“Is it worth it trying to maintain progress on vacation?”

This is a frequent question I get from clients: “I’m going on vacation – I’m worried about losing the results I’ve gotten over the last few months. Is it worth it to try to maintain progress on vacation?” 

Obviously, this is a nuanced question. How you define “progress” and what you actually do on the vacation will both play a role in your results. Plus, there are so many variables that can influence what you’re able to stick with while traveling – whether you’re traveling alone or with family, at a hotel or an Airbnb, for work or for pleasure. 

Today, I have four tips for you for healthy travel, as well as some general guidelines for how “progress” can change if you take a break from certain types of exercise. 

4 Tips to Maintain Progress on Vacation

Here are 4 ideas for maintaining forward momentum, even if you don’t literally lose weight during the vacation itself:

#1 Be mindful of how long the actual vacation is (and what it is).

Allow the length and type of your travel to shape your behaviors and strategies. Is it a four-day long weekend? Or is it a 15-day major vacation? Is it a lay-by-the-pool resort, or a hilly European city where you’ll get 20,000 steps a day, or a tropical adventure where you’ll be kayaking, swimming, and rock climbing?

Plan your habits accordingly. The longer (or more naturally sedentary) the vacation, the more beneficial it is to be more strategic. 

It also helps to know how a “break” will affect your fitness.

Cardiovascular fitness starts to decrease after about a week-long break. But anything less than seven days…? You probably won’t notice a difference – especially if the trip itself is active. However, if you’re in the middle of training for a race, I do recommend – if at all possible – doing your training runs while traveling, especially if the trip is long and would represent a substantial break from training. 

Strength-related progress loses ground much more slowly than cardiovascular fitness. You probably have a 2-3 week lag time before you notice, “Wow, that feels much heavier than it used to.” The average vacation is 1-2 weeks – if you literally did zero lifting on your trip, you might have a tiny bit of a learning curve upon your return (and a bit more soreness), but nothing significant. To me, the main motivation for “strength training” while traveling is to keep my body happy – to promote core strength, mobility, glute activation, etc… I’m not “training for gains” while I’m out of my routine. 

Personal note: I like to stay consistent overall, so when I do have a hotel gym, I use it! But if I am staying in an Airbnb, like I usually do in Europe, I just do some short bodyweight workouts that I can do in my living room. 

#2 Choose healthy habits that feel doable… and do them! 

This is highly individual. Every family is different, every trip is different, and every person is different. Some people will work out on vacation. Others won’t – it may be unrealistic. But to build that feeling of self-efficacy even when you’re in vacation mode, it’s so smart to pick some manageable positive behaviors and follow through. Maybe it’s eating a healthy breakfast every morning. Maybe it’s hitting a certain step count if you track your steps. Maybe it’s formally exercising literally once while you’re on vacation. The follow-through is what’s important, so pick things that feel manageable, and are only a slight stretch on your normal comfort zone for vacation mode.

Personal note: For me and my family on vacation in an Airbnb, the pattern we usually follow is grocery shopping several times, eating two home-cooked healthy meals at the Airbnb each day, with one meal and snacks/treats out every day. It’s not a rule, but generally what we do. This keeps our bodies feeling good, but leaves us free to explore and enjoy without restriction! If we stay at a hotel, we usually eat a healthy breakfast, order a healthy lunch or dinner, and have one meal per day that is just for fun. 

#3 Maintain a positive relationship with healthy eating.

I cannot overemphasize the fact that it is normal to eat differently on vacation than we do at home (for most people, anyway). We’re not in our normal routine, we’re enjoying new and interesting foods, and we’re making memories. It’s not smart to set up the expectation that eating is going to be highly controlled on vacation. But on the flip side, that doesn’t mean that overeating is inevitable, or that all healthy routines must be dropped!

Healthful, self-caring eating is always in style, everywhere – even if it’s not monitored or quantified. Habits like… 

• Eating what you want, but stopping when satisfied (before stuffed) 
• Being mindful of meal composition at some or most meals 
• Sharing indulgent treats to maximize enjoyment and minimize chance of overeating 
• Eating “health foods” like fruit and vegetables 

… help to foster a positive relationship with food. 

It’s not just about what you’re eating – it’s about how you’re eating, and what is driving you.

Personal note: our style on vacation is to not say “no” to anything, but to share lots of treats. We also like to travel to places where the food itself is a destination, with beautiful groceries, produce, and specialty foods that make it a pleasure to eat healthfully! 

#4 Be realistic about weight loss projections.

Finally, if you are working on a weight loss goal, I think it is extremely reasonable and realistic to expect that you will come back a few pounds heavier on the scale. I have had several times when I have gone on a vacation and come back lighter, but these were trips that included tons of movement (like major world cities). But most of the time, it’s wise to expect that the combination of higher carbohydrates, extra salt, and air travel itself will leave you a little bloated and weighing in heavier at first – even if you exercised and watched what you ate.

It’s important to separate “progress” (literal downward movement on the scale) from “momentum” (consistency with habits, big picture results). Progress is a part of momentum.

Maintain your momentum, and progress will follow, even if there’s a little lag time. Ultimately, a trip will only be a blip on the radar if you bounce back quickly with realistic, self-caring routines upon re-entry. 

Who Cares about Maintaining Progress on Vacation? 

Missing a workout here and there is a normal part of life and doesn’t affect habit formation negatively in any way. Similarly, a fun meal that doesn’t conform to your expectations of healthy eating – every once in awhile – does literally nothing to your health or mindset, and can actually be healthy for reducing black-and-white thinking. As anyone knows who has been successful with long-term lifestyle change and weight loss, one vacation will not make or break anything. 

But only you can be the judge for yourself if it will be a “net positive” to significantly change your lifestyle patterns for a week (or multiple weeks), or if it makes more sense to keep your habits more consistent. You are the only person on your journey, and you know yourself best (including what kind of self-talk you experience when you’re more or less consistent). 

Ultimately, for me, exercising and taking care of my body is a major act of self-care! My workouts and nutrition may not look the same while I’m traveling, but I pay attention to crafting travel routines that enhance my sense of well-being. For me, this extra mindfulness goes a long way to improving both my physical and my mental health, even if my routine looks different than it usually does! 

Want to know the snacks that I like to travel with? Check out this other article, “10 Healthy Snacks for Travel.”