There were times of my life where traveling or vacation set me back big time with my health and fitness goals.

I would live ultra restricted leading up to a vacation, and then go off the rails as soon as I got there.

I mean, I earned it...right?

Drinking too much, binging out on food and sugar, avoiding working out - I've slipped up more times than I can count.

This cycle would leave me feeling guilty and miserable after the trip, coming back easily 5-10 lbs heavier than when I left.

While some will tell you that one day or one week won't ruin your progress, here's an unpopular opinion based on my personal experience:

One 'wild' week certainly can offset weeks (or months) of hard work.

There are times I can think back to where it took me 4-6 weeks of strict dieting and exercise following a trip just to return to the baseline that I was at before leaving.

That's annoying.

The biggest thing that changed for me?

Simply doing that enough times to get sick of it and realizing how unhealthy it actually is.

I've been working a lot on my relationship with health, nutrition, and fitness over the past several years - and I've learned how to be in a much healthier spot.

Not just physically healthy, but more importantly, mentally and emotionally healthy around food.

Those restriction - binge - restriction cycles absolutely wore me down.

If you've ever been there, I'm sure you can relate.

Whether it was a vacation, a birthday, a wedding, or any other 'excuse' to go off the rails - it becomes exhausting.

We just got back late last night from a family trip out to Florida.

We had a blast and had some really great family time away from our usual routine.

Traveling with a 3.5 and 1.5 year old doesn't always feel like 'vacation' for Lindsey and I, but it's still fun to get away.

We enjoyed great food without me feeling like I derailed any progress.

Here are some things I focused on this past trip that helped me enjoy myself (while still making progress towards my health and fitness goals):

I kept some loose goals and boundaries:

Don't go into a vacation expecting to make leaps and bounds progress in your health and fitness.

I tried that before, and it was counterproductive and unnecessary at best (and a drain on Lindsey)

Here were two loose goals and boundaries I went into this past trip with:

• Still aiming for a 12,000 step count average. As I wasn't working out nearly as hard, this still kept my activity level up to be able to better offset the increased calories. This is a great way to get outside, enjoy good weather, promote healthy rhythms as a family, and take some of the mental focus off of food.
• Loose calorie tracking (but not focusing on my calorie goals). I still tracked my calories on this trip, but I didn't get stressed over perfection or hitting my calorie targets. I routinely went over what my normal macro/calorie targets would be, and didn't consciously restrict any food, but the goal was simply to track (and not obsess over it). This little layer of accountability helped me enjoy the foods I actually wanted to eat without drifting into mindless eating.

These were 2 of the 6 habits I was focusing on in 2025, and things that felt easy for me to loosely track.

I didn't get hung up over 100% compliance, but still had those two things in the back of my mind as things to strive for consistency with.

I found a realistic sleep and meal schedule

Sleep, stress, and meal timing are extremely important for keeping you healthy and managing your body composition.

Unfortunately, these things still apply while traveling.

On past trips, when I've neglected these things, it led to cravings and binging that was hard for me to control.

Again, no rigidity here, but I did try and eat at somewhat consistent times and keep sleep and wake times within an hour or so to help offset circadian rhythm problems that can come while traveling.

I minimized grazing or snacking

Along with my previous point of consistent meal times, I worked hard at minimizing grazing.

It's so easy to eat out of boredom, eat because someone else is eating, or to think I'm hungry when I'm really not.

If I was really hungry, I tried to focus on actual meals instead of open ended snacking.

I kept some regular meals that I know I feel good with

We had the added benefit of driving and staying at a house with a full kitchen (which is a travel hack on its own)

One of the first things we did was hit the grocery store and stock up on some of the staples that we know we feel good with.

Dinners were usually where we would cook up some different meals, order food, or eat out - so those meals were a little more variable.

For me, I kept breakfast almost identical to how I usually eat when I'm at home, to help start my day with a meal that's high in protein and leaves me satisfied.

This helped manage my cravings and worry less about having to hit higher protein targets at dinner or other meals.

I planned my deload week with my travel to take it easy on my body

I still worked out some while on the trip, but I timed my deload week to match up with our travel.

This gave me flexibility to take it easier (especially important when sleep is off or after sitting in the car for most of the day). I also gave me flexibility to skip the gym and take a run, and skip the gym all together when I wasn't feeling up for it (and replace it with a nap)

Those things might seem extreme or unnecessary for you.

Or there might be one helpful thing you can try on your next trip to avoid unnecessary setbacks.

There's nothing wrong with however you choose to vacation.

Just don't make the same mistakes I made that set me back for many years.