I am going out of town this week. Don’t plan on robbing my house as I make this announcement on my public blog; my husband and vicious dog are staying home. (*see the end of this blog post below for vicious dog tax)
It has me thinking about how I used to struggle with vacation and a change of routine. If I went out of town, I felt like I was getting off track. Even if I told myself I was going to enjoy myself and put my fitness goals on the back burner, I would end up packing a little guilt along for the ride. On the other hand, if I planned to exercise in my hotel room or tried to "stick to my diet," I felt like I was adding a layer of stress to my supposed-to-be-relaxing trip. No matter what I did, I felt like I was falling short of my own expectations.
For years, my biggest hindrance to a consistently healthy lifestyle was all-or-nothing thinking. I was great at staying the course as long as nothing interrupted my perfectly laid-out plans. But as soon as I got sick, my schedule shifted, an unplanned event popped up, or I went on vacation, it was all out the window. My ‘all’ quickly turned into ‘nothing.’ If I was not executing the perfect plan, I was doing the complete opposite.
The Perfectionist Mindset Behind Getting Back On Track
The root of the problem was thinking in terms of being "on track" or "off track." I hear it from clients all the time: "I need to get back on track." But what does that actually mean?
Saying you need to get back on track, buckle down, or tighten up after an event is just another manifestation of all-or-nothing thinking. Have you heard yourself say these things? If so, take comfort in knowing it is usually a mindset issue, not a discipline issue.
Terms like "on track" represent a perfectionist, binary mindset where you are either fully on or fully off. The good news is that life is not so rigid. Your health and fitness have room for flexibility. When we give ourselves permission and grace to do the best we can with what we have, without self-judgment or shame, we stay consistent for much longer. When we stop chasing perfection and focus on balance over the long haul, our minds and bodies start cooperating. Consistently good is always better than occasionally perfect.
SWAPPING Vacation Fitness Rules for Clear Intentions
This isn't a blog post about doing push-ups in your hotel room or giving yourself a "cheat" night on vacation. It also isn't about ignoring your health altogether.
Instead of rigid rules or unbridled consumption, focus on your intentions. And if your intention for a meal or a day is pure enjoyment, you can make that choice without guilt. Asking yourself one simple question can drive your actions in a far more positive direction than heavy restrictions ever will: How do I want to feel tomorrow or when I get back from this trip?
I always go back to the dial mindset. With the dial mindset, you hold complete control over your health and fitness dial. You think in terms of turning your intention up or down like a dimmer switch, instead of on and off like a light switch. When you have the time and energy, you turn the dial up: you get plenty of workouts in, meal prep, eat well, track your steps, and hit your hydration goals.
When life gets busy, or you travel, you turn the dial down instead of turning it off completely. Maybe that means fewer workouts in a week, or ordering a health(ish) meal instead of cooking it yourself. It could mean swapping an hour at the gym for a 20-minute walk, or replacing strict macro tracking with a palm-sized serving of protein at meals.
The dial mindset allows you to celebrate doing something instead of doing nothing at all. When life slows back down, you are not starting from scratch because you kept your health front of mind the whole time in smaller ways. You literally never have to start over again.
How I Apply the Dial Mindset to My Own Travel
This brings me back to my upcoming trip, and how pairing the dial mindset with intentionality allows me to enjoy my time off without a shred of guilt.
When I am gone, I will not get in any of my regular gym workouts. I am choosing to look at this as a great opportunity to deload and give my body an extended break from hard training. Dial down the training.
I will be at the beach, and the temperatures will be at least twenty degrees cooler than what I am used to, so I signed up to run a local 10K while I am there. Having a running goal tied to a fun event helps me stay active in a way that feels fun and exciting. I plan to do plenty of outdoor walking, some stand up paddle boarding, and because the ocean always feels like it resets my soul, I know time simply lying in nature will leave me feeling refreshed when I get home.
As far as nutrition goes, I generally eat well while allowing for flexibility, so I’ll bring this mindset with me on vacation. I’ll eat out a lot more than usual; I plan to eat sushi and say yes to whatever fun food experiences present themselves. I remind myself that what I do consistently matters much more than what I do occasionally. A little break from the norm does the body good, and enjoying good food is not cheating. At the same time, overindulging to the point of discomfort will not make me feel good, so keeping my choices aligned with my desired energy level lets me enjoy the experience fully. So essentially I don’t do anything differently when I travel than when I am home in the sense that I always just try to do the best I can with what I have, and let that always be enough.
This approach applies to alcohol too. About six years ago, when I first quit drinking altogether, I could not imagine going on vacation without a drink. But once I experienced it for the first time, I realized I was waking up earlier, enjoying the sunrise, going for morning runs, and feeling more energized for the day ahead. It all ties back to setting an intention for how you want to feel. I’m talking about my personal choices, I’m certainly not suggesting you shouldn’t drink on vacation, but thinking about how you want to feel can help you make decisions that serve you in the long run.
Reflecting on Your Travel Mindset
By the time you are reading this, I will be on my trip. I’ll miss my husband and my dog, but I’ll enjoy the break from normal life to spend time with a friend, run a 10K, go paddle boarding, and rock out at a concert (yay, Jack White!). Then when I get home, I’ll be ready to get back to my regular routine.
Paying the vicious dog tax: Dale on duty!
Have you ever felt on track or off track while on vacation or traveling? What small mindset changes can help you enjoy your trip guilt-free and leave you feeling refreshed and energized both during and after? I’d love to hear about it.
Lea
Lea Genders is a board-certified health coach, personal trainer, and workplace wellness consultant based in Fort Worth, TX. She offers corporate wellness programs for employee health and productivity, as well as in-person and virtual training / coaching for individuals worldwide. Her blog shares expert guidance on strength training, running, and sustainable nutrition @fortworth_trainer
I used to pack a little guilt along for the ride whenever I went on vacation. This week’s blog is about how I let go of all-or-nothing thinking, stopped worrying about staying on track, and learned to enjoy my time off without disregarding my health and fitness goals.