Your Guide to Get Back to Healthy Habits After Vacation
Coming home from vacation can feel like a reset… but it doesn’t need to be extreme. Before anything else, remember to avoid high expectations. You are not trying to “make up for” anything or level up your habits. Your goal is simple to return to where you left off. Nothing more.
Here are the top 4 areas I plan out with patients BEFORE they go on vacation:
Know what groceries you will need
Don’t leave this to willpower when you get home tired and out of routine. Decide your groceries before you leave or on your way back, and schedule them to arrive the morning after you return. This removes decision fatigue and gives you immediate access to structure your meals without overthinking, and without excuses.Lean into convenience
This is not the time to suddenly become overly ambitious in the kitchen. Use precut vegetables, pre-cooked proteins, frozen vegetables, simple snacks, or even a meal delivery service. The goal is not perfection, it’s reducing resistance. Make it as easy as possible to follow through and then build back up to your routines from there.Have your workouts planned
Don’t rely on motivation to kick back in. Know exactly what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and when. Even better, plan to meet a friend or book a class so there’s built-in accountability. Keep it simple, you’re re-entering the habit, not pushing your limits.Support your mental health in the easiest way possible
Pick one small action that helps you feel grounded again. This might be getting outside, going for a walk, journaling, or simply having quiet time without stimulation. For me, driving meditation when I am getting back into routines is a must. You don’t need a full routine, just one step that helps your nervous system settle back in.
The most important thing to remember is that you are easing back in. Often I see patients sabotage themselves, unintentionally of course. They feel they need to make up for the break they just took so they push harder and create more extreme expectations. This usually is why so many people feel getting back from vacation is so difficult. So lean on this mindset shift. If you try to jump straight back to 100%, it often leads to overwhelm, burnout, and staying stuck in “vacation mode” longer than you planned.
Start where you are. Keep it simple. Let momentum build again.
This is exactly the approach we take inside Mindset Medicine, helping you build sustinable habits that fit into real life. If you want to change your health and think mindset could be impacting your success, check out Mindset Medicine or more freebies!