As you may or may not know, I am originally from the Philadelphia area and I’ll tell you what- they have amazing F##$%#$#%’ing food. Everywhere. It doesn’t matter what type of eating establishment you go to, 9 times out of 10, it’s going to be pretty dang good. Upscale restaurants, road-side food trucks, mom & pop pizza shops, convenient stores (Can I get a HELL YEAH for WAWA?!), your cousin’s house for a party, if it’s in the PA-NJ-NY tri-state area, there is going to be SOMETHING good to eat. That being said, I have been living in Colorado for 4  years now and their food is a bit “eh”… So every time I go back to PA, which is a few times a year, I plan to PIG OUT. And I’m totally ok with that. And you should be too. You live once so you should spend most of the time treating your body right and spend some of the time indulging in your most fantastic favorite things 🙂

But as you can imagine, pigging out for almost 2 weeks is going to WRECK your body. I tried to drink water (FAIL), tried to stay active (FAIL), but mostly I tried to enjoy myself. Getting your body back in line after that can be tough. So without further ado, here are 5 ways to kick start that healthy body back into shape after a VERY gluttonous vacation 🙂

1. DRINK WATER

The absolute best thing you can do to start ridding your body of toxins and getting your system working properly again is drinking water. Seems like an obvious one but it’s hard for most of us to stay on top of. My first day back from vacation I pounded water. This flushes your system, keeps you alert and awake, helps your bodily functions (i.e. taking a poo), makes you look fresh, feel fresh and helps get you back in the mindset of healthy living. It might be hard that first day if you were pounding soda and beer all week, but I have faith in  you 🙂 My goal was to drink 32oz by 11am, by 3pm and by 8pm for a whopping total of 96 oz of water per day.

2. MOVE

Feeling sluggish after all that time sitting on your butt? Me too. An object at rest likes to keep resting dammit. It’s physics! BUT the only way to fight the urge to stay on your BUTT, is to get OFF YOUR BUTT. I totally didn’t want to and I totally felt like crap during and after the 40-minute workout I did at the park, but guess what- I did it anyway. Because I’m awesome like that 😉 Just kidding- kind of. But for real – get your ass moving, the sooner the better. I promise, the next day you’ll be wanting to move again… it’s physics!

3. GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

This is a big one for me! Having someone who is counting on you to show up works wonders! Especially if it’s a “new” friend. You may likely tell your best friend of 20 yrs to screw off if she’s texting you at 6am about the run you are supposed to go on…. zzzZZZzzzZZZ. But if you make plans with a new acquaintance or a new friend you’ll be much less likely to bail 😉 I can’t even tell you the amount of workouts I’ve done this summer at a park, in my living room or elsewhere for the simple reason that SOMEONE ELSE WAS EXPECTING ME TO DO IT! Whether I promised to show up virtually or in person, someone was counting on me. Find someone to count on to get your butt moving! If you need help in that area, keep your eyes peeled for the fitness & nutrition accountability groups I’ll be offering this coming fall/winter. I have a whole crew of people waiting to keep you on track and support and encourage you through your fitness journey.

4. DON’T PUT PIE IN YOUR PIEHOLE

Abs are made in the kitchen. So are cookies, pie, pizza, cake, ice cream and burritos 😉 Guess what- if you keep stuffing your face with crap, you are going to look and feel like crap! It’s physics! Just kidding- but it is a fact. You are what you eat whether you like it or not. Treat your body like the holy temple that it is and start feeding it delicious and healthy stuff. No, I don’t eat healthy 100% of the time, but I do eat healthy about 80% of the time. My body is amazing and it proves that fact time and time again when I watch it do crazy things like run a marathon, birth a child, climb a mountain, etc. It’s a beautiful creation and the only person with the ability to treat it as such is YOU. No one is going to do it for you.  My body is my vehicle to all the awesome stuff in the world and I intend to treat it nicely so it keeps motoring me more and more cool places 🙂

5. REPEAT…

…for life. Seriously though- eating healthy and staying fit shouldn’t be a one-time deal. You can’t do it for 6 months and then never again. It’s a lifetime commitment. A commitment to yourself, to treat yourself with respect and LOVE. No matter what you look like right now or in the future, you are worth loving, respecting and treating well. Doing all these things should be a treat, not a punishment. Drinking more water, moving, eating healthy food, and finding like-minded friends to do all of the above with IS A GIFT. None of it is to make you feel miserable, all of it is to make you feel great. Does that mean it’s easy to repeat all this for life? No. But it’s worth it. I promise.

So there you have it- my 5 tips for recovering after a gluttonous vacation. Remember, the first few days can be tough but so are you. So just throw that water down the hatch, shake that booty, grab a friend, eat an apple and stay healthy for life because YOU ARE WORTH IT and I promise you won’t regret it 🙂

–

mbf