How to Get Back on Track After a Vacation
BLACK IRON RADIO EP. 387: How to Get Back on Track After a Vacation
You know that feeling where you need a vacation to recover from the vacation? Going grocery shopping and into your normal routine feels like a chore, and one more day of takeout starts to sound pretty reasonable.
Ryann, Sabrina, and Nic get into how to get back to your routine without the two things that make it harder: doing nothing and letting a 5-day trip turn into a 10-day one, OR swinging the other way into full restriction mode because you feel bloated and off. They talk about why you didn't gain 9 pounds of fat in a week, why the scale can wait, the freezer meals and grocery deliveries that make it feel easier, how travel wrecks your digestion and sleep, and the 10-minute rule for getting your first workout in when you'd rather do anything else.
Plus why the best time to plan your re-entry is before you even leave, why your first session back is supposed to feel rough, and Sabrina and Nic settling the great unpacking debate.he rest of your day is solid, and full permission to eat the cake.
It's 1:00 AM, you're jet lagged, the suitcase is sitting in the middle of the floor, and you need a vacation after your vacation. Grocery shopping and meal prepping feel like one more chore, so what's one more day of takeout really going to do? Starting fresh on Monday sounds even better. And just like that, your four or five-day trip turns into a nine or 10-day one.
In this episode of Black Iron Radio, Ryann, Sabrina, and Nic break down why getting back to your routine after a trip feels so hard, what's actually going on with your body when you land, and the practical steps that make the transition easy instead of a chore.
Vacation Throws Off Your Routine, Not Your Progress
We're creatures of habit, and vacations blow up every habit at once. You eat different foods, you sleep at different times, you probably skip workouts, and you're likely a little dehydrated. Travel is also just exhausting. Of course getting back to normal feels hard.
Here's the part that matters: vacation is supposed to be fun. Eating food you don't normally eat, staying up late with friends, and having a couple of drinks are all part of immersing yourself in a new place and making memories. None of that needs to be punished, and punishing yourself just adds stress to your trip and your trip home. Enjoy it guilt-free, then get back to it when you're done.
Don't Do a 180, and Don't Wait Until Monday
There are two mistakes on opposite ends of the spectrum, and the goal is to land in the middle.
The first is jumping straight into a fat loss phase or restriction mode. Sabrina sees this with clients all the time. They get home and announce they want to cut, and her question is simple: was that the plan before vacation, or do you just not like how you feel today after being out of your routine? If it's the second one, that's not a plan, that's a reaction.
The second is the "it's Friday, who cares, I'll start Monday" trap. If your trip ends on a Thursday or Friday, you don't need to wait for a Monday to get back to normal. One more day of takeout quietly stretches the vacation into a week and a half, and that's a much harder hole to crawl out of.
Stay Off the Scale (You Did Not Gain Nine Pounds)
Do not step on the scale the moment you walk through the door. You did not gain nine pounds in four days. That's not how body fat works. What you're seeing is water, and some clients totally spin out over it anyway.
Here's what's actually happening:
Sodium: You probably ate a lot more of it than usual, and your body always wants to be at baseline. To balance out the extra sodium, it holds onto water. Getting back to your normal water intake is the fix, and after a few days most people feel back to baseline.
Missing fiber: When you're traveling, you're eating out a lot, and restaurant meals just don't deliver the fiber you get at home. Nobody sits down and gets a spread of plain raw veggies, and the ones that do show up are cooked in butter and salt to taste amazing. Fewer fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes, plus less water than usual, throws off your digestion. Some people are running to the bathroom every three hours while others go four or five days without going at all.
Flying: Long flights mess with digestion and hydration. Ryann says flying wrecks her stomach for days, and Sabrina points out that anything over five hours seems to have the same effect. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after, and don't skip the compression socks unless you like cankles.
Alcohol: If you drank more than usual on the trip, you'll feel a little off when you get home. A short reset with no alcohol lets your body settle back in.
The fix is boring and it works: eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, oats, nuts, seeds, and legumes on purpose in your first few meals, drink your water, and get some sleep. Bloating is a normal response, not a permanent one.
Have Food Waiting Before You Get Home
Nobody wants to go to the grocery store after a long travel day, so don't make yourself. Order a grocery delivery or pickup before you leave so it's there when you land. Nic's point is a good one: at 1:00 AM, jet lagged and unpacking, you do not want to be hoping that a delivery slot is open in the morning.
A few ways the team makes this easy:
Double prep before you go: Sabrina makes double batches in her prep before a trip and freezes half, so there are meals ready to defrost the week she gets back.
Lean on the freezer: Nic's go-to reset meal is tilapia, microwave jasmine rice, and a steamable broccoli bag. It's lean protein, a carb, and a vegetable, the rice and broccoli take a few minutes in the microwave, and the fish cooks in a pan in about two minutes.
Use no-prep foods: Ryann keeps it simple with a rotisserie chicken, frozen rice, and a fruit salad from a hot bar. Don't overcomplicate it.
Grab-and-go meals: If you have a local meal prep spot with fridges you can grab from, make it your first stop on the way home and take the food question off the table entirely.
You've also been eating highly palatable, fancy food for days, so plain veggies, rice, and protein can feel boring. That's normal. Your appetite might be off for a bit too, either ravenous or oddly full at normal mealtimes, but after a couple of days of eating normally it settles. Your body is smart and it normalizes quickly.
Get Moving, Even If It's Not a Real Workout
Getting back to training is where a lot of people stall out. Your first session back probably won't feel great, and that's fine. You didn't lose all your fitness since Monday, and you didn't gain nine pounds either. Your sleep schedule was off, you probably had more rest days than usual, you might be dehydrated, and your body needs a little time to prime itself for movement again. Nic also points out that on vacation you can actually under eat, because even with all those rich foods your calorie balance might be lower than you think.
So lower the bar. Here's what works:
Do something small: Sabrina will do an EMOM in the garage or take an extra long walk. The goal is getting back into the habit, not crushing a PR.
Use the 10-minute rule: Tell your brain all you have to do is walk down the street and come back. By the time you hit the end of the street, you'll probably keep going. Ten becomes 20, 20 becomes 30, and you never regret it.
Schedule it like an appointment: Ryann puts workouts on her calendar, and if it's already there she doesn't push it off.
Find an accountability buddy: Tell someone at your gym or run club that you'll be there Monday at a set time. You're a lot less likely to bail on a person than on yourself. If you don't have a buddy yet, this is your sign to be the one who reaches out. Yes, it might feel awkward, but everyone feels that way, and the person you talk to has probably been wanting to say hi to you too.
Ease in: Don't go 100% the day after you get home. You'll be sore all week and end up taking four more rest days.
Even a good sweat and the endorphins that come with it make you feel one step closer to normal.
Fix Your Sleep First
Ryann's number one priority after a trip is sleep. Lack of sleep hits your appetite, energy, cognitive function, decision fatigue, and cravings. If you're jet lagged and not sleeping, nothing else is getting done.
Here's how to reset:
Go straight back to your normal schedule: Normal bedtime and normal wake-up time, right when you get home, even if it feels hard. When Ryann's family flew home from Hawaii on the red-eye, with a six to seven hour time difference, her mom wouldn't let the kids nap that day. She kept them awake and busy with chores so they wouldn't get stuck on the wrong schedule.
Get sunlight first thing in the morning: Morning light helps your circadian rhythm shift back to your actual time zone.
Consider melatonin for the first few nights: If you crossed time zones, it can be super helpful. It's not something you want to take long term, but there are good reasons to use it every once in a while.
Power through the afternoon slump: Nic's advice, with a confession that it's a do as I say, not as I do situation: if you woke up at 3:30 AM for a flight, resist the giant coffee or energy drink at 4:00 PM. Pounding 400 milligrams of caffeine at 5:00 when your bedtime is 10:00 means you'll be exhausted and staring at the ceiling.
Pick Three Things, Not Everything
You don't have to do it all on day one. Sabrina used to come home and try to get everything done immediately, then ended up getting sick from going full steam back into her routine. Her fix is to pick the three things that will actually get her back to feeling okay in the next two days. Everything else can wait.
Those three things look different for everyone. For Sabrina, it's making sure there's nutritious food in the house, then unpacking. She's the type who starts laundry at 1:00 AM because a suitcase sitting in her closet stresses her out. Nic and Ryann are the opposite, and a suitcase can sit for days at their place. For them, it's movement, sleep, and food in the freezer or a grocery order on the way. Whatever your three are, anything that doesn't make the list can wait, and that includes unpacking if it isn't the thing that stresses you out.
The better move is to plan before you leave. Order the groceries. Sign up for a workout class at 4:15 the afternoon you get back so there's built-in structure waiting for you. You don't want to wake up the day after a trip feeling like it's January 1st and your whole life needs an overhaul. Your future self will thank you.
If you work with a coach, they can help on both ends: making sure you enjoy the food and culture on your trip without feeling like you need to track everything, and helping you feel confident getting back into your routine when you're home.
The Takeaway
Getting back on track doesn't have to be hard, so don't overcomplicate it. Have food ready before you land, move a little the first day, and fix your sleep before anything else. Ignore the scale for a few days, because bloat is water and it goes away. Skip the punishment cut, skip the "I'll start Monday" delay, and pick your top three priorities instead of trying to do everything. The first week might feel a little harder than usual, but once you get back into your groove it's smooth sailing. Enjoy the trip guilt-free, then hop right back in.
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If you enjoyed this conversation, check out more episodes of Black Iron Radio, where we cut through the noise and give you real, no-BS advice on feeling, performing, and looking your best. Each week we share practical nutrition, training, and wellness strategies and tips to help you succeed.
