July 30, 2025 • 12 mins
Coming home from vacation and feeling bloated? You're not alone. Here's how to navigate vacation weight without guilt or feeling the need to crash diet.
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Kindal Boyle has been a personal trainer for nearly 20 years focusing on women's strength and fitness. She'll teach you how to combine strength training and cardio for a hybrid approach to build the fittest body and life no matter where you are in your fitness journey.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) I gained 2.6 pounds in three days.
That's what we're going to talk about here
because I know I'm not alone.
We all go on vacation.
Well, not all of us go on vacation,
but a lot of us are going on
vacation right now and you might come back
from the vacation, whether it's three days or
a week or two weeks and you're just
going, oh my God, I feel so blah.
(00:23):
How do you navigate that?
What's actually going on?
And then how do you get back to
quote unquote normal?
Well, we're going to break it all down
today.
Before we do, welcome to the Fit Women's
Weekly Podcast.
If this is your first time tuning in,
I hope that you enjoy what you hear.
You decide to go back and listen to
past episodes or of course come back and
listen to future episodes to make sure that
(00:44):
you don't miss out on anything.
Y'all make sure do me a favor.
Subscribe, whether you're watching this on YouTube or
listening on your favorite podcast platform.
Subscribe.
It really does help the channel out a
lot.
It helps me a lot and it gives
me an idea of how many of you
are actually tuning in because most people that
watch and listen to the show aren't actually
subscribed.
So I'd like to get some realistic numbers
(01:06):
of what's going on.
How's our community looking like right now?
So do me a favor right now.
I'm going to pause for three seconds, hit
the subscribe button.
Okay, so let's talk about vacation.
Last week I went on a three day
vacation with my mom down to Amelia Island,
Florida.
It was really such a wonderful treat.
I love getting to hang out with her
(01:27):
and this is a place that we've gone
to for over a decade.
My mom actually goes to a work conference.
It's held at the Ritz Carlton and we've
been going to this conference, like I said,
for over 10 years and it's such a
great opportunity to force myself to slow down.
I don't take my computer.
I just do what I want to do.
I sit by the pool and I force
myself to relax, which is a very hard
(01:48):
thing to do.
But, you know, sometimes it's just what you
got to do.
And that's what happened this past week.
I woke up every single day and I
would go for a beach run.
I do like to start my day off
with some sort of movement.
I knew I wanted to take some time
off and kind of get myself a de
-load from actual gym workouts from lifting heavy
weights.
(02:09):
But I also know that I love a
good beach sunrise.
And last time that we went on this
trip, I actually got to see baby sea
turtles hatching.
And so I had in my head like,
oh my gosh, it's sea turtle season again.
Maybe I'll be able to see that.
So that was part of my drive for
wanting to get out there a little bit
before the sunrise came up to have my
(02:31):
runs.
But also it's just it's my favorite to
have these beach runs and watch the sun
come up, come up over the water.
It is a very spiritual moment for me.
So I started each day with some really
solid exercise.
And then I would relax for most of
the day.
My mom and I would go shopping or
we'd sit by the pool.
And then after dinner, we'd go for another
(02:52):
beach walk.
Now I'm sharing this just because I want
everyone to know like, I'm still being very
active.
I was actually getting more steps on my
vacation than I normally do at home, which
is saying a lot because I'm very active
at home too.
Yet I still came home 2.6 pounds
heavier.
Here's the other thing that I will say.
(03:13):
I knew when I got on that scale
that it was going to be up a
little bit.
I could feel it.
I could feel myself just feeling bloated and
just like blah and inflamed.
Right.
So why the heck would I jump on
the scale in the first place?
Well, because I knew that I'm not alone
in this.
I know that this is something a lot
of us go through when we leave for
vacation.
So I wanted to come back and be
(03:33):
able to report what happened to me and
what how long did it take to quote
unquote get back to normal.
So first off, how does someone gain almost
three pounds in three days?
And that's actually on the lighter side.
I actually thought that it was going to
be a little bit heavier with that than
that.
But again, I did get also a ton
of movement in which did help.
So what went on with my body?
(03:55):
Basically, I was completely off of my routine.
First off, I ate a lot of foods
that obviously I wasn't cooking.
And a lot of them were higher in
sodium than I'm used to.
In fact, we ate at a restaurant called
Salt.
It's one of the restaurants in the Ritz
Carlton.
If you ever get the opportunity, it's delicious.
But it is formed around using different salts
(04:16):
from around the world, flavored differently, and they
don't skip on you.
Their smoked sea salt is one of my
favorites.
It basically tastes like little tiny pieces of
bacon bits put onto your food.
It is delicious.
And then on top of that, I also
had desserts every night.
My mom and I would split dessert with
dinner.
Again, completely guilt free, but that's more sugar
(04:37):
than I'm used to.
So the sodium and the salt or the
sodium and the sugar obviously is going to
cause a little bit more inflammation in my
body.
It's going to cause my body to hold
on to a little bit more water.
And then on top of that, there was
a third nutrition downfall.
I guess you could say.
And that was more alcohol.
I am not normally someone that drinks Monday
(04:59):
through Friday.
I hardly really drink much at all.
I drink about two glasses of wine on
the weekend.
But on vacation, I lived it up.
We had happy hour, which was always some
kind of cocktail.
Delicious espresso martinis.
And then at dinner time, I would have
a glass of wine.
So I was having two drinks per day,
(05:19):
which again, just like sugar and salt is
going to cause inflammation on the body.
It's going to also cause you to be
a little dehydrated, cause you to be a
little bit more bloated than normal.
Right.
And then out on top of that, I
was also literally dehydrated, not just because of
all those three things that I listed, but
I also wasn't drinking as much water as
(05:39):
I'm used to.
So again, we can often relate to that
when we go on vacation.
We're on the move, but we also don't
have access.
At least I didn't staying in a hotel
to a spigot or a water purifier all
the time.
If I walked by a water bottle in
the hallway, they have like shelves of water
bottles.
I would grab one, but I'm used to
drinking close to a gallon of water a
(05:59):
day.
And I was drinking maybe 20 ounces a
day, which is very different than what I'm
used to.
And obviously dehydration is going to play an
effect into how our body holds and stores
water too, or holds onto our body weight.
And then the last factor leading me to
gain a little bit extra weight was sleep.
(06:20):
I am someone who sleeps with a fan
to make noise and in a hotel room.
It was very quiet.
So I found myself waking up a lot
throughout the night, kind of tossing and turning
and sleep in and of itself can cause
a lot of inflammation in the body.
So all of those factors together led me
to feeling a little bloated, being a little
bit more inflamed.
(06:41):
And then when I got home, I was
two and a half pounds heavier than my
quote unquote normal or my average weight.
It's very normal for the body to fluctuate
weight from time to time during the month
up to about seven pounds.
Me personally, I'm pretty solid.
So that's why I'm able to be so
specific in the amount of weight, because I
(07:01):
weighed myself leading up to my vacation so
that I could come back and give you
guys a breakdown of what happened.
And I was the same exact weight every
single day from four days leading up to
my vacation.
So when I came home and I was
up, I'm pretty much able to say, yeah,
that weight gain was from vacation.
Now, notice one thing that I did not
(07:21):
say about it was the fact that I
gained two point six pounds of fat.
That is not what happened.
And that's not what is going to happen
to you when you go on vacation.
Now, I probably would have gained even more
weight had we flown because flying can also
play a huge effect on you and your
body weight.
But we drove and it was only a
three and a half hour drive.
So really not that big of a deal.
(07:42):
So I can't factor that in.
So what happens now or what happened when
I got home?
So I got home on a Saturday, got
myself all unpacked, and I immediately went to
the grocery store because my husband did not
do that while I was gone, which is
fine because he has no idea what to
get.
And I went ahead and restocked our house
(08:03):
like normal for the week.
Instead of just saying, you know what, I'll
get back into my normal routine on Monday.
I got back on Saturday and I got
back to my normal routine right then and
there.
And then on Sunday, I treated it like
a normal day.
I woke up.
I did our meal planning.
I went for a walk like I do
every single Sunday morning and just went right
(08:23):
back into what my body is used to.
And I did make sure to increase my
water so that I could help flush any
extra sodium out, help with the inflammation and
try to get my body back to being
regular as well, because we all know that
sometimes travel can kind of wreak havoc on
your digestive system.
Right.
So I wanted to make sure to do
everything I can to get my not only
(08:46):
my habits back in order, but to also
get my body running back to normal as
normal to.
And so now I got back on the
scale this morning, which I'm recording this on
a Tuesday.
And I am completely back to my pre
vacation trip.
So if you are somebody that comes back
from vacation, you're like, oh my God, how
(09:06):
did I gain five pounds?
You did not gain five pounds of fat.
You gained five pounds of inflammation and dehydration
and sodium weight.
Right.
From just being off of your normal routine.
So the best thing that you can do
for yourself is not beat yourself up over
that.
And then all of a sudden you're kind
of spiraling into having bad habits where you're
like, oh my gosh, I gained five pounds.
(09:27):
So I'm just going to eat crap for
the rest of the week and then I'll
get back on track next week or next
month.
That's what causes people to gain a little
bit extra weight during vacation season.
If you treat it just as what it
is.
Okay, I put on a little bit of
some bloating because I didn't poop for a
couple of days or my sleep was off
(09:48):
or I ate more salt or I drink
more alcohol than normal.
And when you get home, you just jump
right back into your normal routine then and
there.
And within one to three days, you will
be right back to where you are comfortable
being and where you were before everything happened
with your vacation.
So that's the scoop.
(10:08):
That's all it is.
I know that it is nothing crazy, nothing
exciting because it's not crazy and exciting.
I feel fantastic now and I'm looking forward
to the trip.
I have another trip at the end of
August that I'm looking forward to.
I'm not going to do any special prep
work.
I'm not going to diet for it.
I'm not going to go on any special
(10:29):
diet to recover from the three day trip
that I just went on.
I treat my body like I always have
and I get right back to my normal
routine, which is my workouts, which y'all
it has been so hot because we are
in a heat advisory right now.
I am prioritizing my protein like I always
do getting at least 125 grams per day.
(10:50):
I prioritize getting an electrolyte because it is
so hot right now.
I really make sure to give my body
what it needs to not only drink water,
but to then hold on to that water
and go into my muscles and into my
cells so that I don't have to worry
about dehydration.
And then I am making sure to drink
plenty of water.
I'm really aiming for that gallon per day
(11:11):
because I'm sweating so much right now, but
that's what I would be drinking regardless whether
I'd gone out of town or not.
So hopefully this is helpful for you.
If you are kind of beating yourself up
or you have ever beat yourself up about
how you feel when you get back from
vacation, don't sweat it.
Start tomorrow living life like you normally do.
(11:34):
Don't push it off and use that excuse
of I'm just going to do vacation food
for a couple more days or I'm you
know, I've already treated my body like crap.
I'm going to treat my body like crap.
I'm not going to start working out again
until next week.
Again, those are the things that spirals us
into creating bad habits where then we do
(11:55):
start to see our body composition changing a
little bit more and more.
But otherwise, you got nothing to worry about.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Ask them down in the comments and we
can answer them in Friday's podcast or I
can always do little shorts to make them
like very specific and catchy.
But I would love to hear what's on
your mind and how I can better help
(12:15):
you to make sure that you don't miss
out on those videos and getting your questions.
And so make sure that you subscribe to
the podcast again, whether it is YouTube or
on your favorite podcast platform.
Go ahead, subscribe and I will be back
next time or next week for a full
new episode.
But again, if I get questions, I will
(12:35):
do shorter episodes on this Friday.
Sounds good.
All right.
Thanks, guys.
Bye.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) I gained 2.6 pounds in three days.
That's what we're going to talk about here
because I know I'm not alone.
We all go on vacation.
Well, not all of us go on vacation,
but a lot of us are going on
vacation right now and you might come back
from the vacation, whether it's three days or
a week or two weeks and you're just
going, oh my God, I feel so blah.
(00:23):
How do you navigate that?
What's actually going on?
And then how do you get back to
quote unquote normal?
Well, we're going to break it all down
today.
Before we do, welcome to the Fit Women's
Weekly Podcast.
If this is your first time tuning in,
I hope that you enjoy what you hear.
You decide to go back and listen to
past episodes or of course come back and
listen to future episodes to make sure that
(00:44):
you don't miss out on anything.
Y'all make sure do me a favor.
Subscribe, whether you're watching this on YouTube or
listening on your favorite podcast platform.
Subscribe.
It really does help the channel out a
lot.
It helps me a lot and it gives
me an idea of how many of you
are actually tuning in because most people that
watch and listen to the show aren't actually
subscribed.
So I'd like to get some realistic numbers
(01:06):
of what's going on.
How's our community looking like right now?
So do me a favor right now.
I'm going to pause for three seconds, hit
the subscribe button.
Okay, so let's talk about vacation.
Last week I went on a three day
vacation with my mom down to Amelia Island,
Florida.
It was really such a wonderful treat.
I love getting to hang out with her
(01:27):
and this is a place that we've gone
to for over a decade.
My mom actually goes to a work conference.
It's held at the Ritz Carlton and we've
been going to this conference, like I said,
for over 10 years and it's such a
great opportunity to force myself to slow down.
I don't take my computer.
I just do what I want to do.
I sit by the pool and I force
myself to relax, which is a very hard
(01:48):
thing to do.
But, you know, sometimes it's just what you
got to do.
And that's what happened this past week.
I woke up every single day and I
would go for a beach run.
I do like to start my day off
with some sort of movement.
I knew I wanted to take some time
off and kind of get myself a de
-load from actual gym workouts from lifting heavy
weights.
(02:09):
But I also know that I love a
good beach sunrise.
And last time that we went on this
trip, I actually got to see baby sea
turtles hatching.
And so I had in my head like,
oh my gosh, it's sea turtle season again.
Maybe I'll be able to see that.
So that was part of my drive for
wanting to get out there a little bit
before the sunrise came up to have my
(02:31):
runs.
But also it's just it's my favorite to
have these beach runs and watch the sun
come up, come up over the water.
It is a very spiritual moment for me.
So I started each day with some really
solid exercise.
And then I would relax for most of
the day.
My mom and I would go shopping or
we'd sit by the pool.
And then after dinner, we'd go for another
(02:52):
beach walk.
Now I'm sharing this just because I want
everyone to know like, I'm still being very
active.
I was actually getting more steps on my
vacation than I normally do at home, which
is saying a lot because I'm very active
at home too.
Yet I still came home 2.6 pounds
heavier.
Here's the other thing that I will say.
(03:13):
I knew when I got on that scale
that it was going to be up a
little bit.
I could feel it.
I could feel myself just feeling bloated and
just like blah and inflamed.
Right.
So why the heck would I jump on
the scale in the first place?
Well, because I knew that I'm not alone
in this.
I know that this is something a lot
of us go through when we leave for
vacation.
So I wanted to come back and be
(03:33):
able to report what happened to me and
what how long did it take to quote
unquote get back to normal.
So first off, how does someone gain almost
three pounds in three days?
And that's actually on the lighter side.
I actually thought that it was going to
be a little bit heavier with that than
that.
But again, I did get also a ton
of movement in which did help.
So what went on with my body?
(03:55):
Basically, I was completely off of my routine.
First off, I ate a lot of foods
that obviously I wasn't cooking.
And a lot of them were higher in
sodium than I'm used to.
In fact, we ate at a restaurant called
Salt.
It's one of the restaurants in the Ritz
Carlton.
If you ever get the opportunity, it's delicious.
But it is formed around using different salts
(04:16):
from around the world, flavored differently, and they
don't skip on you.
Their smoked sea salt is one of my
favorites.
It basically tastes like little tiny pieces of
bacon bits put onto your food.
It is delicious.
And then on top of that, I also
had desserts every night.
My mom and I would split dessert with
dinner.
Again, completely guilt free, but that's more sugar
(04:37):
than I'm used to.
So the sodium and the salt or the
sodium and the sugar obviously is going to
cause a little bit more inflammation in my
body.
It's going to cause my body to hold
on to a little bit more water.
And then on top of that, there was
a third nutrition downfall.
I guess you could say.
And that was more alcohol.
I am not normally someone that drinks Monday
(04:59):
through Friday.
I hardly really drink much at all.
I drink about two glasses of wine on
the weekend.
But on vacation, I lived it up.
We had happy hour, which was always some
kind of cocktail.
Delicious espresso martinis.
And then at dinner time, I would have
a glass of wine.
So I was having two drinks per day,
(05:19):
which again, just like sugar and salt is
going to cause inflammation on the body.
It's going to also cause you to be
a little dehydrated, cause you to be a
little bit more bloated than normal.
Right.
And then out on top of that, I
was also literally dehydrated, not just because of
all those three things that I listed, but
I also wasn't drinking as much water as
(05:39):
I'm used to.
So again, we can often relate to that
when we go on vacation.
We're on the move, but we also don't
have access.
At least I didn't staying in a hotel
to a spigot or a water purifier all
the time.
If I walked by a water bottle in
the hallway, they have like shelves of water
bottles.
I would grab one, but I'm used to
drinking close to a gallon of water a
(05:59):
day.
And I was drinking maybe 20 ounces a
day, which is very different than what I'm
used to.
And obviously dehydration is going to play an
effect into how our body holds and stores
water too, or holds onto our body weight.
And then the last factor leading me to
gain a little bit extra weight was sleep.
(06:20):
I am someone who sleeps with a fan
to make noise and in a hotel room.
It was very quiet.
So I found myself waking up a lot
throughout the night, kind of tossing and turning
and sleep in and of itself can cause
a lot of inflammation in the body.
So all of those factors together led me
to feeling a little bloated, being a little
bit more inflamed.
(06:41):
And then when I got home, I was
two and a half pounds heavier than my
quote unquote normal or my average weight.
It's very normal for the body to fluctuate
weight from time to time during the month
up to about seven pounds.
Me personally, I'm pretty solid.
So that's why I'm able to be so
specific in the amount of weight, because I
(07:01):
weighed myself leading up to my vacation so
that I could come back and give you
guys a breakdown of what happened.
And I was the same exact weight every
single day from four days leading up to
my vacation.
So when I came home and I was
up, I'm pretty much able to say, yeah,
that weight gain was from vacation.
Now, notice one thing that I did not
(07:21):
say about it was the fact that I
gained two point six pounds of fat.
That is not what happened.
And that's not what is going to happen
to you when you go on vacation.
Now, I probably would have gained even more
weight had we flown because flying can also
play a huge effect on you and your
body weight.
But we drove and it was only a
three and a half hour drive.
So really not that big of a deal.
(07:42):
So I can't factor that in.
So what happens now or what happened when
I got home?
So I got home on a Saturday, got
myself all unpacked, and I immediately went to
the grocery store because my husband did not
do that while I was gone, which is
fine because he has no idea what to
get.
And I went ahead and restocked our house
(08:03):
like normal for the week.
Instead of just saying, you know what, I'll
get back into my normal routine on Monday.
I got back on Saturday and I got
back to my normal routine right then and
there.
And then on Sunday, I treated it like
a normal day.
I woke up.
I did our meal planning.
I went for a walk like I do
every single Sunday morning and just went right
(08:23):
back into what my body is used to.
And I did make sure to increase my
water so that I could help flush any
extra sodium out, help with the inflammation and
try to get my body back to being
regular as well, because we all know that
sometimes travel can kind of wreak havoc on
your digestive system.
Right.
So I wanted to make sure to do
everything I can to get my not only
(08:46):
my habits back in order, but to also
get my body running back to normal as
normal to.
And so now I got back on the
scale this morning, which I'm recording this on
a Tuesday.
And I am completely back to my pre
vacation trip.
So if you are somebody that comes back
from vacation, you're like, oh my God, how
(09:06):
did I gain five pounds?
You did not gain five pounds of fat.
You gained five pounds of inflammation and dehydration
and sodium weight.
Right.
From just being off of your normal routine.
So the best thing that you can do
for yourself is not beat yourself up over
that.
And then all of a sudden you're kind
of spiraling into having bad habits where you're
like, oh my gosh, I gained five pounds.
(09:27):
So I'm just going to eat crap for
the rest of the week and then I'll
get back on track next week or next
month.
That's what causes people to gain a little
bit extra weight during vacation season.
If you treat it just as what it
is.
Okay, I put on a little bit of
some bloating because I didn't poop for a
couple of days or my sleep was off
(09:48):
or I ate more salt or I drink
more alcohol than normal.
And when you get home, you just jump
right back into your normal routine then and
there.
And within one to three days, you will
be right back to where you are comfortable
being and where you were before everything happened
with your vacation.
So that's the scoop.
(10:08):
That's all it is.
I know that it is nothing crazy, nothing
exciting because it's not crazy and exciting.
I feel fantastic now and I'm looking forward
to the trip.
I have another trip at the end of
August that I'm looking forward to.
I'm not going to do any special prep
work.
I'm not going to diet for it.
I'm not going to go on any special
(10:29):
diet to recover from the three day trip
that I just went on.
I treat my body like I always have
and I get right back to my normal
routine, which is my workouts, which y'all
it has been so hot because we are
in a heat advisory right now.
I am prioritizing my protein like I always
do getting at least 125 grams per day.
(10:50):
I prioritize getting an electrolyte because it is
so hot right now.
I really make sure to give my body
what it needs to not only drink water,
but to then hold on to that water
and go into my muscles and into my
cells so that I don't have to worry
about dehydration.
And then I am making sure to drink
plenty of water.
I'm really aiming for that gallon per day
(11:11):
because I'm sweating so much right now, but
that's what I would be drinking regardless whether
I'd gone out of town or not.
So hopefully this is helpful for you.
If you are kind of beating yourself up
or you have ever beat yourself up about
how you feel when you get back from
vacation, don't sweat it.
Start tomorrow living life like you normally do.
(11:34):
Don't push it off and use that excuse
of I'm just going to do vacation food
for a couple more days or I'm you
know, I've already treated my body like crap.
I'm going to treat my body like crap.
I'm not going to start working out again
until next week.
Again, those are the things that spirals us
into creating bad habits where then we do
(11:55):
start to see our body composition changing a
little bit more and more.
But otherwise, you got nothing to worry about.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Ask them down in the comments and we
can answer them in Friday's podcast or I
can always do little shorts to make them
like very specific and catchy.
But I would love to hear what's on
your mind and how I can better help
(12:15):
you to make sure that you don't miss
out on those videos and getting your questions.
And so make sure that you subscribe to
the podcast again, whether it is YouTube or
on your favorite podcast platform.
Go ahead, subscribe and I will be back
next time or next week for a full
new episode.
But again, if I get questions, I will
(12:35):
do shorter episodes on this Friday.
Sounds good.
All right.
Thanks, guys.
Bye.
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