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Welcome to Issue 29 of My Newsletter.

It is summer.

For many people, that means holidays, travel, school breaks, disrupted routines, different food environments, less structured training, more social eating, and a little more time away from normal life.

For some clients and athletes, this creates anxiety.

They worry about losing progress.

They worry that a week away will undo months of work.

They worry that eating differently will reverse their body composition progress.

They worry that not training normally will mean losing fitness, strength, or momentum.

They worry about “falling off track.”

And sometimes practitioners reinforce this anxiety without meaning to.

We build plans around consistency, structure, and progress.
We encourage habits, routines, and accountability.
We help people take their goals seriously.

That matters.

But if we are not careful, we can accidentally teach people that progress only exists when life is perfectly controlled.

And that is not a very useful lesson.

The bigger picture matters

A holiday is not usually the problem.

The bigger issue is how someone thinks about the holiday.

If a client sees one week away as failure, they may become anxious, rigid, guilty, or unnecessarily restrictive.

If they see it as permission to abandon all self-care, they may return feeling worse than they needed to.

Neither extreme is especially helpful.

The goal is not to turn a holiday into a performance camp.

But it is also not to pretend choices do not matter.

The better approach is perspective.

What is the purpose of the holiday?
What matters most during this period?
What needs protecting?
What can be relaxed?
What is the minimum effective structure?
How will they return to normal afterwards?

That is the kind of conversation many clients need.

Not panic.

Not perfection.

Perspective.

A week away rarely ruins anything

For most people, one holiday does not undo months of progress.

A week of lower training volume does not erase a strength base.

A few meals out do not destroy a fat-loss journey.

A short break from tracking does not mean someone has failed.

A temporary change in body weight after travel, restaurant food, alcohol, heat, salt, carbohydrate intake, or disrupted sleep is not the same as meaningful fat gain.

Of course, choices still matter.

A week of extreme overconsumption, poor sleep, excessive alcohol, and no movement may leave someone feeling flat, uncomfortable, and frustrated.

But the answer is not fear.

The answer is a better plan.

Not a rigid plan.

A realistic plan.

Something that helps the person enjoy the holiday without abandoning the behaviours that make them feel good.

Maintenance is not failure

One of the most useful messages practitioners can give clients is this:

Maintenance is not failure.

Not every week needs to be a progress week.

Some weeks are for pushing.
Some are for consolidating.
Some are for recovering.
Some are for protecting the minimum.
Some are for living.

If a client has been dieting for months, a holiday may not be the time to chase aggressive fat loss.

If an athlete has been training hard, a week of reduced structure may help them recover.

If a busy professional is mentally exhausted, a break may support the very consistency they need when they return.

In long-term behaviour change, maintenance is a skill.

Being able to go away, enjoy life, avoid extremes, and return to routine is not a setback.

It is progress.

The goal is not to be perfect on holiday

A good holiday plan should not try to recreate the normal plan perfectly.

That misses the point.

The goal is to decide what matters enough to keep.

For some clients, that may be:

Eating protein at most meals.
Staying hydrated.
Walking daily.
Keeping breakfast fairly consistent.
Managing alcohol sensibly.
Enjoying meals without turning every meal into an event.
Doing two short training sessions.
Taking a break from tracking.
Returning to normal eating the day after they get home.

For others, the priority may be psychological rather than nutritional.

Relax.
Sleep.
Reconnect with family.
Stop weighing food.
Stop checking the scale.
Trust the work already done.
Practise flexibility.

The right plan depends on the person.

For one person, a loose structure protects confidence.

For another, too much structure destroys the point of the break.

That is why the practitioner’s role is not simply to say:

“Stay on plan.”

It is to help define what “on plan” should mean in this context.

Protect the return

One of the most important parts of holiday planning is not the holiday itself.

It is the return.

Many people do not struggle because they had a holiday.

They struggle because they return without a landing plan.

They get home tired.
There is no food in the house.
Work restarts immediately.
Sleep is disrupted.
Training feels harder.
The scale is up.
They feel guilty.
They delay restarting.
One week becomes three.

This is where a small amount of planning can make a big difference.

What is the first normal meal back?
When is the first training session?
What groceries need ordering?
What happens if body weight is temporarily up?
What is the first simple action?
When does the normal routine resume?

A holiday plan should include the re-entry.

Not because people need to be controlled.

Because returning well protects momentum.

Figure 29. The Holiday Perspective Plan. Good holiday nutrition is not about perfection. It is about deciding what to protect, what to relax, and how to return well.

Training breaks are not always losses

The same perspective applies to training.

Many recreational athletes and fitness clients worry that a short break will make them lose everything.

In reality, a short period of reduced training may be neutral or even beneficial, especially if the person has been pushing hard.

Of course, detraining can happen over time.

But a week away from normal training is not the same as starting again.

Sometimes the body benefits from reduced load.

Joints recover.
Motivation returns.
Sleep improves.
Stress drops.
Minor aches settle.
The person remembers why they enjoy training.

That does not mean doing nothing is always best.

Some people feel better with movement.

Walking, swimming, mobility, short hotel gym sessions, or a simple bodyweight routine may be enough.

The question is not:

How do I maintain my full training programme on holiday?

The better question is:

What level of movement supports the purpose of this break?

For many people, that is a much healthier question.

Practitioners need this perspective too

This is not only a client issue.

Practitioners need holidays as well.

Nutritionists, coaches, fitness professionals, educators, and performance practitioners often struggle to switch off.

They answer emails by the pool.
They take calls during family time.
They check client messages late at night.
They feel guilty for not being available.
They worry that clients will drift without them.
They tell themselves they are “just keeping on top of things.”

Sometimes that may be necessary.

But often, it is a sign that the practitioner has not built enough structure around their own availability.

A practitioner who can never disconnect is not necessarily more committed.

They may simply be operating without boundaries.

And over time, that has a cost.

Attention suffers.
Family time suffers.
Recovery suffers.
Creativity suffers.
Decision-making suffers.
Enjoyment suffers.
The work suffers.

A well-rested practitioner is usually a better practitioner.

Not just a happier one.

A better one.

Clients should not depend on constant access

There is also a professional development point here.

If clients cannot manage for a week without immediate access to you, that may reveal something useful.

Have they been supported to become more capable?

Do they know what to do when routine changes?

Do they have clear fallback options?

Do they understand the principles?

Do they know when something is urgent and when it can wait?

Do they have enough autonomy?

Good practice is not about making clients dependent on the practitioner forever.

It is about helping them develop confidence, skills, and judgement.

That means holidays can become a useful test of the system.

Not a test of whether the client can be perfect.

A test of whether they have enough structure to manage real life.

Prepare before you disappear

Prior preparation prevents many problems.

For clients, that might mean:

Agreeing the holiday goal.
Setting realistic expectations.
Creating simple nutrition anchors.
Planning a return routine.
Discussing likely weight fluctuations.
Removing unnecessary guilt.
Choosing flexible movement options.
Deciding what not to worry about.

For practitioners, it might mean:

Telling clients when you will be unavailable.
Explaining what counts as urgent.
Scheduling check-ins before and after the break.
Providing a simple holiday guide.
Creating fallback options.
Setting email boundaries.
Preparing an out-of-office reply.
Protecting actual time off.

This is not about being unavailable or uncaring.

It is about being organised.

A good practitioner does not need to be constantly accessible to be effective.

They need to create support that works even when they are not immediately present.

The danger of all-or-nothing thinking

Holiday anxiety often comes from all-or-nothing thinking.

Either I am on plan or off plan.
Either I train properly or not at all.
Either I track everything or I have failed.
Either I make progress or I go backwards.
Either I am available to clients or I am letting them down.

But real life requires more flexible categories.

Maintenance.
Reduced structure.
Minimum effective action.
Recovery.
Planned flexibility.
Return routines.
Boundaries.
Trust.

These are not signs of poor commitment.

They are signs of maturity.

The person who can only make progress in perfect conditions is fragile.

The person who can adapt, maintain perspective, and return well is much more likely to succeed over time.

The long-term view

Most meaningful goals are not decided by one holiday.

Body composition.
Performance.
Health.
Fitness.
Strength.
Confidence.
Professional reputation.
Practitioner development.

These are built over months and years.

That does not mean individual weeks are irrelevant.

But it does mean they need to be interpreted in proportion.

One week is not everything.

One holiday is not everything.

One disrupted routine is not everything.

The bigger question is:

What does this person usually do?

Do they return to routine?
Do they have consistency across the year?
Do they recover when needed?
Do they avoid extremes?
Do they keep moving forward?
Do they maintain a healthy relationship with the process?

That is where progress lives.

Not in never breaking routine.

But in knowing how to return to it.

Applied Practice Takeaways

Before a holiday, ask:

1. What is the purpose of this break?​
Rest, family time, travel, celebration, recovery, or simply a change of environment may matter more than perfect routine.

2. What should be protected?​
Protein, hydration, movement, sleep, medication, supplements, meal structure, or a few simple anchors may be enough.

3. What can be relaxed?​
Not everything needs to be controlled. Decide what does not need attention for this short period.

4. What is the return plan?​
The first shop, first meal, first training session, and first normal routine matter.

5. What is the bigger picture?​
A short break should be judged against months of behaviour, not against the anxiety of a single week.

The practical point

A holiday should not undo your perspective.

For clients, it can be a chance to practise flexibility, maintenance, recovery, and return.

For athletes, it can protect freshness, motivation, and long-term consistency.

For practitioners, it can be a reminder that rest, boundaries, and recovery are part of professional sustainability.

Progress is not built by never taking breaks.

It is built by knowing what matters, protecting the essentials, relaxing what can be relaxed, and returning well.

That is true for clients.

And it is true for practitioners too.

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To better practice,
​Dr Laurent Bannock