5 Tips to prevent weight gain on your summer holiday 

By Douglas Pieterse, Co-Founder & Head Personal Trainer
"It may be simple but not always easy"
Summer is here, the sun is shining, it’s time to head off on holidays and enjoy some time away from work with the family. For some, going on a holiday can mean gaining a little bit of extra pudge. But this doesn’t have to be the case, so let’s run through a few simple strategies to help keep you lean, sexy and fit this summer.

Skip Breakfast

Realistically most holidays won’t consist of any high intensity work early in the morning (and 5 minutes does not count), which means you can probably save on those calories from breakfast for later in the day. This allows for you to cut on some of that calorie intake and give you extra time in bed while enjoying your meals without guilt later in the day.

Sleep

Getting adequate sleep is by far one of the most underrated aspects in health and fitness. While you’re on holiday this should be made a priority. Allowing your body to have an adequate amount of rest will allow the stress levels to come down, bringing the cortisol levels that contribute to inflammation and visceral belly fat down with it. Lack of sleep can also affect Ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels poorly in the body potentially leading you to overeat. A bonus, it’s also difficult to eat while you’re sleeping.

Stay Active

No matter where you are, you need to keep moving. Sight-seeing and making sure to do plenty of walking around at your destination keeps you active all day and gives you an additional caloric deficit. I have had clients that visit new cities and start their mornings with a 60minute jog or run allowing them to catch the scenery and stay active. 

 

Holidays with children and the family can also mean plenty of activity in swimming pools chasing after your kids a couple of hours a day. Being active can come in any form, just aim to move around as much as you can during the day. If you feel like you want to put in some additional work, hit up your hotel gym and smash a bodyweight workout. If you need some more help, leave us your email address and we can send you a couple of our favorite bodyweight and hotel gym workouts! 

Limit Alcohol

Alcohol comes with a lot of extra calories, and it can be hard to abstain while you’re away on holiday. Try to keep yourself busy during the day instead of staying at the bar and drink sensibly.

Eat well

Everything in moderation. Enjoy the food you’re eating and avoid having meals out of habit or boredom. Being out of routine could result in you eating different foods and quite often a bit more dessert than normal. This is fine, and realistically you’re not going to grow a belly overnight, just make sure you balance your meals with healthy and tasty meals between. You’ll be sure to maintain that summer body while enjoying yourself. I like seeing what people are up to and I think that post workout selfies do have a place in the training environment.

 

 

Have fun and enjoy your holidays, I hope you all return looking and feeling relaxed, healthy and happy!