Anel and I try to live a pretty healthy lifestyle, but historically, when we would go on vacation, it has been balls to the wall and we would just go overboard with eating and drinking and not taking care of our bodies.

He has always been good about getting his workouts in at least, but I would often forego them, promising myself to do one tomorrow… but would never get around to it.

That was all fun and games until we would get home and I’d feel like garbage for days and it would take at least a week to get back on track.

So this summer, we’ve been trying a new approach that makes vacation recovery easier but doesn’t feel so restrictive so that we can’t enjoy ourselves. As always, we try to follow our 80/20 rule so we treat the guidelines below as just that: Guidelines and not rules.

Lilly Pulitzer One-Piece / Vineyard Vines Striped Bikini Top & Bottom c/o

Food: It’s easy to over-indulge on ice cream, fried beach shack food, and other unhealthy junk when you aren’t cooking for yourself so I came up with a rule this summer that both allows us to enjoy our favorite summer foods and ensures that we aren’t going to bed feeling overstuffed and yucky: Indulge in one unhealthy food a day, and only eat if you really really want it.

For example, I knew I wanted a dairy-free ice cream cone in Newport the other night night so I kept it clean for the rest of the day. It was so worth it when I made it to my cone! But then yesterday I had banana pancakes for breakfast and skipped bread and dessert at dinner. When we stick to this rule but when we stick to it, we feel a whole lot better and also appreciate the one treat each day.

Our second food rules is that we have to have raw greens at least once a day whether that is in a salad or green juice. Something about raw leafy greens just makes me feel so good and clean.

Drinking: One of my main problems on vacation is that I tend to drink more than usual. IMO there’s nothing wrong with that, and I think it’s a good thing to let loose once in a while! But because of my insomnia, it affects my sleep in a major way, and when I have more than two glasses of wine, I wake up exhausted and with a headache every single time. That feeling is never worth it, especially when I have to wake up at the crack of dawn with a very energetic toddler.

I’m a lightweight so your limit might be higher than mine, but the general rule of thumb is know your limit and don’t cross the threshold. I may have liked spending vacations hungover in my 20s but gone are those days now!

Exercise: I followed this rule during pregnancy and it works for vacation too: Move your body every single day whether that means hitting the gym, going for a run, walking along a beach, swimming a few laps, or even just doing 20 sit ups. I don’t have much more to say on this except just do it. No excuses.

Lifestyle: I’m a planner and very type A, so when I let go of control a little on vacation and try to go with the flow and see where our days take us, I often end up having the best days. We’re always on somewhat of a schedule when traveling with Amalia so that keeps us in check, but it’s been nice this summer to not plan out our vacation days as much as we used to.

So there you have it! Four simple rules that have truly improved our quality of life on vacation and definitely make a difference when we get home. How do you stay healthy on vacay?

Photos by Julia Dags.