As Google searches for fast or extreme weight loss spike by over 300% during beach season, experts warn that crash changes to diet and exercise in the final two weeks can leave you looking heavier, not leaner.
Maria AbiHanna, CEO and nutritionist at Food Label Maker, broke down the most common health practices and the science behind them that can add 2-5 kg to a person visually.
Here is what the experts covered:
- How to introduce fiber in the diet without upsetting your stomach;
- Cutting back on food and/or doing juice-only detox;
- Why short-term harsh exercises make you look worse, not better.
Here are 3 habits that may affect how you look at the beach:
1. Eating too much fiber (and without proper diet introduction)
Fiber is often lacking from people’s diets, and many do not eat the recommended 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. But switching food habits less than a week or two before the vacation will lead to the opposite results. Fermentable fibers are broken down into gas by gut bacteria, and too much of it can cause bloating and gas.
What to do instead: Give your body time to adjust to the diet changes. Introduce fiber gradually: start with basics like oats (≈4 grams in a single serving), avocados (10-14 grams for a whole one), or even apples (4-5 grams).
2. “Sugar-free” snacks and gum to cut calories
It feels like the disciplined choice before a holiday, but most sugar-free sweets, chocolates, and gums are sweetened with sugar alcohols like sorbitol, which the body cannot fully absorb. They pass into the gut, draw in water, and get fermented, which visibly bloats stomach.
What to do instead: If you want something sweet, reach for sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit, which are not fermented the same way. Watch the label on “diet” snacks.
3. Extra gym sessions just before a vacation
Additional physical exercise leads not only to faster water loss but also to muscle tension. Switching from regular treadmill jogging to downhill or uphill running puts unfamiliar strain on the muscles, causing temporary swelling and soreness as they adjust. Suddenly ramping up exercises like bicycle crunches can also be a common trigger for muscle strains and spasms when the body isn’t used to the movement.
What to do instead: Keep training at a regular pace. Swimming is among the most productive exercises when it comes to burning calories (400-700 in an hour), but after just a few harsher gym sessions, a leaner body will be further out of reach, not closer.
Commenting on the findings, Maria AbiHanna from Food Label Maker stated: “You cannot healthily impact your body in a short time. If you have just 2 weeks to prepare for vacation, focus on food habits and exercises that will give you the most energy during vacation. Pay attention to your nutrition: bananas, oats, and sweet potatoes are digested slowly, so with them you can avoid sugar spikes and crashes, while getting a diet rich in fiber, vitamin A, and complex carbs.”
This article was written for WHN by experts at Food Label Maker, a cloud-based software that offers powerful recipe formulation, precise nutrition analysis, and guaranteed regulatory compliance, tailored to meet your unique needs.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
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