflammation.
#3 Bump NEAT
Most often, this is the time where most clients are tempted to push extra workouts (likely cardio).
A word of advice?
DON’T DO IT!!
That’s only going to push more cortisol into your bloodstream which causes that puffy, inflamed feel you worked to get rid of with the extra water and low-inflammatory foods.
So what SHOULD you do?
Bump NEAT! (Check out what NEAT is here)
Simply put?
Move your body more!
Choose the long way around.
Go for an extra walk or two.
If you’re looking for ideas, CLICK HERE for 30 Ways to Move More.
The Truth About Vacation Ready
Okay, so I’d love to tell you that those 3 things can get you the body you dream of on vacation, but that just isn’t true.
Your dream vacation body takes a disciplined fat loss cycle and the one thing NOBODY wants to hear… TIME!
Don’t put this or any future vacations on hold just because your body isn’t ready YET!
It’s also important that you don’t ruin your vacation just to keep up with your diet and workouts…
If you’re taking vacation from your everyday routine, that also means vacation!
“But I don’t want to lose all of my progress?”
As a coach, I don’t want that for you either!
I just want you to continue to pursue your fat loss goal OUTSIDE of your vacation, so you can enjoy this time away..
In attempt to avoid sacrificing all of your progress, here’s how I suggest handling fat loss on vacation for our Complete Performance clients:
#1 Cycle Your Training
These days it seems nearly all of our Complete Performance clients have access to a gym or workout space on vacation.
That’s great, but that doesn’t mean you have to force vacation workouts.
This might be a great time to cycle in a deload week.
A deload week is a period of time where you intentionally train at a lower intensity to allow the body time for recovery. One might lower the intensity by decreasing the volume (AKA dropping the weight and/or number of sets and reps), increasing the rest time or changing the exercise modality altogether.
Vacation is a great time for a deload week because it takes the stress of training off your plate. There’s no need to worry about what equipment you’ll have access to or what equipment you’ll need to bring.
This is a time where I recommend our travel workouts to our #CPTeam, but simply encourage an overall active trip that typically looks like 30 minutes of intentional daily activity.
The cool part?
A deload week on vacation encourages you to be active (you do have to intentionally think about getting your movement in), but it allows for the flexibility to do whatever it is that you want to do on vacation.
Here are a few favorite deload activities you can take part in on vacation:
- Walking
- Hiking or Climbing
- Swimming (Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, Surfing or Paddleboarding)
- Playing a Recreational Sport (Beach Volleyball, Pickleball, Tennis or Golf)
- Dancing
#2 Use Vacation as a Diet Break
A diet break is a 7 to 14 day return to maintenance level calories to give a bump to the metabolism, a boost in energy and an improved mental focus during a calorie deficit.
A vacation is a time filled with an absence of routine, lower nutrient dense foods and the temptation to consume more calories.
Sound like a good pairing?
Yes! Vacations are one of the BEST times for a diet break!
Why not allow yourself to enjoy the trip more without stressing over maintaining your calorie deficit?
Why not take part in the foods you’ve resisted and showed discipline against throughout your fat loss journey?
Will you see a slight bump in the scale?
Yes, but that’s merely water retention and gut inflammation.
Push fluids and high quality, nutrient dense foods upon return and it will drop off in the first 5 to 7 days.
#3 Set Vacation Minimums
At Complete Performance, our clients are encouraged to lay a foundation like you do to build a house.
A strong foundation builds a strong home.
A strong foundation in health builds lifelong results.
While our clients progress into advanced protocols for fat loss and muscle building, we stay in touch with our foundational elements so they have something to revert back to when life throws a curveball.
One of those curveballs?
VACATION!
There are far fewer elements of routine on vacation, yet far more temptations.
When we have minimums set, it holds us accountable to not completely reverting back to old habits.
“What do you mean by a minimum?”
I mean checklist items that you’ll accomplish no matter what.
This could look like:
- A Daily Activity Goal (30 minutes)
- A Step Goal
- A Hydration Goal
- A Fruit & Veggie Goal
- A Protein Goal
- A Sleep Goal
Whatever your minimums are, they should be unique to you!
Once you’ve set them, be sure that you set aside a few moments to plan ahead for how you’ll accomplish these on your trip.
Vacation doesn’t have to be a time of body shaming.
It also doesn’t have to be a time to throw away all of your progress.
Use your vacation to rest and recharge guilt free!
Then come back ready to get back to work!
