Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash
In short: After a holiday, your body doesn’t need a detox and you don’t need to make up for anything. What helps is going back to your normal rhythm, kindly and without drama: regular meals made from real food, plenty of water, a little movement, earlier nights and some quiet time for your mind. Give it a few days, and you’ll feel like yourself again.
The guests have left, the last of the cheese is wrapped in the fridge and the suitcase is still standing in the hall. You open your wardrobe and your trousers feel a little snug. You’re tired in a way that has nothing to do with work, and tomorrow the alarm goes off again. Somewhere in your head a stern little voice begins: “Right. From Monday, no bread, no sugar, no wine.”
I know that feeling. I love the holidays, but they can leave me feeling a bit bloated, sluggish and not quite myself. If you’re the same, I’d love you to know that a few small adjustments are enough to get back to feeling like you. No diets, no complexity: just real food, kept simple, and some kindness towards yourself. This is true after Christmas, after a summer away, after a long family weekend, after any time when life was different for a while.
Why do you feel so flat after the holidays?
Think about what a holiday really is for your body. Meals at different times, richer food, more sugar and more alcohol than usual. Late nights. Less movement, or long hours sitting in a car. A lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of emotion, lovely and less lovely.
So you come home bloated because your digestion has had extra work, tired because your sleep was short and irregular, and a little low because the excitement has gone and ordinary life is back. None of this means you did something wrong. It means you lived, and your body is asking for its rhythm back.
Do you need a detox, or to make up for what you ate?
No, and no. Your body has its own way of clearing what it doesn’t need, and it does this work every day without a juice cleanse. Three days on lemon water leave you hungry, cold and irritable, and they’re usually followed by an evening in front of the biscuit tin. Then the guilt starts all over again.
The same goes for skipping meals or eating tiny portions to compensate. Food isn’t a debt to be repaid. I explain why this kind of thinking backfires in why I don’t believe in diets.
So the first step of a reset is this: stop beating yourself up, and go back to your normal routine. Your next meal is simply your next meal. If the voice in your head is harsh, you might like what I wrote about quietening negative self-talk.
What should you eat in the first days back?
Focus on real food and keep it simple
Your plate doesn’t need to be clever. Plenty of vegetables, some protein, wholegrains or other carbs, and healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts or avocado. A vegetable soup with lentils. An omelette with a big salad. Baked fish with leeks and potatoes. Warm, simple meals that feel soothing after days of rich food. If you need ideas, here’s how I make healthy eating simple, easy and delicious.
Eat at regular times, sitting down, and eat enough. Regular meals are what calm cravings, far more than willpower does.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
After salty food, alcohol, heated rooms or long hours of travelling, your body is thirsty. Start the day with a large glass of water, keep a jug on the table and add herbal teas if you like something warm. You’ll often notice the difference in your energy and your mood by the afternoon, as I describe in my article on staying hydrated.
Prepare your meals
The first week back is busy, and that’s when the takeaway menu looks tempting. An hour of preparation saves you: a pot of soup, a tray of roasted vegetables, some cooked grains and a few boiled eggs in the fridge. On Tuesday evening, when you come home late and tired, dinner is already half made.
Be kind to your digestion
You don’t need to “clean” your digestive system. You can make its work easier. Give it fibre from vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains. Chew slowly. Leave a little time between your evening meal and bed. A spoonful of sauerkraut or some plain yoghurt with a meal is a pleasant way to look after your gut, and you can read more in my questions and answers on gut health. If you enjoy a green smoothie, have one, as an extra and not as a meal replacement or a punishment.
How do you start moving again?
Gently. After days on the sofa or in the car, this is not the moment to throw yourself into an intense workout. Choose movement you enjoy: yoga, dancing in your kitchen, a brisk walk in nature. The aim is to move in a way that feels good and wakes you up, not to burn anything off.
Ten minutes outside after lunch is a good start. Daylight and fresh air will also help you sleep, which is probably what you need most of all.
How do you calm your mind after a busy holiday?
A few quiet minutes in the morning
After the noise, your mind needs some stillness. Ten minutes of meditation in the morning, before you look at your phone, can make you clearer and steadier for the whole day. If sitting still isn’t for you, start with your breath: I describe some easy ways in this gentle introduction to breathing.
Write it down
Journalling is another calm way to land. What did you love about these days? What tired you? What would you like to keep, and what would you do differently next time? A few lines are enough. It helps you close the holiday properly instead of carrying it around in your head.
Ease back into work
The return to work, the bills and the full inbox can all weigh on you at once. Set realistic expectations for the first week. Break your tasks into small steps and do them one at a time. Be clear about when your working day ends, and take real breaks. Your worth isn’t measured only by what you produce: it’s also in your moments of rest and enjoyment.
Keep a few small pleasures in each day, too: a short walk, a favourite podcast, a quiet cup of tea. They’re what stops the first week back from swallowing you whole.
What about your heart, and the people you love?
Holidays stir things up. You may come home full and happy, or tired of being with people, or a little lonely now the house is quiet. Check in with yourself: how am I feeling? What do I need? Sometimes the answer is an evening with a good book. Sometimes it’s a long chat with a close friend. And if you feel overwhelmed, it’s perfectly all right to ask for professional support.
It’s also a good moment to decide how you’d like to stay close to the people who matter, now that the big gatherings are over. A regular family dinner, a weekend walk with a friend, an uninterrupted conversation with your partner. These ordinary moments feed you more than any feast.
Try this: a gentle reset for your first week
Tell yourself, out loud if it helps: “The holiday was the holiday. Today is a normal day.”
Eat three proper meals, with vegetables at each one, starting with the very next meal.
Drink a large glass of water when you get up, and keep water within reach all day.
Cook one big pot of soup that will give you two or three easy dinners.
Go outside for ten minutes in daylight, every day.
Go to bed half an hour earlier than you did during the holidays.
Choose one small, realistic goal for the coming weeks, not ten. Something you can keep up, such as a walk after lunch or a home-cooked dinner on weekdays.
Stay flexible, too. Some days will go to plan and some won’t. Being able to adapt is a strength, and it often opens the door to something new and unexpectedly lovely. If you’d like help making new habits last beyond January or September, read why change is hard, and how to make healthy habits stick.
Looking after yourself isn’t selfish. It’s necessary. Take from this article what suits you and your life, and leave the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a detox after the holidays?
No. Your body already knows how to clear what it does not need. What helps is simple: regular meals made from real food, plenty of vegetables, enough water, some movement and good sleep. Strict cleanses and fasting days tend to leave you tired, hungry and thinking about food all day.
How long does it take to feel like myself again?
For most people, a few days of normal meals, water, fresh air and earlier nights make a clear difference. Give yourself a week or two to find your rhythm again, and do not judge yourself by the first couple of days.
Should I eat less to make up for what I ate?
No. Skipping meals or eating very little usually leads to cravings and evening snacking, and it keeps the guilt going. Go straight back to your normal meals, starting with the next one, and let your appetite settle by itself.
I feel flat and a little sad after the holidays. Is that normal?
Yes, it is very common. The house is quiet again, the days are ordinary and you may be short of sleep. Be gentle with yourself, get outside in daylight, plan one thing to look forward to and talk to someone you trust.
When should I talk to my doctor?
If bloating, stomach pain or a change in your digestion lasts longer than a couple of weeks, or if you have strong pain, unexplained weight loss or blood in your stools, see your doctor. Do the same if tiredness or low mood does not lift, or if you feel you cannot cope.
Would you like some help?
Finding your own rhythm with food again, without diets and without guilt, is at the heart of my group programmes in nutrition and health, such as Six Tuesdays in Montignac. If you’d like to hear when the next group starts, send me a note at hello@catherinepolet.coach.
Would you rather have someone by your side, just for you? I also coach one to one, online. Book a free 20-minute call, and tell me how you’d like to feel a few weeks from now. We’ll find the first small step together.
About Catherine
I’m Catherine Polet, a holistic nutrition health coach, yoga and autogenic training teacher for more than 30 years, author and speaker. I help people find a way of eating and living that suits their own body, online in English, French, Spanish and German, and in person in Southwest France.
