3 Simple Ways to Reset After the Holidays

The holidays can be a great time to enjoy family, friends, the holiday spirit and of course all the treats that come along with it! But if you don’t have a good relationship with food or yourself, it can be a time of stress, overeating, anxiety and excess weight gain that’s going to emotionally weigh on you more than physically.

If you haven't already, check out my previous blog How to Enjoy Holiday Meals Without Losing Progress or Feeling Guilty. That breaks down exactly what I do to enjoy special holiday meals, day of.

And this blog post will be all about moving forward. Because when it comes down to it, this is one meal, one day, one treat in the grand scheme of things. And the more routine you can be in and come back to when things change, the better these events will be!

You’re meant to enjoy your life, and if your “healthy lifestyle” is preventing that, then something needs to change. Long term success is based on how consistent you can be moving forward. And that includes being flexible with your life.

If you don’t already have a good relationship with food or understand how it works in your body, check out my Free ebook, Cutting Cravings, where it walks you through the basic steps to listen to your body and understand how it responds to food.

After that or until then, let’s dive into the 3 Simple Ways to Reset After the Holidays.

What we’ll discus:

• Detox

• Adding in movement

• Simple and easy meals

Detox

Now, detox may or may not be what you think it is. I’m not going to recommend a specific diet, detox, juice, tea or anything like that.

For me, detox is getting back to basics. Maybe it’s a little cleaner than normal, but it’s nothing drastic. Again, this is just one day, one meal. We don’t need to go crazy with a “reset”. So going back to what you would normally eat on a day-to-day basis is the easiest way to get back on track.

The more normal you can make it, the easier it will be to continue this will every holiday, event, life change or bump in the road.

However, if it’s been a month of inconsistency, ordering out, holiday leftovers and buttered noodles, then I’d recommend a bit more than your normal routine. Again, my Cutting Cravings breaks down how to best find the foods that work best for you, but here are my personal suggestions when a bigger detox is needed.

Juicing holds a special place in my heart. What started out as THE missing link to help me lose weight in high school, turned into a comfort meal at my first home in my 20s. I big glass of juice with with my protein noodles was my favorite way to end the night.

So I recommend a glass of juice each day (not a detox where you’re ONLY drinking juice), and if you want to spice it up, make some ginger shots too.

Here’s my go-to juice and ginger “recipe” (and all of these are buying a bag of fruit or 3-5 individual pieces):

• Greens- choose between spinach, kale, lettuce, or something along those lines. Kale will have a bit of a stronger taste, so be sure to have more fruit if you don’t like that.

• Celery

• Carrots

• Fruit- I alternate between apples, pears, oranges or any melon that’s in season. You can also combine them all or mix them if you want a sweeter juice.

But that’s my basic juice combo. Then the ginger shots are literally a bag of lemons and a few nobs of ginger. I add water to dilute it down a bit, but be warned, they are strong!

And that’s it! Juicing doesn’t have to be any harder than that. You can experiment with other recipes or trying to put different fruits and veggies together. I’ve just found that the base above is the easiest go-to for me. Put it in a big jug, or portion them out in mason jars for an easy grab-and-go drink.

Otherwise, the other suggestions for detoxing after a lot of heavy, sweet and not-your-normal-diet foods is keeping it basic. Things like oatmeal, salad, simple proteins and all your fruits and veggies. It’s not necessarily detoxing or getting rid of anything “bad” that built up over the time. I more look at it as helping my body work through the foods it’s not used to having a lot of, by choosing the simple foods it runs easily on.

The big thing here is that you aren’t making up for “bad” choices, you’re just helping your body get back to it’s normal state of functioning well. And a detox is really just simple eating, nutrient rich foods and feeling good.

Adding in Movement

This too, needs to be looked at as HELPING your body, not punishing it for everything you did or didn’t do. The less punishing, harmful and negative you can approach all of this, the better it will be on you mentally and physically in the long run.

So the best way to get your body feeling good after fueling it well, is by adding in or going back to your normal movement. And this can look differently based on who you are and where you’re at on your fitness journey.

I recommend checking out my blog post, Best Workout for You to figure out what would be best if you’re in a spot of wanting change, not liking your current routine, or just looking for ideas.

What I will always recommend is walking. It’s so underrated, but helps you SO much! A lot of us don’t move enough throughout the day, and if you’re at a desk job, walking is going to be even more important. If you’re just getting started and need the basics when it comes to movement, check out my blog Fitness Essentials You’ll Actually Use for my recommended walking gear, and it can be used for any kind of fitness. All the things I recommend have personally lasted me at least 3 years with weekly use. 

What I want to get at with this section on movement, similar to the detox, is to not overthink it. The goal is to help your body get back to a comfortable state of being after eating or doing things you don’t normally do.

I know when holiday events come along, I want to be a potato before and after the event. My social battery drains when I’m around a lot of people, even people I love seeing and being with. So doing nothing is the best way for me to recharge.

But that also means it’s a choice for me to jump back into movement the day after the event or not. For me personally, if it’s on a Sunday, I’ll usually go back to my normal weekly workouts. But if it’s on a Saturday, I’m not doing ANYTHING on Sunday besides getting groceries. Once my boyfriend and I come back, I sit on the couch and don’t leave.

Simple and Easy Meals

Just like with what I said in the detox, simple and easy meals after the holidays is the best way to get back on track. And that will look different for everyone.

I know the holidays can be stressful for many reasons, and some don’t have the luxury that others have when it comes to finding the balance and doing something that will help them rather than add more to their plate.

Here’s what I mean by that. Some of us are in a position where we can order meal services, which cut down on prep time and mental load of planning meals for the week. While some of us are lucky to just afford groceries at all, let alone the luxury ordering meals can be.

So with this section, I want you to choose based on where you’re at with life, and make the most of it. Meal services can be a great way to help ease you back into healthy eating again. Sometimes work doesn’t slow down with the holidays, and you’re left with even less time to take care of yourself. So being able to just order meals and not have to think of anything outside of that can be super helpful.

There are plenty of them online, and I even know of some locally in my own area. So check out local gyms as a lot of them are starting to add that service.

Now, if that’s a luxury you can’t afford right now, then here are my basic “survival” meals when I’m stressed, need to eat healthy and on a tight budget. And my main goal here is to enjoy my food too. I’ll admit that when I find something I like, I’ll eat it until the thought of it personally offends me. So here are my basics on a budget:

• Beans and rice (add avocado if you find cheap ones)

• Taco in a bag

• Protein noodles

• Protein oatmeal (this can be something “fancy” like kodiac cakes, you can add a scoop of protein powder, or create your own version with flax seeds, chia seeds, PB2 and even egg whits if you want)

• Cheesy eggs

• Smoothies (with or without protein powder, flax or chia seeds)

• Soup and grilled cheese

• Ramen

These are things full of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and healthy fats. I rotate through these things so often, that this list could easily last me a year without getting board.

Again, the goal is to find something that you can stick to, is relatively easy, makes you feel good and also helps you see results moving forward.

Don’t overthink any of this. As I would say to my classes all the time, the less you think about it, the more it makes sense.

I hope this was helpful for you! Like anything that’s taken years to get you to this point, it will take some time and practice to work through and better understand how your body and mind respond to things moving forward.

If you’re looking for more support or a step-by-step breakdown to better work through the mental and physical changes of a healthy lifestyle, check out my 6 week course, Sustainable Health Reset.

Otherwise, if you’d like more 1:1 support, check out my RCK SLD Method for next available spots.

Until then, the biggest thing is not overthinking this or taking yourself too seriously. You have to give yourself grace and choose change each step of the way.

It won’t always be perfect, and when it isn’t, that’s when the grace and moving forward is even MORE important.

These simple steps will get you started.

But it’s up to you to keep it going long term. You’ve got this!