The holiday season is here! For month’s you have been on point with your nutrition (well mostly), you have exercised several times a week. Ok so you may have done more but unfortunately the weeks flew by and suddenly it is time to pack the suitcase.

So the question is, what happens next? Do you go on holiday and completely undo all your great work or do you go away thinking you are going to feel miserable and deprived because you can’t enjoy all those holiday temptations?

A funny thing happens when you go on holiday, despite being out of your normal routine, unless you completely gorge yourself on the all-inclusive buffet and bar, you can in fact without much effort lose weight. No seriously, you can!

Why? Well there are a couple of reasons.

Have you ever been on holiday and found that your waist has lost inches? I know a number of my members have seen this happen.

This is down to our friend stress! Obviously a holiday is a time for de-stressing, as we step out of our everyday routines and away from daily pressures such as work. Therefore as our bodies relax, our cortisol levels decrease.

As we know repeated elevation of cortisol (the stress bucket) can lead to weight gain, in particular for women over 35. Plus that weight gain tends to be around the waistline and tummy. So by taking time out you are giving your body a chance to lower the cortisol levels which can lead to inch loss.
Another reason is my favourite topic at classes, cupboard and fridge surfing! Yup! You know it is true and everyone does it! We are creatures of habit and I know from years of helping women with weight management that one of the worst habits is the surfing.

Whether the reason is boredom, stress (there it is again), tiredness… the list goes on, the fact is that when we are home food is accessible and so we surf looking to the answer of how we are feeling at that time. However once we go away and stay in a hotel the cupboards aren’t there so we are not mindlessly eating. Obviously caution is still need if self-catering, so just buy what you need. But still being in a different environment leads to a change of mind set.

Our holidays are precious times for which we have planned, saved and dreamt of, so let them also be a time when you don’t throw all your good nutrition and fitness out of the window. Instead embrace this quality time and make the holiday bring added healthy benefits such as lowering the stress levels and changing your mind set around food, preventing you bringing home any excess baggage.

Lesley X