By Stephanie Valentine, BA, CNP, MHWC · 6 minute read · Updated October 1, 2026
A weekend on the couch rarely refills the tank. Holistic nutritionist Stephanie Valentine on the four things that do, and how to fit them in.
By the time the Harvest Moon came up last weekend, we had lost count of how many times we'd said it: there's nowhere else in the world we'd rather be. Ontario autumn was showing off, and my photo grid can prove it.
I went into that weekend running on empty after a hard stretch, with one job on my list: recharge. So I dug deep into my own toolbox, and it turned into a real put-my-money-where-my-mouth-is moment.
I worked out and meditated. I sat with my needlepoint, finished my latest book and took a sauna. Every meal was planned before Friday, egg wraps for breakfast included, and we played golf with new friends even though I've been at it for less than a year.
I'm not fully back to neutral. My head is getting there and my body is catching up, but I can feel my cheery, optimistic self seeping back in. When I looked at why that weekend worked, it lined up almost exactly with the research on how to recharge.
The short answer: rest works best when it covers four separate needs, and scrolling on the couch only meets one of them.
If you'd like a structure for getting back to yourself, my Energy Reset walks you through it one small step at a time.
Key takeaways
- Four things refill you: switching off, relaxing, mastery and control (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2007).
- Mastery is a low-stakes challenge you picked for fun, like a hobby you're still learning.
- Planning meals ahead is linked with eating a wider variety of foods (a 2017 study of 40,554 French adults).
- Awe walks, fifteen minutes spent looking for a view that stops you, were linked with more positive emotions in a 2020 UCSF study.
- Busy hands help: frequent knitters were more likely to say they felt calm and happy (2013 survey of 3,500+ knitters).
Why doesn't a lazy weekend leave you feeling rested?
A lazy weekend usually covers relaxing and skips the three other things your mind needs to recover. In 2007, psychologists Sabine Sonnentag and Charlotte Fritz of the University of Konstanz published the https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17638488/ -> "Recovery Experience Questionnaire", still the most widely used tool for studying how people unwind.
Across 930 people, they found four experiences that help us recover:
- Switching off: your head stops circling your obligations.
- Relaxation: your body and nervous system settle.
- Mastery: you learn or take on a challenge, on your own terms.
- Control: you decide how the time gets spent.
Their research looked at paid work, and in my experience the unpaid work of running a household drains the tank just as fast. On the couch, your body rests while your mind keeps flicking back to the grocery list. More on that mental load in "why a too-full plate leaves you tired".
Why would a challenge help you recharge?
Mastery, the feeling of getting a little better at a skill you chose for fun, helps you recover alongside rest. It sounds like the opposite of relaxing, which is why so many of us skip it.
I started golf less than a year ago, so I'm still very much learning. I'm out there for the trees, the company and the game. Nobody's paying me to play, so a bad hit doesn't get to ruin a gorgeous afternoon.
I get excited by a good one, too. If the ball goes up in the air and forward, that's a win in my book.
Keep the stakes low. Start grading yourself and a hobby becomes another performance review. Keep the bar low and your mind gets a place to go that's nowhere near your to-do list.
Can planning meals ahead help you relax?
Planning meals ahead takes a whole category of decisions off your weekend, which frees your mind to switch off. Once Friday evening arrived, there was nothing more for me to think about.
A https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-017-0461-7 -> "2017 study of 40,554 French adults"] in the NutriNet-Santé cohort found meal planners ate a wider variety of foods and followed nutrition guidelines more closely. It's a snapshot, so it shows a link rather than proof.
The easiest way I know to plan is my free dinner.svliving.com -> "What's For Dinner planner". Tell it how much time you have and what's in the fridge, pick a few dinners, and it builds your grocery list.
What's my go-to planned-ahead breakfast?
My egg wrap is the breakfast I plan when I want zero thinking in the morning: fast, easy and filling. I was inspired by the Starbucks egg white wrap, but I use the whole egg.
You can make it with just the whites. Keeping the yolk gives you the whole egg's protein, plus the vitamins that live in the yolk, including A, D, E, K and B12.
It's endlessly customizable, and mine has melty havarti and sundried tomatoes. "Get my 7-minute egg wrap recipe"
What is an awe walk?
An awe walk is an ordinary walk where your only job is to notice a sight that feels vast or new. In a https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/09/418551/awe-walks-boost-emotional-well-being -> "2020 study from the University of California, San Francisco", 60 older adults took a fifteen-minute walk once a week for eight weeks, and half were coached to look for awe.
The awe group reported more positive emotions and less distress in daily life. Everyone took a selfie on each walk, and over time the awe walkers put more of the view in their photos, less of themselves, and smiled bigger.
We had our own awe moment last weekend. We were watching the sunset, turned around to head inside, and caught the moon rising behind us.
Fun fact: the moon only rises around sunset when it's full, because it sits opposite the sun in the sky. Don't get me started on the moon. If you know, you know, and if you don't, send me a message and I'll tell you all about it. You're in good company, since that was me four years ago.
It's one small study, so treat it as a nudge. You don't need a mountain. A big sky at the end of your street or trees turning colour both count. More ideas in forest bathing without a forest".
Is needlepoint or knitting good for your mental health?
Stitching crafts are linked with feeling calmer and happier, especially when you do them often. A https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.4276/030802213X13603244419077 -> "2013 survey of more than 3,500 knitters" in 39 countries found frequent knitters were more likely to feel calm and happy, and knitting in a group added to it. It's a survey, so it shows a link rather than proof.
I've been switching between crochet and needlepoint, and both cover two recovery needs for me at once. My hands are busy enough that my mind stops wandering to the list, and every finished row is a small win.
I'm also far from perfect at either. If you've been in the room while I'm crocheting, you've probably watched me undo a whole project because it was turning into a triangle instead of a rectangle. Starting over in needlepoint is much harder, and I've done it anyway after stitching with the wrong number of wool strands. I laugh every time.
How do you build your own recharge weekend?
Aim to touch all four recovery needs rather than cramming in every activity.
| Recovery need | What it feels like | Easy ways in |
|---|---|---|
| Switching off | Your head stops circling | Meals planned ahead, a good book |
| Relaxation | Your body softens | A guided meditation, a bath or sauna |
| Mastery | A small, chosen challenge | A hobby you're learning, a new recipe |
| Control | Your time is yours | One calendar block nobody else can claim |
Before Saturday, put two things on your calendar: one that switches your head off, and one you're a little bit bad at, since learning with nothing riding on it pulls your mind off the to-do list. On evenings your hands are empty, try my [OFFER LINK: Breath Meditation, 11 min (/products/breath-meditation-11-min) -> "11-minute Breath Meditation"].
FAQs: how to recharge
Q: Why am I still tired after a weekend off? A: Resting your body can leave your mind running the same to-do list. Psychologists Sonnentag and Fritz found four separate recovery experiences: switching off, relaxing, mastery and control. If your time off only covered relaxing, you may feel physically rested but mentally just as full.
Q: What is the fastest way to recharge? A: Pick one activity that switches your head off completely and one that gives you a small, enjoyable challenge. Planning meals ahead removes a whole category of decisions, and a short walk outside while you look for a view that amazes you is a quick, free reset.
Q: Do hobbies help with stress? A: Research suggests they can. A 2013 survey of more than 3,500 knitters linked frequent knitting with feeling calm and happy, and hobbies you're still learning provide what researchers call mastery. Keep the stakes low, since grading yourself turns a hobby into another obligation.
Q: Does meal planning make eating well easier? A: A 2017 study of 40,554 French adults found meal planners ate a wider variety of foods and followed nutrition guidelines more closely. It doesn't prove cause and effect, but deciding meals ahead also clears weekend decisions, which helps your mind switch off.
Q: What if my body still feels tired after I've rested well? A: That's common, and in my experience the body often catches up a little after the mind. Keep sleep, food and gentle movement steady for a few more days. If fatigue lingers for weeks, check in with your healthcare provider.
Start this weekend
You don't have to wait until you're completely empty to refill. Pick one thing that switches your head off and one you're happily average at, plan an egg wrap breakfast, and put it all on the calendar before Saturday.
When you'd like the whole system, with food, recordings and a gentle structure included, the "Energy Reset Program is where I'd start.
About the author
Stephanie Valentine, BA, CNP, MHWC, is a holistic nutritionist, clinical hypnotist and mental health wellness coach, and the author of the award-winning cookbook Love What's On Your Plate. She trained in holistic nutrition at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto, in clinical hypnosis through the University of Toronto's continuing education program, and as a mental health wellness coach through Headspace's coaching program. She also completed Harvard Medical School executive education in Women's Health and Wellness, and writes The Slice, a weekly newsletter for busy midlife women, at SV Living.
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for personalised medical advice.
