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Vacation
Perspectives to Ponder
Goal evaluation:
Why do we go on vacation?? Do we go to de-stress, to gain some sort of mental health back, to relax, ultimately decrease stress, to extend life?
Or do we vacation to eat? Some people may say life enjoyment does involve eating. But the question to be asked is…
Will the overindulging that is associated with vacation actually bring happiness? Or does it actually bring more stress, more guilt, more struggle?
Should we eat for pleasure on vacation, or should we eat good quality tasty food so we can be happy at that moment, feel pride in taking care of ourselves, and promote happiness when we go back home?
The vacation yo-yo sabotage
I see many people use vacation as a motivation to lose weight, weddings are another one that falls into this category. And using vacation as a motivational tool does absolutely work, but it comes with a real danger.
Many to do anticipate or realize that after a weight loss your body will have adaptive changes that will promote weight gain!! Your body will release more hunger hormone, it will decrease satiety hormones, and can even decrease your metabolic rate. All three are the perfect storm for putting back on weight at a faster rate than before. But then if you combo these 3 with the “I deserve this I am on vacation” or the “effit I am on vacation” type of thinking, you can imagine the devastation that can occur
***little side note: did you know your body(your GI tract) can upregulate fructose receptors after 3 days of having an increased exposure to fructose. Meaning if you were on a weight loss regimen and you have been eating low sugar, after going back on sugar for 3 days your body will be able to absorb a larger percentage of what you actually eat!!! Just another way you can continue to even have the same caloric intake, but gain weight!!***
Vacation and family
I personally think one of the most difficult parts of losing weight is trying to break the habit of using food as a reward. So if you need an extra level of motivation think of your kids. If you take them on vacation and just eat a bunch of junk all the time you are teaching them:
-to associate junk food with happiness
-to create behavioral pathways that promote using food as a reward
Instead show them how to go on vacation, and more enjoy food to enjoy the vacation. Not the enjoy food, just because food brings us enjoyment.
If nothing, else help them not have the same food reward system you might have. Make it normal to go on vacation, have fun, and just eat to eat.