The summer leaves its mark on the body beyond the tan. Violeta Kushkyan, nutrition specialist at ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea, explains it from what happens inside: “During the summer there is an increase in meals eaten outside the home, in alcohol consumption and in ultraprocessed foods, while meal and sleep schedules change.” Those changes temporarily affect the composition of the gut microbiota, alter hunger and fullness signals, and promote greater irregularity in daily intake.
September should not be lived as a penitence. “It is a good opportunity to restore regular schedules, improve the quality of the diet and progressively restore healthy habits,” Kushkyan explains. It is not about punishing the body for two months of excess, but about returning the regularity it has lost.
The plan she proposes lasts two weeks and is not at all restrictive. “We are not talking about a detox diet or extreme restrictions. For two weeks we recommend restoring regular schedules, increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and high-quality proteins, reducing alcohol, ultraprocessed foods and added sugar, and ensuring good hydration,” Kushkyan details. That period, she explains, is the time the body needs to re-learn those habits as a routine, something that makes it easier to maintain them afterward.
Why a reset is not the same as a punishment diet
Many people confuse readjusting the diet with restricting it all at once. “A reset aims to reorganize habits; a restrictive diet tries to quickly compensate for excesses,” Kushkyan clarifies. That difference is not just a matter of nuance: it has direct consequences on whether the change is kept or abandoned.
“When we impose very severe restrictions the sense of deprivation increases and it is much more likely to abandon the plan and regain the lost weight. By contrast, a progressive readjustment favors sustainable changes and a better relationship with eating,” Kushkyan explains. The rebound effect that is so feared in September usually stems precisely from trying to correct too quickly what has become disordered for months.
The signals that the body gives at its own pace
The change is not measured only on the scale. “The first signs are usually more regular digestion, less abdominal bloating, greater energy stability throughout the day, better sleep quality, and a more regulated sense of hunger and fullness,” Kushkyan notes. Weight can also stabilize progressively, though it should not be the only indicator that the habits are returning to their course.
Can a two-week plan compensate for two months of excesses? “Two weeks can be enough to recover a solid base and begin to notice improvements by resuming a balanced diet, regular schedules and good hydration,” says Kushkyan. But it is wise to adjust expectations: “We cannot expect to reverse in 14 days the effects of two months of irregular habits.”
More than talking about compensating for the summer excesses, Kushkyan prefers another approach. “These two weeks should be understood as the starting point to recover a healthy routine and, above all, to maintain it in the long term,” she summarizes. The goal is not to erase the summer, but to build on it a foundation that endures for the rest of the year.
Returning to eating with regular schedules, including vegetables and quality protein in each meal and reducing alcohol and ultraprocessed foods are not spectacular gestures, but they are the ones that truly sustain a lasting change. The microbiota, energy, and sleep respond better to consistency than to any drastic crash plan, and that is exactly the principle on which this two-week readjustment is built.
