So today I am back after 12 days off which was my longest off in a run since I started self employment 4.5years ago. 7 Days of which I spent in an All Inclusive Hotel in Tenerife.

Imagine having the luxury of being able to eat and drink as much as you want? How easy would it be to gain weight!

Wrong I actually lost weight!!! No joke.

Honestly we all love to eat a little extra including a good pudding right or maybe even 2 especially if there is ice-cream.

Well today I am going to share with you some secrets on how I managed to lose weight whilst I drank and ate what I wanted. I think you will be surprised.

Firstly I want to share a few things with you, about me that you will relate too, which have triggered me to write this blog.

Ok so a pattern I have spotted is that everytime I go away no matter how good of intentions I have towards training and eating bang on it doesn’t happen. Now the reality is that my food / way I eat is mostly on point and better than the average person (i don’t mean this in an offensive way).

But I like many others struggle with holidays or time out. I get so frustrated that I have piling on the pounds. So all that hard work I put in before heading off to the sun goes down the pan.

That’s probably why this year I tried a different method. You see over the last few years of going away we generally did all inclusive as it was cheaper especially being a family of 4 and it catered for all of us.

Anyway before I go any further and let you in the guides that I used. I just want you to think about what happened the last time you went away? Did you gain weight if so how much was it?

I’m honestly quite curious to know so drop me an email nick@bodytransformationcentre.com. Actually I’m very ashamed of mine the worst amount was 14lbs in 1 week!! Bet you didn’t think that was possible.

Wrong it is….

I will save that for another blog.

What my the typical meals for a day for me were, now bear in mind I’m used to eating 4 – 5meals per day:

Breakfast: 2 x Eggs, 3 x bacon, 2 x sausage, 1 serving baked beans, 1/4 plate of vegetables (usually roasted peppers), selection of cold meats, 1-2 x piece of fruit. 1- 2 x coffee’s.

Drink: 1ltr water

Lunch: 1/2 Plate of vegetables, 2 x palms of meat (beef/ pork / chicken), gravy, 1 x fist of rice or roast potatoes,

Drink: 1.5 – 2Ltr

Dinner: 1/2 plate of vegetables, 2 x palms of meat (beef/ pork / chicken), gravy, 1/4 plate of rice, 1/2 plate of mixed salad. If i was still hungry after 20mins then I would have a 2nd serving maybe a slice of pizza and some chips. (this then usually stopped me eating pudding) 1 x glass of wine or beer + 1 x glass water.  Desert: jelly, 1 x piece of fruit, or 2 x scoops of ice-cream (some days I didn’t have any as I was satisfied with the meal).

Drink: 500ml water, 3 – 4 alcoholic drinks of choice whilst at the entertainment for the evening.

Now on to the part you have been waiting for.

Food and Drink Guide

1. Load up on your vegetables and I don’t mean potatoes, fill half your plate with them the more colour the better, if it’s salad I would recommend getting a second plate and filling that up as salad is mainly made up of water so will not fill you as easily.
2. Eat 1 – 2 palms of meat or protein source (if you vegetarian) per meal.
3. If you want to drink alcohol limit it to the evening only this will prevent you from getting the munchies or forgetting how much you had through the day.
4. Aim to eat fruit instead of sugar laden foods and precessed foods such as cakes, chocolate and crisps etc
5. Keep fizzy drinks such as cola to a minimum as these will further dehydrate you.
6. Drink plenty of water ideally 2 – 3Ltrs waters dependant on heat/ how much you sweat this might be more.

Training Tips

1. Be as active as possible lots of walking, swimming or if you want relax by the pool its up to you really. The main thing is you still want to relax but also burn a few calories.
2. If you workout keep it short and sweet and to the point such as a body weight workout, intervals, HIIT etc (I will give you an example at the bottom)
3. Try to do a workout daily or every other day. If you have a family this maybe harder so try doing a body weight workout while the kids are in the pool or get in and do some laps yourself or play with them will still expend calories.
4. Don’t stress if you can’t train, if you normally do 5 or 6 sessions a week will those training sessions really make an overall difference if your consistent other than burning a few excess calories.
5. Do some yoga, stretching or treat yourself to a massage to help you relax and recover, these are totally underestimated on their benefits.
6. Most of all enjoy the holiday just don’t over do it.

Body Weight Circuit Example:

Do all the exercises below back to back then rest 1min and repeat until you have done 20mins in total.

10 x Squats

10 x Pressups

10 x Lunges Each Leg

10 x Burpees

10 x Calf Raises

Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Key Takeaways

There will always be holidays, birthdays, Christmas and many other events. Its just a case of how you manage them. I think all to often people just think diet, diet diet. Instead of viewing it as lifestyle eating. So rather than going over the top with the all the food and drink a bit like a weekend warrior, then I suggest following the advice above and let me know how you get on.

Remember at the end of the day its calories in vs calories out so just keep that in the back of your mind. And don’t beat yourself up if you have that ice-cream.