Simple ways to stay fit and healthy on holiday

I think I speak for all of us when I say I have overindulged on holiday on more than one occasion in my life.

Whether we want to blame it on the delicious margaritas at the beach bar (guilty), or the all-you-can-eat buffet at the hotel breakfast (also guilty), there is no escaping the fact that there are too many opportunities to get carried away.

After all, holidays are about treating yourself. That’s why I have been very careful with this list to only make suggestions that won’t leave you feeling cheated of the things you most look forward to. So lie back on your deckchair, wave at the waiter to order your next guilt-free cocktail, and I’ll run you through our plan of action.

32 ways to stay fit on holiday

Completely disconnect

Here is something I can’t recommend enough. As someone who truly was addicted to social media, evidenced by a daily screen time of 13 hours or more, the mental difference I felt when following this tip was huge.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting The White Lotus approach where your phones get sealed away for the duration, I’m just suggesting that you let those social media accounts stay dormant until you get back. What are you going to notice if you follow it strictly? Instead of lying in bed in the morning scrolling your feed, you’ll get up and start your day, immediately gaining free time. Instead of sitting at the table looking at your phone at dinner, you’ll actually talk to the people you are with. Instead of worrying about what is going on at home, you’ll engage with the new environment you are in. So snap photos, maybe send the odd text, but don’t read the news and don’t use social media. Trust me on this one.

Eat a mediterranean diet

Whether you’re holidaying in the Med or not, a summer holiday is the perfect place to switch over to a Mediterranean diet. Crack open the olive oil and pepper those fresh tomatoes - now is the time to eat local, shop at the fresh food markets, and sneak in a cheeky glass of wine.

Ditch the tour bus and the Segways

I don’t think anything says ‘tourist’ more than a guided segway tour. I frequently watch on as a herd of the two-wheeled wonders buzz around landmarks, up and down footpaths… oh wait, ‘footpaths’, for feet.

If the place you're visiting is so spread out that you can’t walk it in a day, then spread it over two days, or three. Are we in a rush? No, we’re on holiday folks! There is no excuse not to walk. No matter how fun segways are. The same goes for tour buses. What is the point of seeing everything in a couple of hours? It all just becomes a box-ticking blur. Immerse yourself in your environment and see places up close and personal - not just a glance from afar accompanied by a prerecorded audio description.

Get in the pool early

Now this one really depends on what you consider early to be. If, for you, it means 11am, then I’m afraid the opportunity to max out on the pre-children peace and calm is long gone. If it’s 7am, then you have a blissful hour to get in a few lengths uninterrupted. You don’t even have to be doing lengths. Just being in the water and walking around is essentially a mini water aerobics class. And we all know that the ‘heated’ pool is heated exclusively by the sun and if you’re not moving, you will inevitably get cold.

Try intermittent fasting

No, this does not mean not eating for days at a time. It just means eating in a set window of ideally 10 hours. That’s 9am until 7pm. For some of you that might be easy, after all, you’re still eating full meals. The key thing to remember is that there is no snacking outside of this window. This is the key part as it avoids overeating. As with all meal plan structures, there are pros and cons, but following extensive reading, my takeaway is that there are more pros than cons in this case.

Exercise at the hottest part of the day

This might be counterintuitive, and likely the last thing on your mind when the sun is beaming down. However, there are numerous benefits to exercising in the heat. A great reference point is hot yoga (around 30 - 40 degrees Celsius). It’s a big thing because it works.

What does it do? The intense sweating flushes out toxins from the body, elevates your heart rate and improves circulation - just yoga can burn up to 600 calories in a session. Think about what a run could do. A nice bonus is that you can jump in the sea after your workout to cool off. However, remember to be safe in you're in a very hot climate and replenish fluids during and after your workout – and don't attempt this one if you have low blood pressure or any health issues that may make this risky. If in doubt, seek medical advice first.

Carry a backpack everywhere

There is a reasonable chance this is something you do anyway. It’s a great thing to be prepared with bottles of water, suncream, snacks and a camera. The added bonus is you’re upgrading your workout. Every step you take is basically a step with a weighted vest. Why not go ahead and pack more water bottles than you actually need? The one downside may be guaranteed backpack sweatlines but it's a small price to pay for improved health.

Walk to the bakery each day

Okay, so it’s a bit of a mixed message here. I’m working on the assumption that you are going to either need to buy sandwiches for the beach at lunch or pastries for breakfast. If you’re going to eat them, you may as well earn it. You start the day feeling like you’ve already done more than a typical day, and you see more of the local area.

Eat at a ‘fun’ restaurant

You know the ones I’m talking about. The kind of restaurant where Abba is playing on repeat, and at some point in the evening you find yourself standing on a table with your scarf wrapped around your head spinning a napkin in the air screaming the lyrics “gimme gimme a man after midnight’ whilst your partner sits beside you with their head in their hands. This is fitness without even thinking about it, and really should be a compulsory holiday activity.

Join a fitness class

Every holiday town on the coast is guaranteed to have some form of sunrise fitness class. We’ve all seen them walking back at 8am after 2 hours of morning yoga looking smug. Well, be that person. Join the early morning fitness class and you’ll realise they have something to be smug about. It’s also aspirational to make holiday friends, which is very much on the cards in one of these classes. That community hotel environment that started to be replaced by Airbnb rentals is making a reappearance and I’m here for it.

Get a massage

I probably can’t legitimately tell you to get an ordinary massage. What I can suggest is a sports massage. This shouldn’t be the most relaxing process, speaking from experience. At one point the masseuse put her full body weight behind her elbow as it was pressing into my thigh. What you will find, though, is that post-massage, you are free of all your muscle tension and knots, you have better flexibility, improved circulation and ultimately, perform better. You can always ask them to build up to the sports massage gradually, starting with something a lot more gentle.

Walk in the sand

‘Um. Duh?’ So yes, this is likely something you are doing already. Now walk further, walk faster, and walk in the deeper sand. This should feel like hard work. If it doesn’t, then ditch walking for running. If there is a nice wooden pathway made of driftwood, walk beside it. This is a great way to feel the burn in your legs without doing something that is high-impact. Plus, your sandy walk is most likely by the sea. This increases your exposure to negative ions which have numerous reported health benefits.

Catch up on your sleep

There is more to a good night's sleep than just getting your eight hours. Now is the opportunity to implement your nighttime routine. See how much more rested you feel after avoiding blue light one hour before bed, consistently going in a one-hour window to get your body into a rhythm, and not flicking straight onto your phone as soon as you wake up. It’ll be something you continue when you get home because of how good you will feel.

Stay busy in the airport

If you’re already a duty-free browser then you’re one step ahead. Don’t just hunt down the nearest chairs to your gate. You’re about to be sat on a plane for hours! Use this time to not be sitting. My number one tip here is to head to the perfumes. You will rarely find such a good collection of perfumes, at reasonable prices, where you have all the time in the world to browse without being jumped on by overenthusiastic sales assistants. In duty free the staff don’t tend to care. Seize this moment and find your fragrance. Of course, the important part is that you’re standing.

Use suncream

While you already know that it's really important to protect your skin from the sun, I’m going to take this opportunity to give you two facts that you might not know. SPF or Sun Protection Factor literally means how much longer you can stay in the sun without getting burned. So if you start to burn after 10 minutes, with SPF 30 you can stay 5 hours without burning. The reason why you should be reapplying is because of sweating and swimming. The second fact is that you still produce vitamin D even whilst wearing suncream. So if you were worried about that compromise, then worry no more. You can get your natural vitamins whilst staying protected.

Rent bikes

Seize the opportunity whilst on holiday to reactivate those leg muscles and bring back the activity of going for a bike ride. Cycling into town in the evening is a far more wholesome experience than getting in the car that has been sitting in the sun all day, and is now at 40 degrees Celsius.

Use the hotel gym

Maybe it’s just the hotels that I go to, but I rarely see people in the gym. The equipment isn’t usually the best, even if the hotel is, I accept that. But, you’re not there to do your full gym routine. This is just a bonus top-up, like a quick 30-minute core session before everyone else is awake. If you’re not a fan of hot workouts in the middle of the day then at least you have air conditioning. It’s all bought and paid for, so you may as well use it.

Go for grilled food instead of fried

This is going to be easier in certain restaurants than others. If you’re heading to Italy, then there is really no excuse to not be eating pizza and pasta all week. If you’re heading to Spain it’s going to be Paella; Greece, I’m thinking Souvlaki and Greek salad. The list goes on for famous dishes according to the country. What none of them are famous for are fries or chips (except for maybe the UK). So don’t order them! Stick to grilled and trust me, you’ll feel better inside and out.

Wear comfortable shoes

If, like my brother, you pack light (as he would put it), and bring only a pair of flip-flops for your footwear, then you’re not going to be hitting your step count goals. After half a day of wandering around the town, with them rubbing between your toes, you’ll start to feel uncomfortable and it's downhill from there. Make sure you pack some supportive and lightweight trainers and several decent pairs of socks. These are your golden ticket to endless exploring, without rubbing some bad blisters. Yes, you will have hot feet, but at the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal if you get to see the local area in all its glory.

Make sure your sunglasses have UV protection

This is so important. We are all drawn in by big racks of sunglasses, in every style you can imagine, for next to no money. Even designer knockoffs that look uncanny to the originals. These sunglasses can be very dangerous, as they frequently have no UVA or UVB protection. This means your pupils are dilating with the darkness, so allowing in even more rays than usual, but there is nothing stopping those rays from damaging the inside of your eye. A good tip is to look out for the CE marking in Europe or ANSI in the US, to ensure they meet the minimum standards. Dark lenses do not equal protection.

Go easy on the bread basket

We all love the good hospitality of a pre-starter bread basket but we must exercise restraint. We’re on holiday so we’re probably already ordering a starter, mains and dessert. We absolutely do not need a quarter of a baguette each too. Even if you don’t have a starter, you still don’t need bread. We eat it because it’s there and it’s free. Just say ‘no thank you’ when the waiter comes to the table. I know it’s hard to do, but it’s necessary. It’s just bread at the end of the day. Most of us eat it literally every lunch or breakfast. We aren’t sitting at our bread bins buttering and eating slice after slice before dinner on a Tuesday night. Why do we want it when we’re on holiday?

Stay hydrated

We are as fragile as houseplants. To stay healthy we have to drink water, but nearly half of the world doesn’t drink enough. This necessity becomes even more crucial when on holiday. You’re sweating more, you’re in a climate you’re not used to, so don’t get caught out on one of the most basic things. I’m also going to take this opportunity to say that ‘yes the tap water is safe to drink’, if you’re in Spain, France, the UK, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal and many others. Of course, there are some special cases, so it's best to check with your hotel or accommodation.

Start to build a new routine

In the chaos of our day-to-day lives, it can be really hard to create new habits. We are just too busy, so the changes become unrealistic to implement. Take the opportunity of the mental space a holiday gives you to come up with something robust and sustainable - whether that is waking up earlier and going to bed earlier, becoming vegetarian or starting a regular workout routine.

Build sand castles

Many of my childhood holidays revolved around building sand walls around the space we’d chosen to sit, in an attempt to actually stop the incoming tide. On occasions, the adults in our group had so much faith in the mountainous walls we’d built, that they’d sit there unfazed by the waves, only to have them inevitably destroy the wall after 30 minutes of fortifications. The efforts put into building and then rebuilding these walls were enormous, as were the physical demands associated with being limited to beach spades when in a fight against nature. Take inspiration from childhood, and get active on the beach this summer.

Jump in the waves

Forget the swimming pool fitness class. Get in the sea! Jumping waves is a really great way to engage your core and have a load of fun. Please only do this if there are lifeguards on duty and they say it is safe to be in the water.

Go for sorbets instead of ice creams

Swap the ice creams for fresh fruit sorbets. The lighter version of the ice cream is often made with 100% pure fruit puree, giving a really intense flavour whilst being refreshing and light. Perfect for a sunny afternoon when the heat takes the edge off your appetite anyway.

Dust off your deck of cards

This one is all about staying mentally healthy. When there is nothing to do, I, along with most people, will get out my phone and browse. I do remember a time before phones were so smart when people had to entertain themselves in different ways. Card games were tons of fun, mentally stimulating and infinitely more sociable than the modern alternatives. What better time to play cards than when you’re sitting on the beach starting to get restless?

Rent a kayak instead of a jetski

Personally, I am waiting for the day when pedalos get a revamp. Surely we can build a chain and gear system into them so that between two people you can get some decent speeds. Alas, in the absence of this much-needed water toy, I can only suggest you rent a kayak instead of a jet ski. The arm workout combined with the mental benefits are worth the trade-off from the loud and fast toy that loses its novelty all too fast.

Read a book

A book is a really great way to improve your mental health, not least as a way to increase your ability to step away from your life for a minute. Pack a book in your suitcase and it could even become a habit that you continue when you get home. Reading before bed is far better for your sleep quality than using a phone, laptop or other blue light-emitting device.

Drink sparkling water with lemon

People just love to hate sparking water. I don’t know why. I can say I have been on holiday with two friends on two separate occasions last year. Each friend said they ‘hated’ sparkling water at the start of the holiday. After one day with me and my soda stream they were converted. We were drinking sparkling water and lemon at literally every opportunity. One friend even got home and bought their own soda stream. So to all you haters out there, I think you need to give it a chance. It’s a great alternative to other carbonated drinks and the citrus is boosting your vitamin C intake – there is nothing to lose here.

Hike up to a viewpoint

I’m going to suggest this is something you do at night. One, because it avoids sun exposure for an extended period of time. Two, because I think everything looks beautiful at night. I love looking over at a coastal town with lights on, even a big cruise ship out at sea looks incredible after dark when in the daytime would have been a monstrosity. It’s also an easy way to supercharge your step count.

Crack a coconut

Now this one is location-dependent. Firstly I’m going to say you can earn bonus points if you climb the coconut tree to get them down yourself. If that’s off the cards, but you do have access to a whole fresh coconut then you’re going to find out what a challenge it is to crack them open.

The reward of the water inside that tastes completely different to the coconut water you can buy in the supermarket is beyond worth the effort. For more context, I hate the bounties in the celebration box. I don’t consider myself a coconut lover. However, the water from the fresh coconut was absolutely delicious.