Paige Harris The number one way to get back on track after splurging on vacation — and it probably isn’t what you think!
So you went on vacation — congrats! Where did you go? Did you eat some yummy food while you were there? I bet you did. I know I sure always indulge in more than a few treats while I’m on vacation, like this amazing vegan maple ‘bacon’ coconut donut!
Or like when I was in Toronto last weekend and hit up an amazeballs vegetarian cafe with my sister! I loved this lentil burger, and the perfectly seasoned and crispy fries were delicious!
And yes, back in Berlin, these sausages were all mine! So were the sides of sauerkraut and potato salad lurking to the right.
But of course, I don’t always eat like this.
When I’m at home, I make better choices, like this salad below! It’s chalk full of greens and micronutrients, with a tiny bit of dressing and tons of feta cheese and banana peppers for a bit of a kick!
Except wait a minute…
I ate this salad in Germany. On vacation.
The Perfection Pixies
But that just can’t be! No one ever eats salad on vacation! Vacation is a time to let loose and eat everything and anything in sight! That way when you get back home, you can get back on track and eat salads and cooked vegetables and plain fish and all of those other healthy foods!
If these thoughts sound familiar, they should. They’re the voices of what I like to call the Perfection Pixies. The Perfection Pixies are the ones in control, after all. They’re the ones that tell you to skip out on dessert, to not add any dressing to your salad, to politely decline the glass of champagne for a birthday celebration. In short, they control the way you eat, and sometimes the way you act, as well.
On vacations past, I had two different mindsets. In one, my Perfection Pixies’ words were law. I never let myself enjoy fried foods or extra appetizers or a delicious dessert to share when I went out with friends. I was so nervous about possibly overeating if I allowed myself even a bite that I refused to eat anything ‘unhealthy’ altogether. Instead, I stuck to a list of ‘safe’ foods — such as salads or grilled fish or chicken with a side of vegetables — and politely declined any bite of food I was offered. I told myself that it was better to eat this way. I thought that if I didn’t have a taste, I wouldn’t be tempted to eat and eat until I made myself ill and ruined all my progress.
Which leads me to mindset number two: the ‘fuck it, I’m going to eat everything‘ mindset. During these times, I would go balls to the wall with my food choices; think of the fattiest cuts of meat, oiliest pizzas, and crispiest fries in the world — I was eating all of them. All at once, and every morsel on my plate. And afterwards, of course I was ordering dessert. The biggest, sweetest, richest one available. And nine times out of ten, I would eat that whole thing, too, even if I felt like I was going to be sick. Because I was on vacation — and I knew that as soon as I got back home I wouldn’t be able to eat foods like this anymore. I had to get it in while I could. While my Perfection Pixies let me.
It’s All in Your Mindset
But even during those times, the Perfection Pixies weren’t silent. I often would feel immensely guilty after those meals. Why did you just eat so much? You weren’t even hungry! You’re going to ruin all of your progress! It’ll take forever to burn off all of those calories!
Neither of those mindsets gave me happiness. So why was I so stuck in them? I’m still trying to figure it out, but I think it could be because of the all-or-nothing mentality that we tend to have when discussing or thinking about our food. While not necessarily our fault, this binary system of thinking encompasses every aspect of our lives.
Food is either good or bad, healthy or unhealthy — never just good food. These categories just feed in further to the Perfect Pixies’ whispers: eat it all, or eat nothing. And by thinking of things in this binary mindset, there’s no room to explore, to experiment, or to learn. We either go on vacation and restrict and resist all of the foods we wish we were eating, or we splurge and eat everything in sight, promising ourselves that we’ll get back on track once we’re home and back to our comfortable routines.
So what’s the best way to get back on track after vacation?
Change your perspective.
Quit thinking in this forced all-or-nothing mindset. When you can do this, you’re forced to make the realization that there is no track to fall off of in the first place.
*mind blown*
Going on vacation doesn’t have to be a time to restrict or eat everything in sight. It can just be an extension of your ‘normal’ routine. For example, when I was out traveling these past few months, I ordered food that I wanted. Not food that I thought was over the top. Not food that was safe or restrictive. When I was in Germany, I craved salad one day, so I ordered one. I didn’t let the Perfect Pixies feel like they were winning, though. I listened to my body instead of the Pixies, and in return, I felt no anxiety over my choice.
This can work for indulging in foods, too! When I was in Toronto this past weekend, I ordered a lentil burger and fries and ate almost the whole plate. But I ate it because I wanted to eat it, not because Pixies convinced me that I had to eat it.
I applied the same thinking when confronted with the huge tray of food from Berlin. I ate until I was full, and I stopped. Sure, I probably didn’t need the last few bites of sauerkraut, or the last of the thicker sausage with the cheese-casing, but I ate them anyway, and I filled up my stomach, body, and mind with self love in doing so. And the next day, I continued living and exploring and eating my way around the city without missing a beat.
Now It’s Your Turn
On these trips, I proved to myself that I can go out and order large amounts of food on occasion without needing to stuff myself until I feel sick. But I also don’t have to give myself a boundary — like only eating half of everything — to restrict myself into what the Pixies think is ‘good.’ Instead, I can just eat, drink, and be merry — and you can too!
This binary system that we’ve created around food is just a fantasy, but the emotional struggle we face when dealing with it is very real. You need to remember that no matter how hard it may seem now, you can build healthy eating habits that are right for you and allow you to break out of the all-or-nothing mentality. It just takes a little (or a lot) of practice. Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself.
You can do it!
And if you ever need an ear, reach out! Send me a message, give a friend a call, text a loved one who may understand. We all fall into these bad habits sometimes, and we all can help each other out of them, too! Talking about it is the only way to shift such a largely held perception — but I believe we can do it, one meal at a time.
