A vacation without remorse

- I suggest looking at the vacations not as the enemy of a healthy lifestyle, but as an opportunity to practice flexibility, mindfulness and kindness to oneself. The vacation period can be treated as a conscious and planned break from caloric deficit, the so-called "diet break," explains Małgorzata Słoma-Krześlak, PhD, a nutritionist at the Department of Public Health in Bytom, and adds: - Research suggests that such strategic breaks can have metabolic and psychological benefits, supporting long-term maintenance of healthy habits and body weight.

Foundations of holiday balance

Whether your destination is exotic beaches, mountain trails or European metropolises, there are a few universal principles that provide the foundation for a healthy and satisfying vacation. These are not rigid rules, but a set of behavioral strategies that allow you to consciously manage your nutrition in an environment of abundance and lack of routine. The key is the ability to self-regulate in response to the body's internal signals and external stimuli, rather than relying on restrictive prohibitions.

Healthy eating plate in holiday practice

The most intuitive and practical model for composing meals, which has replaced the outdated food pyramid, is the Healthy Eating Plate. Its strength lies in its visual simplicity, which is extremely helpful in an unstructured environment such as a hotel buffet or restaurant menu.

The principle is simple:

• Half of the plate should be occupied by vegetables and fruits, with a clear predominance of vegetables.
• A quarter of the plate should be protein products (lean meat, fish, eggs, pulses).
• The remaining quarter should be filled with whole-grain cereal products (groats, brown rice, wholemeal bread).

Applying this rule, especially when faced with a buffet, is an effective strategy. It is recommended to first fill half of the plate with a variety of salads and cooked vegetables. The fiber in them provides a feeling of satiety, which helps naturally control portions of the more caloric components of the meal. The color variety of vegetables and fruits is also important, as each color indicates the content of different bioactive compounds that are valuable to health.

Mindful eating and the psychology of pleasure

Mindful eating ( mindful eating) is not a technique for restricting pleasure, but a tool for intensifying it. The key here is a physiological mechanism: the brain takes about 15-20 minutes to receive and process satiety signals sent from the digestive system. Eating in a hurry, often distractedly, causes one to consume much more before the feeling of hunger satisfaction occurs.

Practical steps to implement mindful eating are:

• Eating slowly, putting down cutlery between bites.
• Thoroughly chewing each bite, which allows you to fully feel the taste, smell and texture of the food.
• Eliminate distractions, such as the phone and TV, which interfere with the perception of hunger and satiety signals.
• Consciously assessing hunger levels before reaching for a snack.

This practice directly counteracts the "eating with your eyes" phenomenon, which is common in the face of the abundance of hotel buffets.

Hydration is key

Physiologically, the brain's hunger and thirst centers are located close to each other, which means that dehydration signals can be misinterpreted as a need to eat. Maintaining adequate hydration, of at least 2 liters of fluids per day, is one of the fundamental strategies for appetite control, especially in hot climates.

The best choice is water. Avoid sweetened drinks, juices and iced teas, which provide so-called "liquid calories" without the feeling of satiety. One glass of juice can contain as much as 200 kcal. Instead, make healthy and refreshing alternatives, such as water with fresh mint, lemon slices and watermelon, homemade sugar-free iced tea or low-calorie watermelon-based lemonade.

Physical activity as part of leisure

The concept of "exercise" is worth replacing on vacation with the idea of enjoyable "movement." The key is to increase NEAT ( Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), which is the energy expenditure associated with any activity other than sleeping, eating and scheduled workouts. It is the decrease in NEAT, and not necessarily a few extra desserts, that is often the main cause of holiday weight gain.

Even small changes that add up to a significant caloric expenditure on a daily basis are valuable:

• A 30-minute brisk walk burns about 120 kcal.
• An hour of swimming can burn 500 to 600 kcal.
• Recreational cycling is an expenditure of 300-400 kcal per hour.

Instead of seeing activity as a chore, weave it into holiday pleasures: exploring the city on foot instead of by bus, taking evening walks on the beach, dancing or playing in the pool.

Soft landing, or how to get back into rhythm after the vacations

- The period after returning from vacation is a crucial time to either rebuild positive habits or lose them altogether. The main obstacle is often psychological rather than physiological. That's why the narrative needs to move away from "repairing the damage" to "a gentle return to a supportive routine," stresses the ŚUM nutritionist.

Source: Silesian Medical University