I hope you enjoyed a relaxing and fun Labor Day weekend, if you’re in the United States!  Long weekends can be the best, but can also leave you feeling less than your best.  If you’re having a hard time bouncing back to feeling amazing, here are my top 7 tips to get back on track after a holiday weekend.

1. Don’t beat yourself up (about anything). First, be kind to yourself.  Life is too short to spend time feeling guilty or demeaning yourself because you ate a second helping of your mom’s lasagna or enjoyed a cupcake at a friend’s birthday.  Second, it doesn’t help – what’s done is done.  Third, spending time feeling guilty is actually demotivating, and tends to lead to even more unhealthy decisions because we get stuck in the “black and white mentality.”  So if you find your hamster wheel brain agonizing over your “misgivings,” realize that you do not have to be perfect, and you’re not helping yourself out.  And by the way, this tip applies to anything … not just food on a holiday weekend!
2. Recommit to your routine. We all get out of our routines from time to time, but the key is to snap right back to action and not let the feeling of sluggishness from a holiday weekend linger.  Now is not the week to forget your meal prep, skip your workouts, or IV drip coffee into your veins and forget about water.  No need to try to overcompensate with more exercise or less food (that doesn’t actually work, and often leads to binge eating later on).  Just jump right back in, as soon as possible.  Yes, that means no snooze!
3. Drink tons of water. Extra hydration will help you flush out toxins, increase your energy level, get your digestion back on track, and get you standing up and walking throughout the day (to use the restroom)!  Aim for half of your body weight (in pounds) in ounces, or more.
4. Strive for an anti-inflammatory diet. Load up on plenty of dark-colored vegetables, and reduce anti-inflammatory foods like added sugar.  For more on inflammation, see last week’s blog post!
5. Breathe. Literally. Taking several deep breaths throughout the day can reduce anxiety and make you feel more in control.  I’m a big fan of meditation (here’s more on my morning routine).  And figuratively breathe, too … know that you won’t feel out of control forever, and that be back to your healthy self in no time.
6. Get moving. Exercise picks up your energy, encourages water consumption, makes you feel empowered and in control, increases your metabolism, improves digestion, and helps get rid of bloating. Exactly what you need post-long-weekend!
7. Prioritize sleep. Hopefully, you got plenty of rest over your long weekend, but regardless, prioritizing sleep when you return to reality is important. Sleep helps you feel more energized (obviously), but also helps the body clear toxins and reduce inflammation.  So encourage yourself to get to bed on time, even if you don’t feel exhausted (yet).

Need some help feeling back on track? My 10-Day Reset program is designed to reduce inflammation quickly, and the hundreds of previous participants have experienced reduced bloating, more energy, fewer cravings, and improved overall health.  Good news – my ResetNOW program offers all the Reset information on demand, so you can start any time!

Now it’s your turn … What is your best tip to feeling back on track after a long weekend?