Woooh baby, we had our first day off since New Year's Day! From the looks of it on Instagram, you likely ate and drank what you wanted, partied with friends and fam, while taking full advantage of the free day. Most vacationers over indulge in high-calorie, high-sodium and sugar-rich foods (along with alcoholic beverages!). Couple that with no exercise and light sleep and it can lead to rapid weight gain.
Tuesday morning may feel a little rough and you're likely wishing you had a few less of the chips and titos. Hangovers come in many forms. It can be from a lack of sleep, dehydration, too much travel, too many bevies, or maybe you're just missing your family and friends this Tuesday morning. Having spent the past seven days in New York, I am beyond thrilled to be home, planting in the landscaping with Tray and meal prepping for the next 10 days. My work travel has been every other week for the past few months and it's all catching up to me. With the complete lack of water, stretching, home cooked meals, hotel beds, high stress, low sleep and air travel I am up at least five pounds on the scale. Five pounds may not seem like much, but the pounds could become a long-term problem if you don't act quickly to get your waistline in check.
My top 10 ways to bounce back from a holiday hangover:
1. Re-establish your routine
Get back to your fundamentals of what works for you asap. Throw away the left overs while you're at it and restock your fridge!
2. No eating out
Cook all of your meals and do not use salt. Preparation for the next five days will be key to get in as many vegetables as possible. Cut back on portion sizes and you'll trim calories at every meal.
3. Water
You must drink at least a gallon of water a day and flush the toxins out of your body. No fruit juices, no pops, no carbonation—just straight water. Alkaline water is even better.
4. Take a bath
Fill your tub full of warm water and a lot of epsom salt. The soak will help you to release toxins and sweat it out. Google a detox bath and do it every other day.
5. Foam roll
You likely were on your feet all day, maybe on a jet ski, or laying around by the fire. Either way, you will need to give your muscles and body some R&R. It takes me 15 minutes to foam roll my entire body. Spend one minute on each body part that is sore!
6. Exercise
Get in at least 45 minutes of cardio a day. Add in weight training so you burn calories even after you're done lifting.
7. Track your day
I recently started using My Fitness Pall for my nutrition tracking, exercise and calorie intake. It helped me tremendously to see the difference between what I think is healthy versus how much hidden fat and sugars are in food.
8. Accountability
Tell your husband, partner or best friend what your goal is so they can keep you on track. Look forward to the upcoming weekend and reschedule anything that is not a "must" so you can win the weekend. Don't drink this coming weekend and you'll thank yourself next Monday morning. Plus your gut needs a break. Trust me!
9. Drop the blame and shame
Last but not least, do not feel bad about your fun time. You deserved a fun time. Don't let the day after anxiety creep in and steal your joy. Deep breath and get back into the swing of things as soon as possible!
10. Sleep
Set your alarm to go to bed early and get at least eight hours of sleep. Come Wednesday morning you'll feel good as new!
A few of my other faves are:
Hot water with lemon in the morning
No carbs whatsoever
Low fat intake
High veggies
45 minutes walk first thing in the morning
Lift weights targeting your legs, glutes, upper body and abs
Or, if you're ready for a total restart, try out my 10-day detox.
Here's to living the dream life on Monday and only four days of work this week!
XO,
BBuds