As mentioned previously, I believe that holidays are for holidaying, that means you may want to relax a little with your nutrition programme. However, it is still advised that you follow the 80/20 rule, this works really well when away. Eating on holiday also ties into spending time chilling out with family and friends; on holiday you will eat and prepare your meals as a group or family; how often does that happen at home? Obviously this is easier when staying in a villa or gité where you can prepare many of your own meals; but when eating in hotels and restaurants you just have to have a little will power and make sensible choices. If you wouldn’t normally have a three course meal at lunch and dinner then being on holiday isn’t really an excuse to start.
Being in a different country is a fantastic opportunity to try different foods and immerse yourself in different cultures. If you are near the coast you should try the array of fresh fish on offer (just think about the healthy omega 3 oils, we keep being told about), I’ve tried sardines for the first time and really enjoyed them; I was put off fish at an early age by my mum frying kippers. Take the opportunity to try local specialities and get plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and salads.
I’m currently in France on the outskirts of a village in the Vendee. We have eaten lunch and dinner as a family every day, taking it in turns to prepare the meal (breakfasts are taken at leisure dependant upon when you wake up). Most lunch times we have been having bread with a mixture of local cheese, meats and a large salad. I’m away with people who normally feel bloated and uncomfortable when eating bread, but they are not here. I go to the local boulangerie each morning to buy fresh baguettes (they do not stay fresh for longer than 24 hours because they have no additives or preservatives in). I have spoken to the shop owner who explained that everything is prepared and baked fresh every morning; her husband gets up at 3am to get started; he also prepares a vast array of pastries and individual cakes (very tasty), all from scratch with nothing added, even preparing his own Chantilly cream. She told me all ingredients are sourced locally and the flour they use for their products comes from a local mill.
The fact that the flour used isn’t heavily processed and the bread is baked fresh every morning could be the reason why it isn’t causing them a problem. I have spoken to many trainers that have also noticed the same with their clients when eating fresh local breads. Two of my clients have told me that eating chapattis in England can make them feel uncomfortable, even when preparing them freshly; but when visiting India they have no problems at all. They explained that part of the culture is to take your own wheat to the mill to be ground to use for baking. I often point out that the more processed a food is, the less likely your body will recognise it as a food and you may suffer adverse reactions to eating it.
I know a married couple who when ever they travel one of them puts on weight and the other loses weight. They eat in the same proportions and quantities that they do at home while maintaining their weight; but they still manage to slide in opposite directions on the body fat scale when on holiday. There are many factors that could contribute to this, which I will go into in more detail in later posts. The important thing to remember is that we are all different not just on the outside but also on the inside. The way we react to different foods depends on our biochemical make up; this is why some people feel bloated after bread (I’m not meaning to pick on bread, but it’s the food most people have had a reaction to at some point in their lives), yet their partners don’t. To learn more about this read Biochemical Individuality
by Roger J. Williams and The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott.
One of the easiest ways to consume too many calories is with liquids. We know that beers, soft drinks and wines are reasonably high in calories but they get knocked off the scale by most holiday cocktails, which are designed to make you drink more. Having a few cocktails next to the pool at lunchtime, a refreshing soft drink mid-afternoon and a bottle of wine to share with your meal can add up to your recommended daily calorie intake before you have even counted the food you have had.
As I’ve said holidays are for holidaying and you should enjoy your break, but if your goal is fat loss you should try to limit the damage done by the phrase “it’s alright I’m on holiday, I don’t have these at home”. I once read a cheesy line that sums this up, “we sacrifice what we want most for what we want at the moment” (I can’t remember where I read it but feel it portrays attitudes towards holiday eating really well).
Here are some quick guidelines for surviving your holiday without putting on the average 10lbs in 2 weeks:
Try new activities, don’t just spend time lying on the beach. Have a walk down the coast, try the water sports, actually go in the sea and have a swim, jumping through waves is great fun and fantastic for your legs and core strength.
When eating out, it is not obligatory to have three courses just because you’re on holiday.
When eating your meals, start with the meats, then the vegetables and finish with the carbohydrates; remembering to focus on the meal, savouring the flavours and most importantly stopping eating when full.
Limit liquid calories in the daytime, use the time on the beach and by the pool as an opportunity to rehydrate and drink plenty of good quality mineral water. If you really fancy a cocktail, use it as a treat and only have one.
If you can’t stick to these simple guidelines remember that you will have to put some serious work in when you return home just to get back to where you were before you went (10lbs can take 10 weeks if you don’t follow an effective plan).
Be strong, eat clean,
Darren Checkley
Being in a different country is a fantastic opportunity to try different foods and immerse yourself in different cultures. If you are near the coast you should try the array of fresh fish on offer (just think about the healthy omega 3 oils, we keep being told about), I’ve tried sardines for the first time and really enjoyed them; I was put off fish at an early age by my mum frying kippers. Take the opportunity to try local specialities and get plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and salads.
I’m currently in France on the outskirts of a village in the Vendee. We have eaten lunch and dinner as a family every day, taking it in turns to prepare the meal (breakfasts are taken at leisure dependant upon when you wake up). Most lunch times we have been having bread with a mixture of local cheese, meats and a large salad. I’m away with people who normally feel bloated and uncomfortable when eating bread, but they are not here. I go to the local boulangerie each morning to buy fresh baguettes (they do not stay fresh for longer than 24 hours because they have no additives or preservatives in). I have spoken to the shop owner who explained that everything is prepared and baked fresh every morning; her husband gets up at 3am to get started; he also prepares a vast array of pastries and individual cakes (very tasty), all from scratch with nothing added, even preparing his own Chantilly cream. She told me all ingredients are sourced locally and the flour they use for their products comes from a local mill.
The fact that the flour used isn’t heavily processed and the bread is baked fresh every morning could be the reason why it isn’t causing them a problem. I have spoken to many trainers that have also noticed the same with their clients when eating fresh local breads. Two of my clients have told me that eating chapattis in England can make them feel uncomfortable, even when preparing them freshly; but when visiting India they have no problems at all. They explained that part of the culture is to take your own wheat to the mill to be ground to use for baking. I often point out that the more processed a food is, the less likely your body will recognise it as a food and you may suffer adverse reactions to eating it.
I know a married couple who when ever they travel one of them puts on weight and the other loses weight. They eat in the same proportions and quantities that they do at home while maintaining their weight; but they still manage to slide in opposite directions on the body fat scale when on holiday. There are many factors that could contribute to this, which I will go into in more detail in later posts. The important thing to remember is that we are all different not just on the outside but also on the inside. The way we react to different foods depends on our biochemical make up; this is why some people feel bloated after bread (I’m not meaning to pick on bread, but it’s the food most people have had a reaction to at some point in their lives), yet their partners don’t. To learn more about this read Biochemical Individuality
by Roger J. Williams and The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott.One of the easiest ways to consume too many calories is with liquids. We know that beers, soft drinks and wines are reasonably high in calories but they get knocked off the scale by most holiday cocktails, which are designed to make you drink more. Having a few cocktails next to the pool at lunchtime, a refreshing soft drink mid-afternoon and a bottle of wine to share with your meal can add up to your recommended daily calorie intake before you have even counted the food you have had.
As I’ve said holidays are for holidaying and you should enjoy your break, but if your goal is fat loss you should try to limit the damage done by the phrase “it’s alright I’m on holiday, I don’t have these at home”. I once read a cheesy line that sums this up, “we sacrifice what we want most for what we want at the moment” (I can’t remember where I read it but feel it portrays attitudes towards holiday eating really well).
Here are some quick guidelines for surviving your holiday without putting on the average 10lbs in 2 weeks:
Try new activities, don’t just spend time lying on the beach. Have a walk down the coast, try the water sports, actually go in the sea and have a swim, jumping through waves is great fun and fantastic for your legs and core strength.
When eating out, it is not obligatory to have three courses just because you’re on holiday.
When eating your meals, start with the meats, then the vegetables and finish with the carbohydrates; remembering to focus on the meal, savouring the flavours and most importantly stopping eating when full.
Limit liquid calories in the daytime, use the time on the beach and by the pool as an opportunity to rehydrate and drink plenty of good quality mineral water. If you really fancy a cocktail, use it as a treat and only have one.
If you can’t stick to these simple guidelines remember that you will have to put some serious work in when you return home just to get back to where you were before you went (10lbs can take 10 weeks if you don’t follow an effective plan).
Be strong, eat clean,
Darren Checkley
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