By Dionysis Adonidos Panos

Let’s admit it: no one is going on vacation to weigh. Let’s go to relax, enjoy food, drinks, sweets, groups. And we do very well. But what happens when we come back with one or two pounds above and a guilt to bother you like a sandy suitcase?

The truth is that you don’t have to choose between the joy of the holidays and your form. There is a way to have both. Not with deprivation. With strategy.

1. Don’t make the mistake of ‘I won’t eat anything all day to eat in the evening’ – Eat smart all day long

The classic holiday mistake: fasting up to 5, and after attacking fried. The result? Derailment.

Solution: Start your day with a good breakfast (eg fruit yogurt, nuts and honey, smoothie or a vegetable omelette) and make sure to have 1–2 small meals before the basic meal of the day. You will eat calmer and fill with half.

2. Holidays does not mean protein interruption

Alcohol, buns, sweets and potatoes dominate in summer. But the protein is the one that keeps you full and stable.

Solution: Make sure your every meal contains some good source of protein: fish, egg, chicken, legume, seafood or combinations. You will eat less than the rest without realizing it.

3. If you want to drink, drink – but with a system

The drink is part of the summer. So do the pounds it brings, if you don’t pay attention.

Solution:

  • Avoid cocktails with sugar or ready -made Daiquiri and Pina Colada
  • Preferred wine, tsipouro or gin with soda and lemon
  • And of course, hydration. A glass of water before and after the drink is simple but effective.

4. Your body burns more on vacation – if you allow him

Walking on the beach, swimming, toys with children, streets of alleys – all raise energy consumption. If you sit all day and drive only by car, then yes, the pounds will stay with you.

Solution: Move, of course, without any obligation. A realistic target is 7,000–10,000 steps a day, 30 minutes swimming or a relaxed walk in the afternoon. No diet – just life.

5. Sweet is not a problem – if you manage it as a pleasure, not as a routine

If every day it has an “ice cream for good”, then within 10 days you have consumed as you ate in a month.

Solution: Make your own rule, for example, a sweet every three days or a dessert that is really worth your choice. When you eat it, be present. Not with the mobile in hand. Enjoy it, not to consume it mechanically.

And if you get away? The world didn’t break.

Eating a little more night doesn’t mean you got pounds. Your body will keep liquids, sugar and salt – not fat – in 24 hours.

Don’t punish yourself with a bump or exhausting gym the next day. Drink water, eat well, move and continue as if nothing happened. This is the real balance.

Conclusion: We are not in diet to be punished. We are to feel good in our bodies – winter, summer, on the beach and in the tavern. If you do it with respect and realism, you will come back from the holidays lighter than you left. Literally and metaphorically.

* Dionysios – Adonis Panos is a clinical nutritionist – physiopathic