French dietitian and nutritionist Coralie Costi has urged people returning from summer holidays to avoid restrictive diets and focus on re-establishing a balanced eating routine. Speaking on the French television program Bonjour ! Avec vous, Costi explained that post-vacation weight gain is often a temporary body fluctuation rather than real weight gain.
She reassured viewers that weight recorded after summer holidays can sometimes drop naturally without taking drastic measures, provided individuals stay hydrated and get enough sleep.
Summer breaks frequently involve ice cream, cocktails, sweet snacks, and late evening meals. Returning to work and school routines presents an opportunity to restore balanced eating habits while still enjoying meals.
Managing Appetite and Energy
Returning to healthy eating does not mean eating less food. Costi emphasized that eating sufficient amounts at mealtimes is essential to prevent intense hunger pangs and unplanned snacking throughout the day.
Sleep plays a fundamental role in regulating appetite. Costi recalled that adequate rest helps regulate the body hormones responsible for hunger and fullness.
In human physiology, sleep deprivation alters ghrelin and leptin levels, the key hormones controlling appetite and satiety. Lack of sleep often increases cravings for high-calorie foods, making dietary discipline harder to maintain.
Balanced meal preparation should also include starchy foods such as pasta, rice, cereals, and legumes. Costi noted that starchy carbohydrates should represent 50 percent of a daily diet to provide the body with essential energy.
Starchy carbohydrates supply complex glucose molecules that the body breaks down slowly, providing sustained physical energy and mental focus during daily work routines.
Avoiding Frustration and Detox Myths
Costi cautioned against demonizing food slips or banning sweet treats entirely. She observed that forbidding specific foods causes people to think about them more frequently.
For individuals accustomed to snacking, Costi recommended keeping filling foods accessible as alternatives to biscuit packets. Options such as chopped fresh fruit or dried fruit offer quick energy while curbing cravings.
Addressing post-summer interest in detox diets to clean the body, Costi stated that the term detox does not exist in medicine. She explained that a healthy human body does not accumulate toxins because the liver performs natural detoxification continuously.
The liver acts as the primary organ for filtering metabolic waste, while healthy kidneys continuously remove water-soluble waste products through urine without requiring external cleansing products.
To support natural organ function, Costi advised eating fiber-rich foods to regulate digestive transit and drinking water to aid the kidneys. For those making detox juices, she recommended using a blender instead of a juice extractor to preserve all natural food fibers.
Juice extractors discard solid pulp and insoluble fiber, leaving concentrated liquid sugars. Blenders retain the entire whole fruit pulp, allowing fiber to slow sugar absorption into the bloodstream and promote healthy digestion.
