Going on holiday is usually a break from everything at home including any type of healthy lifestyle, but when you travel more and more you start to realise how important it is to create a more health conscious travel routine. Here are some tips to help mitigate the detrimental effects of 'being on holiday'.
So what happens when you're on holiday:
Drinking alcohol
Overeating
Too much sun
Not enough sleep
Dehydration
General self abuse
Each of these aspects not making you feel very good and can derail your holiday euphoria.
Lets start with Drinking Alcohol:
Of course there is nothing wrong with a few beers, glasses of wine or cocktails while being on holiday. So if you're gonna have the drinks then you need to be armed with some knowledge and supplements.
The main culprit here is dehydration and loss of electrolytes. Electrolytes are essential minerals like : Sodium, calcium, chloride and potassium. They help maintain all bodily functions and you lose them while you drink alcohol. When you're out in the sun this can be further exacerbated resulting in you feeling like hell and ruining a day or two. So taking with you some rehydration tablets will help you stay hydrated. They also contain vitamins that will help combat your bodily abuse, we like to use Phizz, as they have both electrolytes and vitmains, a double whammy.
Why not just drink water?
Water is essential but when you are drinking alcohol it will make you go pee more as alcohol is a diuretic. Each time you pee you will be losing electrolytes which are essential for basic life functions. Water contains no electrolytes and can essentially make you lose more minerals. You will get more electrolytes from foods such as fruits, vegetables and nuts.
Phizz:
Take a few packs of these with you on your next holiday.
Overeating
This is something which will happen on holiday, so what can we do to mitigate the weight gain and the feeling of bloating and feeling generally unwell.
Daily exercise
You dont have to go to a gym while on holiday but a bit of exercise will help enormously in shunting all the calories into the muscle tissue and away from the fat stores, it will help you feel better if you have a hangover, less bloating and essentially help you maintain your beach body you've spent all Spring trying to get.
Morning walk/run on the beach
What you do.. You get up, take your hydration tablet, get down the beach and walk along the sea or run if you want, just get a bit of a sweat on before breakfast. This will start your metaboism off on the right foot You could do a small workout much like The Joe Wicks workout below:
This 20 min workout will start your day with a nice burn, get your metabolism burning those calories and keep you burning them as the day progresses.
Another item you could use is resistance bands. They will fit into your backpack easily and can give you a really good workout. Here is a great video with a 30 min full body workout.
"The main takeaway is to do something that gets a bit of a sweat on."
Earn your calories by Walking
Walking is one of the best methods of fatloss. It's low impact on your muscles and joints and gets you into that fat burning zone whcih essentially means that the proportion of fat you burn compared with muscle will be hugher due to your body using less carbohydarte stores and more fat stores but we dont need to get into that!
Open up google maps and find the Botanical garden or a local park or anything that is between 30 mins and 1 hour walk away and just go. You will get a great workout by just walking and don't forget to stop for refreshments along the way. This is not only a great way to stay healthy on holiday but also a great way to sightsee.
One fantastic app is called ALLTRAILS, you can find it on Google play or the Apple App store.
Just pop in the city you are in:
Then you can chose from all the user created trails varying in difficulty and distance.
Then when you get back you'll be primed ready to eat and drink to your hearts content knowing your calories will be going in the right places. You deserve it!
Supplments or medication
This is my personal usage, I'm not a Dr just telling you what works for me.
Over the counter Omeprozole - If like me you suffer from the affects of rich food or strong alcohol, then I take one of these which will last me maybe 3 days without burning.
Deflatine - Great to use after a big meal if you feel bloated.
"I try to stay away from pain medication as I feel I'm adding to the stress to my liver and kidneys and usually a bit of exercise and dip in a cold pool or the sea does the trick for me."
Food poisoning
We haven't had food poisoning ourselves but, check out this fantastic guide by Keep Food Safe on food safety for travellers.
Too much Sun/Sunburn
Getting sunshine on holiday can feel like an absolute depression cure. All that lovely vitamin D can raise your spirits, ease your anxiety, boost your immune system, increase blood flow.. There are so many benefits in getting out in the sunshine.
However - Don't get sunburnt!!
Use a high factor sunscreen while doing anything like long walks or workouts & wear a hat. Yes you can sunbathe and use a lower factor but know your body and don't burn. If you feel like you have had too much sun get some shade and use aftersun. Many people will use the sunbed a couple of times to get a base and although I wouldn't condone the use of sunbeds, anecdotaly this can help in preparing your skin and giving you an idea of how long you should be going in the sun. The main takeaway is 'know your skin', wear sunscreen and dont get burnt as it will ruin you for a day or 2, no sunshine, lobster face and potential skin damage!
"The longer you are on holiday the more you will realise that even using a factor 50 you will start to change colour and tan. Slow and steady is better here. Everybody wants to be tanned nobody wants to burn and get sunstroke."
Not enough Sleep
You will have late nights on holiday but don't fret - Siesta
Around the early afternoon don't be afraid of getting an hour nap in, you'll feel refreshed and raring to go for the evening. Sleep is one of the most underrated factors young people tend to ignore and a nap will help you recover your mind and body.
"Don't nap too long, if you go for a nap set an alarm 20-60 mins time. Siestas have been used by folks in hot countries in Europe since Roman times, shops will close around this time too so you aren't missing anything and reaping the rewards of extra energy, cognition and health."
Conclusion
When you are on holiday for a week, you tend to cram everything in: Lots of sunshine, drinking, eating and you will start to lose energy and feel less healthy, so using the tips outlined above can help your experience immensely. Longer travellers will learn to acclimatise and realise that maybe a one-night-on-one-night-off approach to alochol is better. Have a few nights in your apartment, cook some nice food and have an early night, the morning after you will feel like you just arrived again and you'll have a great day and night. With eating, this is the same, take advantage of the higher quality supermarkets, cheaper food and drink and relax for once, have a holiday you feel recharged from. Your bank balance will thank you too!
"Exercise in the morning and walk lots, at Cheesydragonfly we want you to be on holiday lots which is why we find you the cheapest flights and hotels, to do this you need to be on top form."
So get some sunshine, exercise, drink the local alcohol, hydrate, relax, nap and eat the amazing local dishes, live your best life and be healthy and do this every time you go away.
All the best Mike and Delphine ❤️
Cheesy DragonFly
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