After a holiday, all I want to do is sit in my pyjamas on the sofa, binge watching Netflix and eating ice cream straight from the tub. But all this does is worsen the effects of those post-holiday blues.
On top of the blues, spending days (or weeks) eating out, skipping routines, and letting my body do whatever it wants on holiday, coming home feels like a huge crash. And whilst part of me craves the chaos of travel, the other part loves routine and feeling grounded and healthy.
As someone who travels for most of the year, changing time zones more often than I can count, I’ve picked up a few tricks for getting my energy, digestion, and mood back on track quickly and gently.
In this post, I’m walking you through the exact reset I do after every trip – the small, manageable changes that genuinely help me feel human again.
P.S. Huge thanks to Symprove for sponsoring this post. I’ve been using them for a while now as part of my gut routine, and I’m really happy to be partnering with a brand I actually take myself. Their support also helps me keep creating travel content that (hopefully!) makes your next trip, or post-trip recovery, a little easier.
1. Gentle movement
After a holiday, I never throw myself straight into intense workouts – my body is often still adjusting, and the last thing I need is a brutal gym session that makes me feel worse.
To ease back into exercise, I focus on gentle movement to reconnect with my body and boost my energy naturally. This might include activities like long walks, light stretching, or attending a slow yoga class. After a few days, I return to the gym and start with a deload week, which means lifting much lighter weights than usual.
It’s not about burning off extra food, but about waking up stiff muscles and supporting digestion. Plus, getting outside, even just for a short walk, works wonders for my mood and helps ease me back into routine.
2. Stay hydrated
After a holiday with salty foods, alcohol, or long flights, I always need to rehydrate properly. Dehydration can make you feel tired, puffy, and foggy, and it often tricks your brain into thinking you’re hungry.
I keep a large water bottle nearby and aim to sip throughout the day. If I get any headaches or general fogginess, I will add some lemon or juice juice to the water with some sea salt and a teaspoon of maple syrup. I also like to do this with coconut water, for an extra boost of hydration!
A hydrated body functions better, making processes like sleep and digestion much easier! And this will be made even easier by the next step…
3. Gut reset
After eating to my heart’s content for a few weeks, I always feel a bit sluggish and off-balance. This sluggishness causes me to make poor dietary choices, because I can’t be bothered to cook proper, nutritious meals. So, I like to prioritise a gut reset.
I do this by taking a gut supplement. My go-to is Symprove. It’s water-based, so the live bacteria can actually reach the gut where they’re needed. It lightens up my digestion and gets rid of that horrible sluggish feeling that feeds into the vicious cycle of eating poorly. Find out more in my review.
If you are reading this before you head out on your holiday, consider taking Symprove with you! They sell travel-sized bottles, which can be brought in your carry-on luggage (you can purchase these alongside a subscription).
Travel with Symprove!
The gut supplement I swear by – saving me from many a dodgy travel stomach bug. It even comes in handy 70ml travel-sized bottles, which can be packed in your carry-on luggage and don’t need refrigerating.
By taking Symprove, I am always ready to tackle the next step…
4. Eat simple but nourishing meals
You will want to prioritise nourishing foods after your holiday. But simplicity is key! If the post-holiday blues hit you hard, you are going to struggle to motivate yourself to cook intricate meals.
I like to make sure my cupboards are stocked with jarred beans (if you are UK-based, check out Bold Beans) and grains. Both are very easy to cook and require little effort.
For example, butter beans cooked in the liquid from the jar along with seasoning, and served on top of sourdough toast with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and slices of avocado, is a really simple, nutritious and delicious dish!
I remove all food delivery apps from my phone to avoid temptation; if I come close to eating out, I tell myself I will start prepping my food for a later date. By the time I start cooking, I have forgotten about takeaway or restaurant food.
5. Reestablish routine
Okay, this is a super tough step, but reestablishing routine is vital. That doesn’t mean you have to jump straight back into your usual routine, baby steps!
I start by getting back into a good bedtime routine. This typically involves shutting off all tech an hour before bed. Doing my skincare routine and getting cosy in bed with a candle on and a great book. It often also involves my hot chocolate (cacao is great for sleep) or herbal tea.
Once my bedtime routine is back in place, I find morning routines much easier to adhere to. Mostly because I have been able to prioritise getting those much-needed zzzs (more on this below)…
I gradually phase things back in until I am running as normal!
Travel with Symprove!
The gut supplement I swear by – saving me from many a dodgy travel stomach bug. It even comes in handy 70ml travel-sized bottles, which can be packed in your carry-on luggage and don’t need refrigerating.
6. Prioritise sleep
No matter whether you have had an adventurous or relaxing holiday, you will want to prioritise sleep on your return! Particularly if you have been on holiday in a different time zone or flown far enough to trigger jet lag.
I try to wind down earlier in the evenings, keep lights low, and avoid screens at least an hour before bed. Herbal teas, magnesium (which I get from my cacao-based hot chocolate), and sticking to a regular sleep-wake schedule help me ease back into a routine and feel more like myself again.
If I am really struggling, I may avoid coffee for a week. But as a coffee fiend, this can be tough, so I will switch to decaf just to keep the cravings at bay.
Don’t be surprised if the first week you wake up feeling sluggish. Just keep at it until your body has had the chance to properly reset!
Now that your body has had the chance to reset… time to plan the next holiday? Right?
Check out all my destination guides for holiday inspiration!
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