Summer holidays are great, aren’t they? A little time away from the daily routine can work wonders to help you reset and refresh. It is also a chance to reflect on our habits and routines.
If your focus is on health and wellbeing, improving your diet for your body and mind, then there is a lot to learn from holiday habits.
What healthy habits do you bring back from holiday?
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Make time for a leisurely breakfast
Give yourself a little more time to make a nutritious breakfast. Starting your day with a protein-based breakfast, packed with fibre, with some healthy fats and at least one of your five a day ticks so many boxes for the good of your health.
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Hop out of bed 10 minutes earlier to give yourself extra time to feed yourself well. It could be as simple as some seasonal fruit, like summer berries with Greek yoghurt, chopped nuts and seeds and a cup of good quality coffee.
Take time to enjoy it and eat it outside if you can. That way you are getting morning sunshine (or at least daylight) that helps to shake up your wake up, supress melatonin and get your cortisol levels up to help you feel energised and ready to go.
Get outside more
I bet you spend a lot of time in the great outdoors when you are on holiday. Whether it’s a city break or a beach holiday, being outside is good for our health. Bring a little of that holiday habit home with you. Dine al fresco when the weather allows, or start your day with a walk around the block.
Exercise is good for you. Not necessarily because it helps you to lose weight, but because it helps you to feel better. It can lift your mood and increase your energy levels
Be more active
The more we move, the better we feel. The aim is 30 miniutes of physical activity a day. If you are more sedentary when you are back in the office, or working from home, channel some of that holiday energy and get out for a walk at lunchtime, or take the bike to work if you can.
Exercise is good for you. Not necessarily because it helps you to lose weight, but because it helps you to feel better. It can lift your mood and increase your energy levels.
Research shows that walking after a meal can also hep to balance blood glucose and insulin levels, heling to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, so if you struggle to get your steps in during the day, commit to a 20 minute walk after dinner for a week or two and see how it makes you feel. A great way to make the most of the light and bright evenings.
Eat different foods
Whether you holiday in the Mediterranean or the north coast, eating out and trying new foods is a holiday treat. The more variety we have in our diet, the better our nutrient intake is likely to be, and the better the diversity and abundance of healthy bacteria there is likely to be in our gut microbiome. This has benefits for our whole body – from our mental health, to immunity and digestive health.
Enjoy the best of the summer seasons fruit and veg like strawberries, courgette, salad leaves and new potatoes. Try a new recipe every now and then, or add something healthy to your shopping trolley that you don’t normal eat.
Enjoy a little indulgence, without the guilt
A healthy balanced diet is one that includes the occasional treat without feeling mad at yourself for eating something lovely. Dieting rules can be rigid. When you think of your diet as nutrition, rather than focusing on calories, it can be really liberating.
Good food should be enjoyed, in all its forms – whether it is ice cream or green veggies.
A little of what you fancy does no harm as long as most of your diet is packed with nutritious foods.
