May 20

May 20 Taking Your Healthy Habits On Vacation

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Mask mandates are easing as more and more people get vaccinated against covid, and like many of my clients, you might be planning a much-needed vacation. If so, congratulations! You deserve a chance to reconnect with friends and family, see new sights, rest, and rejuvenate.

In addition to packing your suitcase with shorts, sunscreen, and your phone charger, it’s also time to think about the gains you’ve made in your health and wellness and the new daily habits that brought about those changes.

I suggest you make a deliberate decision about which habits you need to pare down or alter in some way for your trip, which you will have to let go of during your vacation, and which of your new habits are non-negotiable.

I get that you want and need a break, but please clarify what you want a break from and why? If your new healthy habits are truly serving you, why would you take a break from them?

Because what we practice becomes permanent.

Often, those breaks because of the permission-giving thought, ‘Woohoo! I’m on vacation!’ quickly escalate to breaks when you return home as it may take a while to get back into the swing of things.

I can see temporarily letting go of a daily career-related habit such as my clients that pick their top 3 priorities each day and then the following three priorities.

However, suppose your habits impact your body, mind, and spirit, such as journaling, nutritional and movement practices, meditation, breathwork, reciting your mantras or affirmations, and daily reading inspirational books. In that case, these are not habits I suggest letting go of completely, if at all.

Given the parameters of specific trips, let’s say you’re camping, you’re not going to bring your kettlebells, but you could commit to a daily calisthenics’ routine outside in nature. How lovely would that be!

Or, are you sharing a hotel room with your kids who wake early? Well then, maybe the 20 minute morning meditation even hiding in the bathroom isn't feasible. Could you pare it to 10 minutes and do another 10 minutes later when you're at the beach?

Please don’t mislead yourself and say you need a break from all the habits that serve you and bring you peace. For these essential habits, get creative and find your workarounds.

As far as letting go of nutritional goals while on vacation, I highly advise against it. If you, like my clients, are seeking a lifestyle change instead of a temporary fix or a diet. OK, then face facts, the flip side of never dieting is never overeating, leading to weight gain and then the need to diet.

Yes, the habit of overeating on vacation because of the permission-giving thoughts of it only happens once, I deserve it, or I want to relax runs very deep. OK, so now do the work on editing that script. Check out my vlog on Byron Katie’s 4 questions to rewrite those deep-seated beliefs.

If you’re serious about creating lifestyle changes, well, hey, your life is happening whether you're at home or a hotel.

That said, the easiest, in the long run, is making as few changes as possible because practice makes permanent. What we do today we are more likely to do tomorrow, and anything that benefits your body, mind, and spirit, in the long run, is worth doing every day.

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for reading this blog about taking your healthy habits with you on vacation. If you have any questions about this blog, about health and wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com