It’s been a busy summer here for The Nutrition Mechanics.
I am looking at the calendar like “… What the whaaaa…? It’s mid-July already???” (Honestly, there may have been other profanity type words used somewhere in there too.)
Anyways… who here has been lucky enough to have some vacation time away from home in the past few months? And who here associates vacation with what I like to call “blow out eating”? (defined non-formally as “A dietary pattern with the goal of eating and drinking whatever, whenever, and without worry of the consequences or what anyone else in the world thinks, even the guy selling you the ginormous box of donuts.”)
I’ve caught some folx express pre-vacation guilt and shame over the anticipated vacation-nutrition elements, such as:
“I know I am going to eat awfully, but heyyyy, I’m on vacation!”
”I just wanna let you know I ain’t gonna be logging food while I’m away.”
”I cannot wait to visit my all time favorite homemade candy shop...and just so you know, I’ll be bringing some home with me.”
“Me and the lobster rolls are gonna have some serious time together.”
To the above, I say “Go. For. It.” Okay, really, I’m first saying, “Dude(tte), you totally should be enjoying your vacation, whatever that looks like to you.” Quickly followed by “You may surprise yourself by what you think brings joy this time around.”
Here’s something… A lot of times, our vacations raise The AF (Awareness Factor). And not just about our food and drink choices. Lemme give you a flavor for what I mean:
Post-food/drink “feeling”: Yeah, you may overdo it the first few days, for whatever reasons. But you notice how you feel afterwards differently than ever before. You realize you don’t feel all that hot and you want to be able to do way more on vacation than suffer through food comas or lousy hangovers.
Routine: You’re out of your normal routine. You notice you didn’t graze all day like you do when at home or in the work setting. You realize having other things to occupy your mind helps your mind-body connection.
Habits: “Wait, I didn’t have my normal after dinner ice cream last night cuz we were walking the city!” You realize certain foods and eating patterns you follow at home are more out of habit than out of biological need. Hmmm.
Sleep: Without a crazy-busy mind waking you up 42 times every night, you sleep like a sweet li’l baby while on vacay. “Hello, world, I’m going to rock Living Vacation Life today.” You realize the power of better sleep and how much your sleep patterns play a role in your daily vitality factor.
Movement: With sights to see and experiences to be had while on vacation, you aren’t sitting at your desk like usual. You are moving more, getting in more steps, your hikes or walks or runs or fatty bike rentals are wayyyy cool and you feel so much more free. Maybe it’s time for a break from rigid training.
Experience: It really wasn’t the excessive food you wanted after all. It was being with the people you love, seeing new places, doing new things, or just taking some time away to feel life.
Think about these possibilities as you plan your next getaways… maybe your vacation has way more in store for you…and yeehaw to that.
-Dina